Brad Grey

Brad Alan Grey (December 29, 1957 – May 14, 2017) was an American television and film producer. He co-founded Brillstein-Grey Entertainment (now Brillstein Entertainment Partners), and afterwards became the chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, a position he held from 2005 to 2017. Grey graduated from the University at Buffalo School of Management. Under Grey's leadership, Paramount finished No. 1 in global market share in 2011 and No. 2 domestically in 2008, 2009, and 2010, despite releasing significantly fewer films than its competitors. He also produced eight out of Paramount's 10 top-grossing films of all time after having succeeded Sherry Lansing in 2005.

Grey was born to a Jewish family in the Bronx, the youngest child of a garment district salesman. He majored in business and communications at the University at Buffalo.

While attending the university, he became a gofer for a young Harvey Weinstein, who was then a concert promoter. The first show Grey produced (at age 20) was a concert by Frank Sinatra at Buffalo's Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in 1978. He traveled to Manhattan on weekends to look for young comics at The Improv. Grey brought comedian Bob Saget to New York, thus making Saget his first client.

In 1984, Grey met talent manager Bernie Brillstein in San Francisco, California, at a television convention. Having convinced Brillstein that he could deliver fresh talent, he was taken on as a partner and the Bernie Brillstein Company was re-christened Brillstein-Grey Entertainment. Grey began producing for television in 1986 with the Showtime hit, It's Garry Shandling's Show. In the late 1990s, Shandling sued Grey for breach of duties and related claims. Shandling complained that his TV show lost its best writers and producers when Brad Grey got them deals to do other projects, and that Grey commissioned these other deals, while Shandling did not benefit from them. Grey denied the allegations and countersued, saying the comedian breached his contract on The Larry Sanders Show by failing to produce some episodes and indiscriminately dismissing writers, among other actions. Both suits were settled avoiding a trial. Shandling did testify about Grey during the 2008 trial of private investigator Anthony Pellicano who worked on Grey's defense team. The value of the settlement to Shandling was later disputed by attorneys as being either $4 million or $10 million.

In 1996, Brillstein sold his shares of the Brillstein-Grey company to Grey, giving Grey full rein over operations; the company's television unit was subsequently rechristened "Brad Grey Television". Grey produced shows such as Emmy Award-winning The Sopranos and The Wayne Brady Show. Other shows developed in the 1990s under the Brillstein-Grey banner included Good Sports, The Larry Sanders Show, Mr. Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, NewsRadio, and Just Shoot Me! Grey also ventured into film by producing the Adam Sandler hit Happy Gilmore.

In 1996, actress Linda Doucett alleged that Grey and Shandling fired her from The Larry Sanders Show after her personal relationship with Shandling ended. Doucett reportedly received a $1 million settlement in this matter in 1997.

In July 2000 - on the day of Scary Movie's opening - Grey and Brillstein-Grey were sued by Bo Zenga and his Boz Productions in what became known as the 'Scary' suit. Zenga, at the time an unknown bit-part actor, "claimed he had an oral agreement with Grey's management firm Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, giving him equal profits on the film". Scary Movie went on to make $278m worldwide.

The pre-trial discovery process "revealed that major parts of Zenga's resume were fabricated. Brillstein-Grey said in a court filing that Zenga presented himself as a successful investment banker who became a prize-winning screenwriter to satisfy his creative urges." "Far from being a successful investment banker, Zenga once filed for personal bankruptcy" and "according to court papers, the only writing award he won was in a phony contest he set up himself." After denying under oath that he knew who owned the company that ran the contest, Bo Zenga recanted a day later, admitting his ownership of the company and "saying he had been 'overmedicated.'" When questioned about "an accusation from his former business partner that he coerced her to lie for him," Zenga "in a highly unusual move for a plaintiff in a film-profits case — asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to answer hundreds of questions." Zenga's suit was thrown out of court for lack of evidence. L.A. Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien "noted it was only the second time in all his years on the bench that he had granted a non-suit and taken a case away from a jury."