Frank G. Mancuso Sr. (born July 25, 1933) is an American former film

studio executive A studio executive is an employee of a film studio or a corporation doing business in the entertainment industry. A studio executive may be a chief executive officer (CEO), a chief financial officer (CFO), or a chief operating officer (COO), or be ...

. Mancuso was the chairman and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

between 1984 and 1991, and

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

between 1993 and 1999, when he retired.

Career

Mancuso started as an usher in a theater in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

and eventually ran the programming for the company's 50 theatres. Mancuso joined

in 1962, booking films from their Buffalo office. He worked his way up through their sales division before becoming vice-president of domestic distribution in March 1977. He became senior vice-president in August 1978. In April 1979, he was promoted to executive vice-president for distribution and marketing taking over marketing responsibilities. In August 1980, he became president of Paramount's new Distribution division which also became responsible for acquiring films for distribution. In 1983, Mancuso was promoted to president of Paramount's motion picture division and in September 1984 he was chosen instead of COO

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...

to take over from the departing

Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman. He is chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company with Rupert Murdoch and USA Broadcasting. Diller was ind ...

as chairman and chief executive officer. He appointed Ned Tanen to head the motion picture division. After falling from first place in 1984 to fourth in 1985, Paramount became the number one studio again in 1986 and 1987 with hits including ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...

'', '' Crocodile Dundee'' (the top two grossing films of 1986), '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'', ''

Beverly Hills Cop II ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Tony Scott, written by Larry Ferguson and Warren Skaaren, and starring Eddie Murphy. It is the sequel to the 1984 film '' Beverly Hills Cop'' and the second ...

'', '' The Untouchables'' and ''

Fatal Attraction ''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne and written by James Dearden, based on his 1980 short film '' Diversion''. It follows Dan Gallagher ( Michael Douglas), an attorney who cheats on his ...

''. Mancuso became a Governor of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

in 1986 and in 1992, he became its secretary. In March 1991, Mancuso left Paramount soon after Stanley Jaffe had joined and filed a $45 million lawsuit for breach of contract. In 1993, Mancuso became chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer until his retirement in 1999. He is currently the chairman of the Motion Picture and Television Fund Corporate Board of Directors.

Awards & recognition

In 2010, Mancuso received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. In 2011, Mancuso was awarded the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) Jack Valenti Institute Award.

Personal life

He is the father of producer Frank Mancuso Jr., and Maria Mancuso Gersh. Frank Mancuso lives in Los Angeles with his wife Fay.

Filmography

Film

References

External links

* 1933 births Living people Businesspeople from Buffalo, New York American film studio executives Paramount Pictures executives Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives American people of Italian descent 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1930s-stub