George Barrie (9 February 1912 – 16 November 2002)
was the owner 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 ...
of
Fabergé Inc. from 1964 to 1984.
George Barrie, 90, Songwriter, Producer and Fabergé Executive
/ref>[ He was nominated for two Oscars for Best Original Song and created the cologne Brut. Though not one of the first to use celebrities to advertise, he was one of those that made it commonplace.
]
Biography
Born to a Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...
, he trained to be a musician. But in need of steady work, Barrie took a salesman job with the hair products company Rayette during the 1930s.
Rayette and Barrie purchased the perfume and hair-care company Fabergé Inc. for $26 million in 1964, and the Brut line began achieving international success soon after.
Barrie was considered to be a pioneer in the area of celebrity endorsements, as he wooed stars such as Cary Grant
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...
, Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played a ...
, Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...
, Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...
, Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
, Margaux Hemingway
Margaux Louise Hemingway (born Margot Louise Hemingway; February 16, 1954 – July 1, 1996) was an American fashion model and actress. The granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway, she gained independent fame as a supermodel in the 1970s, appear ...
and Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to Union of South Africa, South Africa at an early age, before ...
to pitch company products.
Barrie and his Brut Productions Brut Productions was a film production company that was an offshoot of Fabergé cosmetics under George Barrie.
History
Barrie began considering becoming involved in film production when producer Mike Frankovich asked Fabergé to create a mock ad ...
produced the very successful film '' A Touch of Class'' (1973), which starred Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson (9 May 1936 – 15 June 2023) was an English actress and politician. Over the course of her distinguished career she received List of awards and nominations received by Glenda Jackson, numerous accolades including two Academy ...
and George Segal
George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as '' Ship o ...
, as well as ''Night Watch
Night Watch or Nightwatch may refer to:
Being on duty at night
* The nighttime shift worked by a security guard (night watchman)
* Watchman (law enforcement), organized groups of men to deter criminal activity and provide law enforcement
* One of ...
'', ''Whiffs
''Whiffs'' is a 1975 comedy film directed by Ted Post and starring Elliott Gould, Eddie Albert, Harry Guardino, Godfrey Cambridge, and Jennifer O'Neill. It was produced by Brut Productions and released theatrically in the U.S. by 20th Century Fox. ...
'' (1975), ''Sweet Hostage
''Sweet Hostage'' is a 1975 American made-for-television drama film based on the novel ''Welcome to Xanadu'' by Nathaniel Benchley. The film stars Linda Blair and Martin Sheen. It was filmed in Taos County, New Mexico. It was featured in ABC's ...
'' (1975), ''Thieves
Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal short ...
'' (1977), '' Nasty Habits'' (1977), and ''Fingers
A finger is a prominent digit on the forelimbs of most tetrapod vertebrate animals, especially those with prehensile extremities (i.e. hands) such as humans and other primates. Most tetrapods have five digits (pentadactyly), Chambers 1998 p. 60 ...
'' (1978).
Barrie and Sammy Cahn
Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premie ...
were nominated for the 1975 Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...
, after writing "Now That We're In Love." Barrie and Cahn had been nominated in the same category in 1973, for "All That Love Went To Waste."
Personal life
He was married to Dorothy Barrie; and had three children: Caryl Barrie Kaplan, Richard Barrie, and Craig Barrie.[
]
References
External links
Biography
at slick.org
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrie, George
Film producers from New York (state)
American retail chief executives
1912 births
2002 deaths
20th-century American Jews
Jewish American film people