Robert Lawrence is an American film producer and former studio executive.

Early life

Lawrence was born in New York City and grew up in Great Neck, New York. Lawrence graduated with honors from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and then attended the Graduate Screenwriting Program at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

School of Film and Television.

Career

Lawrence began his film career at

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

in the story department, and a year later joined the

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930 – October 26, 2019) was an American film producer who worked on ''Rosemary's Baby (film), Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story (1970 film), Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), ...

unit as a writer. In 1980 Lawrence joined Columbia Pictures as a vice-president of Production and was named Executive Vice President of Worldwide Production for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

in March 1985, where he oversaw production of films such as ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...

'', ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen. It is the first film in ''The Karate Kid'' franchise. The film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, an ...

'', ''

Tootsie ''Tootsie'' is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy film directed by Sydney Pollack from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal and a story by Gelbart and Don McGuire. It stars Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, D ...

'' and ''

Out of Africa ''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish people, Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the eighteen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called East Africa Protectorate, British East Africa ...

''. In 1986 Lawrence joined

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

as the President of Motion Picture Production. During his time at

, Lawrence oversaw productions of such films as ''

Rain Man ''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road movie, road comedy-Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive and selfish wikt:wheeler-dealer, wheeler-dea ...

'', '' Presumed Innocent'' and '' Mrs. Doubtfire''. In 1987, he departed from United Artists to set up his own production company with a two-year agreement at the studio, which will be based at the United Artists headquarters in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

. During this time, he screened the

Hong Kong action film Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese culture, Chinese and Culture of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cultures, including Chinese opera, storytelling a ...

'' Legacy of Rage'' (1986) starring

Brandon Lee Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed what was to be his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the supernatural superhero fi ...

and saw Lee's potential to be an action leading man in Hollywood. It led to their collaboration which was Lee's first lead in an American Studio film the action thriller ''Rapid Fire'' (1992). Lawrence founded Maysville Pictures along with

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

and together produced '' Rock Star'' before the two split in 1999. As an independent producer he started his own production company, Robert Lawrence Productions. Lawrence is best known as a producer on movies such as '' Clueless'', '' Die Hard with a Vengeance'' and ''

The Last Castle ''The Last Castle'' is a 2001 American action film, action Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Rod Lurie, starring Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo and Delroy Lindo. The film portrays a struggle between inmates and ...

''.

Current production

In the Winter of 2016,

Variety (magazine) ''Variety'' is an American trade magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in ...

announced that

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and librettist. He created the Broadway musicals '' In the Heights'' and ''Hamilton'', and the soundtracks for the animated films '' Moana' ...

would join Lawrence in producing TV and film adaptations of Patrick Rothfuss’ fantasy trilogy '' The Kingkiller Chronicle''.

Personal life

Lawrence has three sons and currently lives in Pacific Palisades, California.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Robert Living people American film producers Year of birth missing (living people)