Thomas Mitchell Sherak (June 22, 1945 – January 28, 2014) was an American film producer who was president 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 ...

Biography

Sherak was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and studied at New York City Community College where he earned a degree in marketing. He joined

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 ...

in 1970 working in distribution offices in New York,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

St Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. He became vice president and head film buyer at

General Cinema General Cinema Corporation, also known as General Cinema, GCC, or General Cinema Theatres, was a chain of movie theaters in the United States. At its peak, the company operated about 1,500 screens, some of which were among the first theaters ce ...

and then moved to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

in 1983, serving as president of domestic distribution before becoming chairman of their domestic group. He oversaw the release of '' Aliens'' (1986), ''

Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...

'' (1988), ''

Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dar ...

'' (1990), '' Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993) and ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

'' (1996). In 2000, he joined

Revolution Studios Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC (operating as Revolution Studios) is an American independent motion picture and foreign sales company headed by Chief Executive Officer Scott Hemming, founded in 2000, and based in Los Angeles, Los Ang ...

and oversaw the release of 30 films in seven years, including '' The One'', for which he was executive producer, and '' Black Hawk Down'' (both 2001). In 2003, he became one of the Board of Governors of the executives branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and in 2009 he became Academy President and served the maximum three terms. He was succeeded by

Hawk Koch Howard Winchel Koch Jr. (born December 14, 1945), also known as Hawk Koch, is an American film producer. Throughout his career, he was involved in the production of over 50 major films, including ''Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''The Way We Were'' ...

in 2012. On September 26, 2013, Los Angeles Mayor

Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to India, United States ambassador to India from 2023 to 2025. He was the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles f ...

appointed Tom Sherak as director of the newly created Mayor's Entertainment Industry and Production Office. He appeared as an actor in an episode of ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'' and in the film ''

Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth Avenue, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, ...

'' (2012). He was married to Madeleine and had three children, including Melissa and William. He served as chairman of the MS Dinner of Champions for two decades, helping raise millions of dollars for

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

research, an illness that his daughter Melissa had. He received the Public Leadership in Neurology Award in 2011 from the

American Academy of Neurology The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is a professional society representing over 40,000 neurologists and neuroscientists. As a medical specialty society it was established in 1948 by A.B. Baker of the University of Minnesota to advance the a ...

. He was also chairman of the

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

Motion Pictures Pioneer Foundation and served on the board of the

Motion Picture & Television Fund The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as tempo ...

and

Variety, the Children's Charity Variety, the Children's Charity is a charitable organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927. History On October 10, 1927, a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On ...

of Southern California. Sherak died on January 28, 2014, in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (, ; Spanish language in California, Spanish for "winter squash, squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States.prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. He was 68Tom Sherak dies at 68; former head of motion picture academy
latimes.com; accessed January 30, 2017. and is buried at

Mount Sinai Simi Valley Mount Sinai Simi Valley is a Jewish cemetery located at 6150 Mount Sinai Drive, in Simi Valley, California; which opened in 1997. History Mount Sinai Simi Valley was a sister property to Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills when members of the Cemet ...

. He was posthumously awarded a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 6910 Hollywood Blvd.

References

External links

*
UCLA: Tom Sherak's biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherak, Tom 1945 births 2014 deaths Presidents of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences American film studio executives 20th Century Studios people American film producers Deaths from prostate cancer in California Filmmakers from Brooklyn Male actors from Brooklyn