Brian Grazer

For most of his long and illustrious career, Brian Grazer worked behind the scenes as director Ron Howard's dynamic producing partner, forming one of the most powerful and successful filmmaking duos working in Hollywood. Ever since teaming up with Howard on "Night Shift" (1982) and "Splash" (1984), Grazer developed a reputation as a highly influential creative with a strong sense for commercial stories and a sharp eye for emerging talent. In fact, Grazer has often been credited with having launched or boosted the careers of Michael Keaton, Tom Hanks, Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan and John Candy. Though he started in television production during the late-1970s, Grazer found his niche in features, churning out hit after hit while elevating his status through his partnership with Howard on Academy Award-worthy material like "Apollo 13" (1995), "A Beautiful Mind" (2002) and "Frost/Nixon" (2008). He eventually translated his feature success to the small screen with shows like "24" (Fox, 2001- ) and "Friday Night Lights" (NBC, 2006- ), but it was the many successful big screen projects that made Grazer one of the top producers for several decades. Born on July 12, 1951 in Los Angeles, CA, Grazer was raised by his father, Thomas, a criminal lawyer and his mother, Arlene, in the San Fernando Valley's Sherman Oaks and Northridge. Though he grew up amidst the bright lights of Hollywood, Grazer had no particular ambition to enter show business. Instead, he won a scholarship and entered the University of Southern California as a psychology major set on entering medical school. Upon graduating, however, he made the switch to law school, but decided to quit after his first year to take a $5-an-hour job as a clerk at Warner Bros. once he realized he wanted the Hollywood lifestyle. Once on the inside, Grazer demonstrated his savvy and nerve after a vice president was fired; he immediately jumped on the opportunity and asked to use the empty office, which put him in close proximity to the other executives. Grazer watched, listened and learned, then began making calls and taking meetings. But his ambition may have proved to be too much for the studio to handle. He was fired after eight months. Grazer struggled to find his next job because he lacked connections, experience and money. He did, however, receive some valuable advice: If he wanted to get anywhere, he needed to produce his own material. So Grazer pitched several ideas around town, sold a couple to NBC and eventually went to work for television producer Edgar Scherick, with whom he produced two television movies, "Zuma Beach" (NBC, 1978), a teen comedy about a fading rock star (Suzanne Somers) trying to forget her faltering career, and "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery (NBC, 1978), a drama about the wife of a paraplegic who is given permission to have an extramarital affair. Then after meeting Ron Howard while executive-producing television pilots for Paramount Pictures, Grazer formed a partnership with the budding director and segued to features, where the two found immediate success, starting with "Night Shift" (1982), a madcap comedy about a straight-laced morgue attendant (Henry Winkler) who gets pulled into a get-rich-quick scheme by his fast-talking co-worker (Michael Keaton) to turn the morgue into a brothel. The duo went on to make "Splash" (1984), a huge box office hit about a man (Tom Hanks) who falls in love with a mermaid (Daryl Hannah) that solidified Grazer and Howard as a filmmaking force to be reckoned with.