Ned Stone Tanen (c. September 20, 1931 – January 5, 2009) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
movie studioA movie studio is, in the established sense of the term, a company that distributes films. Literally, however, the term denotes a controlled environment for the making of a motion picture. This environment may be interior , exterior , or both...
executive behind films that included
American GraffitiAmerican Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age comedy-drama film co-written/directed by George Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
and
Animal House.
Tanen was born in Los Angeles and served in the
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947 - 80 P.L....
after graduating from the
University of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. It was founded in 1919 and is the second-oldest general-purpose campus in the University of California system...
. Following his military service, he got a job in 1954 in the
MCAMCA, Inc. was an American corporation in the music and television businesses. MCA published music, booked acts, ran a record company, and distributed television productions and home videos.-The Early Years:...
mailroom. He helped form the
Uni RecordsUni Records was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinct UNi logo, was established in 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen and developed by music industry veteran Russ Regan...
label at MCA in 1967. Artists recording on the Uni label included
Neil DiamondNeil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter. Diamond is one of pop music's most enduring and successful singer-songwriters. As a successful pop music performer, Diamond scored a number of hits worldwide in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...
,
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 200 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single, Candle in the Wind 1997, has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the...
,
Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a British-born, Australian-raised singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 albums...
and the
Strawberry Alarm ClockStrawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock/pop rock band from Los Angeles best known for their 1967 hit "Incense and Peppermints". The group took its name as an homage to the Beatles' psychedelic hit "Strawberry Fields Forever"....
.
Ned Stone Tanen (c. September 20, 1931 – January 5, 2009) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
movie studioA movie studio is, in the established sense of the term, a company that distributes films. Literally, however, the term denotes a controlled environment for the making of a motion picture. This environment may be interior , exterior , or both...
executive behind films that included
American GraffitiAmerican Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age comedy-drama film co-written/directed by George Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
and
Animal House.
Tanen was born in Los Angeles and served in the
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the U.S. armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947 - 80 P.L....
after graduating from the
University of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. It was founded in 1919 and is the second-oldest general-purpose campus in the University of California system...
. Following his military service, he got a job in 1954 in the
MCAMCA, Inc. was an American corporation in the music and television businesses. MCA published music, booked acts, ran a record company, and distributed television productions and home videos.-The Early Years:...
mailroom. He helped form the
Uni RecordsUni Records was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinct UNi logo, was established in 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen and developed by music industry veteran Russ Regan...
label at MCA in 1967. Artists recording on the Uni label included
Neil DiamondNeil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter. Diamond is one of pop music's most enduring and successful singer-songwriters. As a successful pop music performer, Diamond scored a number of hits worldwide in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...
,
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 200 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single, Candle in the Wind 1997, has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the...
,
Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a British-born, Australian-raised singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 albums...
and the
Strawberry Alarm ClockStrawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock/pop rock band from Los Angeles best known for their 1967 hit "Incense and Peppermints". The group took its name as an homage to the Beatles' psychedelic hit "Strawberry Fields Forever"....
. Uni Records later merged with
Decca RecordsDecca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades...
to become
MCA RecordsMCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part...
.
He served as production supervisor on the 1971
Milos FormanJan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech film director, screenwriter, actor and professor. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both garnering him the Academy Award as a director. He was also...
film
Taking OffTaking Off is a 1971 film comedy. It was the first American film of Czech director Milos Forman. It tells the story of a group of parents whose children have run away from home...
, which became his springboard into film production at
Universal PicturesThis is a partial listing of films produced and/or distributed by Universal Pictures, the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc...
, a subsidiary of MCA. Tanen was named president of Universal's film division in 1976. His projects at Universal included a wide-ranging variety of box office and critical success, including the 1973 film
American GraffitiAmerican Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age comedy-drama film co-written/directed by George Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
,
JawsJaws is a 1975 American horror/thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel Jaws. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town...
(1975),
Smokey and the BanditSmokey and the Bandit is a 1977 movie starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams, and Mike Henry. It inspired several other trucking films, including two sequels, Smokey and the Bandit II , and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3...
(1977),
The Deer HunterThe Deer Hunter is a war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steel worker friends and their infantry service in the Vietnam War...
(1978),
Melvin and HowardMelvin and Howard is a 1980 American comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme. The screenplay by Bo Goldman was inspired by real-life Utah service station owner Melvin Dummar, who was listed as the beneficiary of $156 million in a will allegedly handwritten by Howard Hughes that was discovered...
(1980) and
MissingMissing is a 1982 film directed by Costa Gavras, starring Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, John Shea and Charles Cioffi. It is based on the true story of American journalist Charles Horman, who disappeared in the bloody aftermath of the US-backed Chilean coup of 1973 that deposed...
(1982). His 1980 films set an industry box office receipts record of $290 million, with releases including
Coal Miner's DaughterCoal Miner's Daughter is an American 1980 biographical film which tells the story of country music performer Loretta Lynn. It stars Sissy Spacek in her Academy Award for Best Actress winning role, Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo and Levon Helm, and was directed by Michael Apted.-Background:The...
,
The Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd, respectively in character as lead vocalist "Joliet" Jake Blues and harpist/vocalist Elwood Blues,...
and
Smokey and the Bandit IISmokey and the Bandit II is a comedy film released on August 15, 1980 in the United States. It is the sequel to the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit.The film stars Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, and Dom DeLuise...
. He resigned from Universal in December 1982.
In a 1978 article in
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
, Tanen described how some of the biggest box office grossing films take on a life of their own, describing the success of the film
Animal House was a surprise, acknowledging that "All we did was make a picture about college fraternity life in the 1960's".
He had left Universal saying he wanted to leave
the Hollywood game and established Channel Productions, which produced the 1984 film
Sixteen CandlesSixteen Candles is a 1984 coming-of-age film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. The film was written and directed by John Hughes.- Plot :...
and a pair of 1985 releases,
The Breakfast ClubThe Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen film written and directed by John Hughes. The storyline follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes...
and
St. Elmo's FireSt. Elmo's Fire is a 1985 coming-of-age film directed by Joel Schumacher. The film, starring Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Mare Winningham, is one of the defining movies of the Brat Pack genre, and revolves around a group of friends that have...
.
Moving to
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
in October 1984, Tanen served as head of the studio's motion picture division, producing box office successes including the 1986 films
Crocodile Dundee"Crocodile" Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee and Linda Kozlowski as Sue Charlton....
and
Top GunTop Gun may refer to:* The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, commonly referred to as TOPGUN* Top Gun , a 1986 movie starring Tom Cruise set at the school**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie...
, and the 1987 releases
Fatal AttractionFatal Attraction is a 1987 thriller film about a married man who has a weekend affair with a woman who refuses to allow it to end and who becomes obsessed with him. It stars Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer. It was directed by Adrian Lyne...
and
Beverly Hills Cop IIBeverly Hills Cop II is a 1987 action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Tony Scott. It is the first sequel in the Beverly Hills Cop series. Murphy returns as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills, California to track down a group of international...
, leading Paramount to post the top revenues among all studios in both 1986 and 1987. The studio's films in 1986 drew receipts of $600 million, more than twice its nearest competitor and setting an industry record at the time. Other films produced by Paramount during his time there include
Ferris Bueller's Day OffFerris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 comedy film written and directed by John Hughes. It stars Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones and Jennifer Grey. The film was released by Paramount Pictures on June 11, 1986....
(1986),
Children of a Lesser GodChildren of a Lesser God is a 1986 film that tells the story of a speech teacher at a school for deaf students who falls in love with a deaf woman who also works there...
(1986),
Fatal AttractionFatal Attraction is a 1987 thriller film about a married man who has a weekend affair with a woman who refuses to allow it to end and who becomes obsessed with him. It stars Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer. It was directed by Adrian Lyne...
(1987),
The Accused (1988) and
GhostGhost is a 1990 film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn and Whoopi Goldberg, written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker...
(1990). Tanen resigned in November 1988, with the responsibilities included in his position split between
Sid GanisSidney Ganis is an American motion picture executive and producer who has produced such films as Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, The Master of Disguise and Akeelah and the Bee. On August 23, 2005 he was elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and Barry London.
The character
Biff TannenBiff Tannen is a fictional character in the Back to the Future motion picture trilogy, serving as the primary antagonist of the first two films and a minor supporting character in the third film. He is played in the three films and the ride, and voiced in the animated series by Thomas F. Wilson...
in the
Back to the Future films was named after Tanen. Writers
Bob GaleMichael Robert "Bob" Gale is an Academy Award-nominated American screenwriter who co-wrote the science fiction film Back to the Future with writing partner Robert Zemeckis, and the screen plays for the film's two sequels. Gale also co-produced all three films. He is married and although he still...
and
Robert ZemeckisRobert Lee "Bob" Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future films as well as the live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit , though in the 1990s he...
, had met with Tanen during a script meeting for
I Wanna Hold Your HandI Wanna Hold Your Hand is a comedy film directed and co-written by Robert Zemeckis that takes its name from the 1963 Beatles song. It was produced and co-written by Bob Gale. The film is about "Beatlemania" and is a fictionalized account of the day of the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed...
, and Tanen had reacted in aggressive fashion to their writing.
Tanen went back to independent film production after leaving Paramount, working on films such as
Guarding TessGuarding Tess is a 1994 movie starring Shirley MacLaine and Nicolas Cage. MacLaine plays the part of fictional former First Lady Tess Carlisle who has a difficult personality. She is protected by an entourage of Secret Service bodyguards led by a reluctant Doug Chesnic . Tess' entire staff dislike...
(1994),
Cops & Robbersons (1994) and
Mary ReillyMary Reilly is a 1996 film directed by Stephen Frears. The movie was written by Christopher Hampton based on the novel Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin...
(1996).
Tanen died at age 77 on January 5, 2009 in his home in
Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica is a city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and Venice on the...
.