Eric Eisner (lawyer)
American lawyer
This article is about the entertainment lawyer and philanthropist. For the producer, see
Eric Eisner (producer) .
Eric Eisner is an American entertainment industry lawyer and executive who served as president of The Geffen Film Company and Island World Inc .[ 1] [ 2] He also founded the Young Eisner Scholars (YES) program.[ 3] [ 4]
Biography
Eisner grew up in Greenwich Village and attended Little Red Schoolhouse and Elisabeth Irwin High School . worked as a songwriter and played drums for The Strangers, a New York rock band.[ 5] He wrote a number of songs that were recorded by various artists in the 1960s, including "No Sun Today" (Buffalo Springfield ), "Emily's Illness" (Nora Guthrie ),[ 6] and "Too Young to Be One" (The Turtles ).[ 7]
He received his B.A. from Columbia University in 1970 and J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1973.[ 1] In college, he joined Students for a Democratic Society and took part in the Columbia University protests of 1968 .
After law school, Eisner accepted an offer at the law firm Kaplan Livingston Goodwin Berkowitz & Selvin in Los Angeles , then the largest entertainment law firm in the world.[ 8] In 1980, he was recruited by David Geffen to be head of his production company and oversaw the production of films such as Risky Business and Beetlejuice , as well as Broadway plays M. Butterfly and Cats .[ 9]
After retiring from the entertainment industry, Eisner founded the Young Eisner Scholars program in 1998.[ 10] The program identifies gifted students from disadvantaged schools in Los Angeles and places them in the city's best prep and magnet schools[clarification needed ] .[ 11] The program has also mobilized $50 million in financial aid and scholarships to fund its scholars’ college tuition and fees, and has placed participants in top-tier universities in the country.[ 10]
Because of his activism in improving public school education, Malcolm Gladwell described Eisner as the "DuBois of the barrio" and "the L.A. school system’s Lone Ranger."[ 12] Eisner was also featured in Gladwell's podcast, Revisionist History .[ 13] He was named "Innovator of the Year" in education by The Wall Street Journal in 2012,[ 11] and one of the "Biggest Philanthropists of 2018" by Town & Country .[ 14]
Personal life and family
His wife, Lisa (née Norris)[ 15] Eisner, worked as the West Coast editor for Vogue magazine.[ 16] She is also a photographer, jewelry designer, and art collector.[ 17] [ 18] They have two sons.[ 19] The couple lives in a Bel Air, Los Angeles home designed by Cliff May .[ 16]
His younger son married former actress and fashion designer Ashley Olsen in late 2022.[ 20] [ 21]
References
^ a b "The Power of YES | Columbia College Today" . www.college.columbia.edu . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ "Eric Eisner has been named chief executive..." Los Angeles Times . January 8, 1992. Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ Herold, Ann (September 10, 2014). "Follow The Leader Los Angeles Magazine" . Los Angeles Magazine . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ Odman, Sydney (September 24, 2021). "Bob Iger and Willow Bay Honored at the YES 20th Anniversary Celebration Gala" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ "Eric Eisner Biography, Songs, & Albums" . AllMusic . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ Unterberger, Richie. "Eric Eisner" . AllMusic . Retrieved September 8, 2022 .
^ Kruth, John (April 19, 2017). "Can a 50-Year-Old Pop Album Stop Us From Destroying Each Other?" . Observer . Retrieved September 8, 2022 .
^ Lewis, Marilyn Black, Andy; Black, Marilyn; Lewis, Andy (April 21, 2016). "A Hollywood Power Lawyer's Lost Memoir on Birthing Independent Film" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 30, 2022 . {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )
^ Siegel, Alan (March 30, 2018). "How 'Beetlejuice' Was Born" . The Ringer . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ a b "YES Emphasizes Learning Over Memorization" . NationSwell . February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ a b O'Rourke, Meghan (October 25, 2012). "The Unlikely Reformer" . Wall Street Journal . ISSN 0099-9660 . Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2023 .
^ "Vanity Fair Nominates Eric Eisner" . Vanity Fair . February 21, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ Reese, Rachel. "Revising Gladwell's "Revisionist History" " . www.cato.org . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ "T&C 50: The Biggest Philanthropists of 2015" . Town & Country . April 7, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ Herzog, Kenny. "The Golden Age: 16 Very Expensive Highlights From Music-Business Memoirs" . Vulture . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ a b Spindler, Amy M. (May 13, 1997). "In Los Angeles, a Modern Muse" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ Trebay, Guy (November 17, 2017). "For Lisa Eisner, 'Money Never, Ever Motivates Me' " . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ Hartman, Eviana (December 2, 2014). "The Eclectic World of Lisa Eisner" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved January 30, 2022 .
^ Trebay, Guy (November 17, 2017). "For Lisa Eisner, 'Money Never, Ever Motivates Me' " . The New York Times . Retrieved January 5, 2023 .
^ Siwak, Miranda (June 14, 2022). "Who Is Louis Eisner? 5 Things to Know About Ashley Olsen's Longtime Boyfriend" . Us Weekly . Retrieved January 5, 2023 .
^ Patterson, Charmaine (January 4, 2023). "Ashley Olsen Marries Boyfriend Louis Eisner in Intimate Wedding Ceremony in Bel-Air: Report" . People . Retrieved January 5, 2023 .