Steve Tisch Biography

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Movie and television producer STEVE TISCH (Producer) has led a life rich in spirit and philanthropy. His television and feature film projects have consistently focused on the lives of everyday people and the significant impact they have made on society.

Currently he is a partner in Escape Artists, an independently financed film production company formed in 2001 and based at Sony Pictures Entertainment. The company's upcoming projects include “Need,” “Wedlocked,” “Nautica” and “Diary,” starring Jennifer Anniston. Escape Artists' past producing credits include “Alex and Emma,” “Antwone Fisher,” and “A Knights Tale.”

Tisch served as executive producer of Gramercy Pictures' “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch” and the critically-acclaimed film “American History X,” starring Academy Award nominee Edward Norton.

Tisch also produced 1994's Academy Award winner for Best Picture, “Forrest Gump.” The film also received five other Academy Awards and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. To date, it remains one of the top ten highest grossing films of all time, domestically.

Tisch began his career in entertainment while still a student at Tufts University. His summer jobs included film booker in his family's movie theatre chain, working for director John Avildsen and serving an apprenticeship under Otto Preminger.

Upon graduation, Tisch continued in the entertainment industry as Peter Guber's assistant at Columbia Pictures and soon became a production executive at the studio. During his four-year tenure, Tisch supervised production on such films as “The Lords of Flatbush,” “Tommy,” “The Last Detail” and “White Line Fever.”

In 1976, Tisch left Columbia to produce his first motion picture, “Outlaw Blues.” During the shoot Tisch met Jon Avnet and soon the pair formed Tisch/Avnet Productions. Tisch/Avnet feature projects included the sleeper hit, “Risky Business,” which launched the career of Tom Cruise, as well as “Deal of the Century” and “Coast to Coast.”

In 1984, Tisch/Avnet produced “The Burning Bed,” the controversial made-for-television film starring Farrah Fawcett as a battered wife driven to a desperate, violent act. The movie holds the distinction of being one of the highest-rated television films ever aired on NBC. “The Burning Bed” received 11 Emmy nominations and numerous other awards and was credited with providing many women the courage to seek help from physical abuse.

Tisch/Avnet's other television film credits include “Silence of the Heart,” “Something So Right,” “Prime Suspect,” “Homeward Bound” (winner of a Christopher Award), “No Other Love” and “Call To Glory.”

In 1986, Tisch formed his own production company, the Steve Tisch Company, which produced “The Postman,” “Wild America,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” “Dear God,” “Corrina, Corrina,” “Looking for an Echo,” “Soul Man,” “Hot to Trot,” “Big Business,” “Heart Condition,” “Bad Influence” and “Heart of Dixie.”

On his own, Tisch also made an impressive mark on the small screen. He produced the made-for-cable movies “Keep the Change,” “Afterburn” (which garnered three Emmy Award nominations) and “Judgement.” His network telefilms include the highly rated “The People Next Door,” “Evil in Clear River” and “Out on the Edge.” Tisch also produced the CBS television series “Freshman Dorm” and “Dirty Dancing,” based on the hit film.

Tisch was elected to the AIDS Project Los Angeles' Board of Directors in April 1991 and re-elected in October 1992. During his tenure, Tisch served as both Board Chair and Chair of the Development Committee. His financial contributions have placed him among APLA's top donors and fund-raisers. Tisch was recently honored with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's Vanguard Award at their 1995 Media Awards.

In addition, he has also contributed his time and financial resources to such organizations as the H.E.L.P. Group and the ERAS Center. He is also a member of the Board of Advisors at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, Board of Trustees of The Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles, Sundance Institute and The American Cinematheque.

Steve Tisch Filmography

Producer & Executive Producer Credits

Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

The Weather Man (2005)

Alex & Emma (2003)

Snatch (2000)

Looking for an Echo (2000)

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1999)

American History X (1998)

The Postman (1997)

Wild America (1997)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)