Sidney Sheinberg
Encyclopedia
Sidney "Sid" Jay Sheinberg (born 1935, Corpus Christi, Texas
) is a lawyer and American entertainment executive. He is married to actress Lorraine Gary
.
and subsequently, attended The University of Texas School of Law
. In 1956 he transferred to Columbia Law School
where he obtained his law degree.
. In 1959 while awaiting the results of his California Bar Examination, Sid joined the legal department of Revue Productions, MCA's former television subsidiary, and began his career in the entertainment industry.
In June 1973, Sheinberg was elected President and Chief Operating officer of MCA, Inc. and served under Lew Wasserman
. Sheinberg is credited with discovering director Steven Spielberg
and hiring him into the MCA/Universal Television division. Sheinberg served as President and COO of Universal Pictures
(a division of MCA, Inc.) with the highest-grossing films of the last three decades of the 20th Century all being Universal/Spielberg projects, beginning with 1975's Jaws
, 1982's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
and concluding with 1993's Jurassic Park
.
As part of Seagram's buy-out of MCA in 1995, Sheinberg started a Seagram-financed production company called The Bubble Factory with his two sons. Two years later the company was divorced from its MCA parent-company Universal Pictures in the wake of a string of box-office failures, the company however is still an ongoing concern with distribution of the horror film "Creature" slated for September 2011.
(one of the Claremont
group of colleges), the Board of The American Jewish Committee, the Board of Research To Prevent Blindness and the Board of Trustees of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, is Vice Chairman of Human Rights Watch and is co-founder of the Children's Action Network. He has been honored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force for his life's work in civil rights and inclusive support of the LGBT community.
He received Columbia College's John Jay Award in 1981 for distinguished professional achievement, the American Jewish Committees Human Relations Award in 1982, the National Conference of Christians and Jews Humanitarian Award in 1983, and Pioneer Of The Year Award in 1984 from the Motion Picture Pioneers, as well as the Chevalier De L'Ordre Des Arts et Des Lettres in 1984 bestowed by the French government.
In 1987, he received the DeWitt Carter Reddick Award at the University of Texas in Austin, and in 1989 he was named a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Directors Guild of America for his decades of service on the DGA-AMPTP Creative Rights Committee. He received the AIDS Project Los Angeles Commitment to Life Award in 1991, the Medal of Honor from the American Academy of Achievement in 1994 and the GLADD Award in 1996.
The Sheinbergs jointly received the 1995 Simon Wiesenthal
Center's Humanitarian Award.
Sheinberg Place (a street on the Universal Studios lot in Los Angeles), was dedicated in his honor February 4, 2008, at a ceremony honoring the former studio chief. David Geffen
, Jeffrey Katzenberg
and Steven Spielberg
were among those attending.
(later Chairman of Nintendo of America), Sheinberg was attempting to extort money from Nintendo and several other game companies by asserting a copyright in which Universal did not own and had already argued as such in a previous case.
US District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet ruled in Nintendo's favor, ordered Universal to pay Nintendo's expenses in the amount of $1.8 million. This decision was upheld twice on appeal.
The conversations between Sid Sheinberg, Howard Lincoln, and other relevant parties are detailed quite extensively in David Sheff's book Game Over.
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
) is a lawyer and American entertainment executive. He is married to actress Lorraine Gary
Lorraine Gary
Lorraine Gary is an American actress best known for her role as Ellen Brody in Jaws, Jaws 2, and Jaws: The Revenge...
.
Early life and education
Sheinberg, the son of immigrants , a Ukrainian mother and a Polish father, grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas where he was born in 1935. In 1955, Sheinberg graduated from Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and subsequently, attended The University of Texas School of Law
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law, also known as UT Law, is an ABA-certified American law school located on the University of Texas at Austin campus. The law school has been in operation since the founding of the University in 1883. It was one of only two schools at the University when it was...
. In 1956 he transferred to Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
where he obtained his law degree.
Career
In the summer of 1958, he arrived in California where he accepted a teaching position at UCLA School of LawUCLA School of Law
The UCLA School of Law is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. It has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1950. It joined the Association of American Law Schools in 1952.- History :...
. In 1959 while awaiting the results of his California Bar Examination, Sid joined the legal department of Revue Productions, MCA's former television subsidiary, and began his career in the entertainment industry.
In June 1973, Sheinberg was elected President and Chief Operating officer of MCA, Inc. and served under Lew Wasserman
Lew Wasserman
Lewis Robert "Lew" Wasserman was an American talent agent and studio executive, sometimes credited with creating and later taking apart the studio system in a career spanning more than six decades...
. Sheinberg is credited with discovering director Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
and hiring him into the MCA/Universal Television division. Sheinberg served as President and COO of Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
(a division of MCA, Inc.) with the highest-grossing films of the last three decades of the 20th Century all being Universal/Spielberg projects, beginning with 1975's Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
, 1982's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
and concluding with 1993's Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
.
As part of Seagram's buy-out of MCA in 1995, Sheinberg started a Seagram-financed production company called The Bubble Factory with his two sons. Two years later the company was divorced from its MCA parent-company Universal Pictures in the wake of a string of box-office failures, the company however is still an ongoing concern with distribution of the horror film "Creature" slated for September 2011.
Honors
Sheinberg serves on the National Board of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Pitzer CollegePitzer College
Pitzer College is a private residential liberal arts college located in Claremont, California, a college town approximately east of downtown Los Angeles. Pitzer College is one of the Claremont Colleges....
(one of the Claremont
Claremont Colleges
The Claremont Colleges are a prestigious American consortium of five undergraduate and two graduate schools of higher education located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...
group of colleges), the Board of The American Jewish Committee, the Board of Research To Prevent Blindness and the Board of Trustees of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, is Vice Chairman of Human Rights Watch and is co-founder of the Children's Action Network. He has been honored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force for his life's work in civil rights and inclusive support of the LGBT community.
He received Columbia College's John Jay Award in 1981 for distinguished professional achievement, the American Jewish Committees Human Relations Award in 1982, the National Conference of Christians and Jews Humanitarian Award in 1983, and Pioneer Of The Year Award in 1984 from the Motion Picture Pioneers, as well as the Chevalier De L'Ordre Des Arts et Des Lettres in 1984 bestowed by the French government.
In 1987, he received the DeWitt Carter Reddick Award at the University of Texas in Austin, and in 1989 he was named a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Directors Guild of America for his decades of service on the DGA-AMPTP Creative Rights Committee. He received the AIDS Project Los Angeles Commitment to Life Award in 1991, the Medal of Honor from the American Academy of Achievement in 1994 and the GLADD Award in 1996.
The Sheinbergs jointly received the 1995 Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal KBE was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter....
Center's Humanitarian Award.
Sheinberg Place (a street on the Universal Studios lot in Los Angeles), was dedicated in his honor February 4, 2008, at a ceremony honoring the former studio chief. David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
, Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as chairman of The Walt Disney Company's film division, and for producing DreamWorks animated films such as Shrek, Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken...
and Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
were among those attending.
Litigation
Sheinberg was a central figure for the plaintiff in a 1983 lawsuit brought by Universal City Studios, Inc. against Nintendo Co., Ltd. According to Nintendo's attorney Howard LincolnHoward Lincoln
Howard Charles Lincoln is an American lawyer and businessman, known primarily for being the former chairman of Nintendo of America and the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Mariners baseball team, representing absentee majority owner Hiroshi Yamauchi...
(later Chairman of Nintendo of America), Sheinberg was attempting to extort money from Nintendo and several other game companies by asserting a copyright in which Universal did not own and had already argued as such in a previous case.
US District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet ruled in Nintendo's favor, ordered Universal to pay Nintendo's expenses in the amount of $1.8 million. This decision was upheld twice on appeal.
The conversations between Sid Sheinberg, Howard Lincoln, and other relevant parties are detailed quite extensively in David Sheff's book Game Over.