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Gary Barber

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Gary Barber
Born1957 (age 66–67)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Citizenship
  • South Africa
  • United States
EducationB.S. University of the Witwatersrand
OccupationMedia executive
Known forCEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (2010–2018)
Co-founder of Spyglass Media Group
Children3

Gary Barber (born 1957) is a South African and American film producer. Barber was the chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[1] He is also co-founder of Spyglass Media Group.

Biography

Barber was born to a Jewish family[2] in Johannesburg, South Africa.[3][4] He was educated at King David School, Linksfield, in Johannesburg. He then received an accounting degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, also in Johannesburg.[1][5] He later worked as a Chartered Accountant and Certified Public Accountant in South Africa and the United States, both with Price Waterhouse.[1]

In 1982, he won a trip to the Arlington Million horse race in Illinois.[5] In the same year, he moved to the United States, where his brother Cecil had been living since 1979. In the mid-1980s, Barber became a U.S. citizen.[3] In 1998, he and Roger Birnbaum founded Spyglass Entertainment in Los Angeles.[1] His highest-grossing film as producer was The Tourist (2010), which grossed close to US$280 million at the worldwide box office.[6]

In December 2010, Barber became Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).[1] Under his leadership, MGM together with Eon Productions and Sony Pictures financed the successful James Bond film Skyfall, which grossed US$1,1 billion. MGM then also financed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), 21 Jump Street (2012) and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013). MGM then moved forward with remakes of RoboCop and Poltergeist.[7][8] In March 2018, Barber was ousted from MGM, coming five months after the renewal of his contract with the studio to 2022; he received a $260M settlement.[9][10]

Barber has three daughters and lives in Los Angeles.[5]

Horse racing

Barber is also a Thoroughbred racehorse owner. The Deputy, owned in partnership with Team Valor, won the 2000 running of the Grade II Santa Catalina Stakes and the Grade I Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. In 2006, Becrux, also owned in partnership with Team Valor, won the Grade I Woodbine Mile at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada.[11] In 2014, his filly Lexie Lou won the Queen's Plate and was named the Canadian Horse of the Year.[12] His horse War of Will won the 2019 Preakness Stakes.[13]

Filmography

Executive Producer

Producer

Special thanks

References

  1. ^ a b c d e mgm.com Gary Barber: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer bei mgm.comm; retrieved, 14 January 2014.
  2. ^ Portland Press Herald: "A ‘Ben-Hur’ for our time" by Steven Zeitchik August 21, 2016 | Downey and Burnett are staunch Catholics; Ridley is also a devout Christian, Huston and Bekmambetov, who was raised in a communist country, are more secular; Daniel and MGM principal Gary Barber are Jewish
  3. ^ a b Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Owner Profiles — 2013 Archived 2014-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, dmtc.com, 14 January 2014.
  4. ^ Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Kevin Tsujihara, kentuckyderby.com, 14 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Gary Barber Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine bei arlingtonpark.com; retrieved, 14 January 2014.
  6. ^ "The Tourist (2010)". Box Office Mojo. March 10, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  7. ^ "MGM Looks Ahead with 'Mr. Mom', 'Idolmaker'", Variety, February 17, 2011
  8. ^ "MGM Finally Comes Back from the Dead with Five Projects including Remakes of "RoboCop" and "Poltergeist"". Collider.com. February 18, 2011. Archived from the original on January 5, 2012.
  9. ^ MGM Shakeup: Gary Barber Out as CEO, variety.com, Mar 19, 2018.
  10. ^ Big $260M Payout For MGM’s Former Chairman/CEO Gary Barber In Official Resolution With Company, deadline.com, June 14, 2018.
  11. ^ "Owner Statistics: Gary Barber". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  12. ^ Shinar, Jack. "Lexie Lou Adapts to Turf in Wonder Where Win". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  13. ^ Crosby, Claire (May 18, 2019). "War of Will Punches Back With Preakness Win". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
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