Ajay Kumar at 06:13, 20 August 2023

2023-08-20T06:13:10Z

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{{Short description|American television production company}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox company|
| name = Brillstein Entertainment Partners
| type =
| logo =
| foundation = {{start date and age|1986}}
| predecessor = [[Bernie Brillstein|The Brillstein Company]] (1969–1992)
| location = [[Beverly Hills, California]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| key_people = {{Plainlist|
* Jon Liebman
* Marc Gurvitz
* Cynthia Pett
}}
| members = 200 clients
| founders = [[Bernie Brillstein]]<br>[[Brad Grey]]
| divisions =
| parent =
|industry = [[:Category:Talent and literary agencies|Talent and Literary Agencies]] |
| homepage = {{url|bepmedia.com/}}
}}
'''Brillstein Entertainment Partners''' (formerly known as '''Brillstein/Grey Entertainment''' and '''Brillstein/Grey Communications''') is a [[talent management]] firm and [[Television show|television production]] company formed by the 1986 addition of [[Brad Grey]] to '''The Brillstein Company''', founded by [[Bernie Brillstein]] in 1969.

== The Brillstein Company ==
[[Bernie Brillstein]] formed The Brillstein Company in 1969, where he continued to manage stars and develop television programming, a career he began in the fabled [[William Morris Agency#The William Morris mailroom|mailroom]] of the [[William Morris Agency]]. He produced such popular television hits as ''[[Hee Haw]]'', ''[[The Muppet Show]]'',<ref name=TheAgency>{{cite book |first=Frank |last=Rose |title=The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business |year=1995 |location=New York |publisher=Harper |pages=261, 415}}</ref> and ''[[Saturday Night Live]].''<ref name="Hoovers">{{cite web| url=http://www.hoovers.com/brillstein-grey/--ID__104970--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml |title=Brillstein-Grey Entertainment |publisher=[[Hoover's]] |access-date=2007-11-01}}</ref>

Brillstein managed Saturday Night Live cast members [[Gilda Radner]], [[John Belushi]], and [[Lorne Michaels]], as well as [[Jim Henson]] (of [[The Muppets]] fame) and [[Paul Fusco]] (voice and operator of ''[[ALF (TV series)|ALF]]''). Productions for television included ''[[ALF: The Animated Series]]'' and ''[[Normal Life]].''

In 1986, [[Lorimar-Telepictures]] bought out The Brillstein Company, whereas they would have to transform it into an independently operated and management unit of the studio.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bierbaum|first=Tom|date=1986-05-14|title=Brillstein Becoming A Lorimar Division|page=4|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

The company became Brillstein Entertainment Partners when Brad Grey left the company to become the head of [[Paramount Pictures]]. It is now{{when|date=November 2021}} headed by Jonathan Liebman, Marc Gurvitz, and Cynthia Pett.

=== Film productions ===
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* ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]''
* ''[[Dragnet (1987 film)|Dragnet]]''
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* ''[[Ghostbusters]]''
* ''[[Ghostbusters II]]''
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{{Col-end}}

== Brillstein-Grey Entertainment ==
In 1984, Brillstein met [[Brad Grey]] at a television convention in [[San Francisco]]. In 1986,<ref name="BB_bio">{{cite web |url=http://www.wma.com/bernie_brillstein/bio/BERNIE_BRILLSTEIN.pdf |title=Bernie Brillstein Biography|publisher=Wma.com |access-date=2007-11-01}}</ref> the two formed a production company, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, which packaged programming and [[talent management|managed talent]].

In 1994, Brillstein-Grey had reached a deal with Capital Cities/ABC to start '''Brillstein-Grey Communications'''.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Lowry|first1=Brian|date=1994-02-03|title=ABC inks prod'n duo|url=https://variety.com/1994/tv/news/abc-inks-prod-n-duo-117993/|access-date=2021-08-17|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Film productions ===
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* ''[[Bulletproof (1996 film)|Bulletproof]]''
* ''[[The Cable Guy]]''
* ''[[Happy Gilmore]]'' ([[Adam Sandler]])
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* ''[[The Replacement Killers]]''
* ''[[Scary Movie 2]]''
* ''[[Screwed (2000 film)|Screwed]]''
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* ''[[The Wedding Singer]]''
* ''[[What Planet Are You From?]]''
* ''[[The Black Prince]]''
{{Col-end}}

=== Television productions ===
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* For [[American Broadcasting Company|American Broadcasting Company (ABC)]]
** ''[[Politically Incorrect]]'' with [[Bill Maher]]
** ''[[The Dana Carvey Show]]''
* For [[Home Box Office|Home Box Office (HBO)]]
** ''[[The Larry Sanders Show]]'' ([[Garry Shandling]], [[Rip Torn]], [[Jeffrey Tambor]])
** ''[[The Sopranos]]'' ([[James Gandolfini]], [[Edie Falco]], [[Lorraine Bracco]])
** ''[[Mr. Show with Bob and David]]''
** ''[[Def Comedy Jam]]'' (1991-1997)
* For NBC and ABC
** ''[[The Naked Truth (TV series)|The Naked Truth]]''
* ''[[The Jeff Foxworthy Show]]'' ([[Jeff Foxworthy]]){{Col-break|width=30%}}* For [[National Broadcasting Company|National Broadcasting Company (NBC)]]
** ''[[NewsRadio]]'' ([[Phil Hartman]], [[Jon Lovitz]])
** ''[[Just Shoot Me!]]'' ([[David Spade]])
** ''The Awesome Show'' ([[Chris Hardwick]])
** ''[[Black Tie Affair (TV series)|Black Tie Affair]]''
* For [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]
** ''[[It's Garry Shandling's Show]]'' ([[Garry Shandling]])

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
* For [[The WB|WB Television Network (WB)]]
** ''[[The Steve Harvey Show]]'' ([[Steve Harvey]])
* ''[[Alright Already (TV series)|Alright Already]]''
* For [[CBS|Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)]]
** ''[[Good Sports]]'' ([[Ryan O'Neal]], [[Farrah Fawcett]])
* ''[[Normal Life]]''
* For [[Disney+]]
** ''[[The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers]]'' (2021)
{{Col-end}}
* For [[Apple TV+]]
** ''[[Central Park (TV series)|Central Park]]''

== Miscellaneous ==
The new management company [[Eric Murphy]] joins in [[HBO]]'s ''[[Entourage (American TV series)|Entourage]]'' is based on Brillstein Entertainment, as well as the character Murray Berenson based on the company's founder [[Bernie Brillstein]].

Brillstein sold his shares in the company to [[Universal Pictures]] in 1996, giving Grey, his one time protégé, full rein over operations. In 1999, Universal sold Brillstein's shares to Grey, and the company's television unit was subsequently rechristened '''Brad Grey Television''' as a result. Also, Brad Grey Television struck a deal with Columbia TriStar Television to produce and distribute TV shows.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Hontz|first1=Jenny|date=1999-05-11|title=BGTV ups Reilly and Traugott|url=https://variety.com/1999/biz/news/bgtv-ups-reilly-and-traugott-1117500253/|access-date=2021-08-28|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> Grey sold his interest in the company in 2005<ref name="Hoovers"/> due to his succeeding [[Sherry Lansing]] as [[Chief executive officer]] of [[Paramount Pictures]], which created a [[conflict of interest]]. Briefly, it became Basic Entertainment,<ref>{{Cite web|author=|date=1999-11-16|title=Inside Moves|url=https://variety.com/1999/tv/news/inside-moves-134-1117758080/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=Variety|language=en}}</ref> before reverting to its original name in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schneider|first=Michael|date=2000-08-16|title=Grey finds Basic plain, changes it|url=https://variety.com/2000/biz/news/grey-finds-basic-plain-changes-it-1117785168/|access-date=2020-09-22|website=Variety|language=en}}</ref>

Several shows by the company now have ancillary rights owned by [[NBCUniversal Television and Streaming]]. Some of these shows are distributed by [[Sony Pictures Television]] in North America.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.bepmedia.com/ Official website]
* [https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117967299.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 Variety.com]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Film production companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Television production companies of the United States]]

Brillstein Entertainment Partners - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 06:13, 20 August 2023