Frank Mancuso, Sr.
Frank G. Mancuso has had a distinguished career in the entertainment and communication industry spanning four decades, culminating with his leadership of Paramount Pictures Corporation and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. During his tenure as Chairman/CEO of MGM, he successfully revived the renowned studio by rebuilding both its film and television operations, acquiring both Orion Pictures Corporation and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and effectively led it through the process of once again becoming a public company. Under his leadership, MGM achieved critical acclaim and commercial success with such films as Stargate, Species, Get Shorty, Leaving Las Vegas, The Birdcage, Ronin and The Thomas Crown Affair. He successfully shepherded the return of the widely heralded James Bond franchise with the release of Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough.
Mr. Mancuso came to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. from Paramount Pictures Corporation, where his career covered nearly thirty-two years and where he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1984 to 1991. During his tenure he oversaw such memorable film triumphs as Top Gun, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Crocodile Dundee, Fatal Attraction, The Untouchables, The Hunt for Red October, Ghost, Godfather III, The Addams Family and such historic series films as Indiana Jones, Beverly Hills Cop and Star Trek. His many television successes include Cheers, Family Ties, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Entertainment Tonight and The Arsenio Hall Show.
During his tenure at Paramount, Mr. Mancuso partnered with MCA/Universal to build the USA cable network into one of the most-watched cable networks in the country. He also established Paramount Broadcast Group with the acquisition of the six TVX television stations. He established an international theatrical exhibition circuit, United Cinemas International, in conjunction with MCA, with theaters in England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and Spain.
Mr. Mancuso has given freely of his time and talents to numerous charitable and industry-related organizations. These have included serving as a board member and officer of such organizations as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, Variety Clubs International, the Will Rogers Memorial Fund (affiliated with the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center), the Sundance Film Institute, the Museum of Television and Radio, the Motion Picture Pioneers and the American Film Institute, for which he chaired its Second Decade Council. In January 2003 he assumed the Chairmanship of the Corporate Board of the Motion Picture & Television Fund an industry charity established in 1921 that provides financial, health, social services and housing for those in the entertainment industry in need. He was also elected Chairman of the Board of the prestigious Geffen Playhouse in March of 2007.
Mr. Mancuso was honored by the American Jewish Committee as the Man of the Year in 1985 and was named “Motion Picture Pioneer of the Year” in 1987 by the entertainment industry. Additionally, the UJA-Federation’s Entertainment Industries Division named him the entertainment industry’s Man of the Year in 1991. For his many contributions to the international industry, he was honored by the Italian government in 1991 and he was bestowed the Medal of Merit from the City of Paris in 1997. In 1998, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and later that year, the Women in Film Mentor Award for his contribution to the careers of women in the entertainment industry. In 2001, he was the recipient of the Los Angeles Police Historical Society’s Jack Webb Award for Special Achievement. In 2011 he was bestowed the prestigious National Italian American Foundation Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his career accomplishments.
Frank and his wife, Fay, have two children: Maria, a mother and fashion designer, and Frank, Jr., a father and an independent motion picture and television producer.