Jon Peters

John H. Peters (born June 2, 1945)[1][2] is an American film producer and former hairdresser.

This article is about the film producer. For the baseball pitcher, see Jon Peters (pitcher). For other people with similar names, see John Peters (disambiguation).

Jon Peters
Born	John H. Peters (1945-06-02) June 2, 1945 Van Nuys, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film producer
Years active	1976–present
Spouse(s)	Henrietta Zampitella ​ ( m. 1962; div. 1966) Lesley Ann Warren ​ ( m. 1967; div. 1975) Christine Forsyth-Peters ​ ( m. 1987; div. 1993) Mindy Peters ​ ( m. 2001; div. 2004) Pamela Anderson ​ ( m. 2020; sep.  2020)
Partner(s)	Barbra Streisand (1973–1982)
Children	3; including Caleigh Peters

Early life

Peters was born in Van Nuys, California,[1] the son of Jack Peters, a cook who owned a Hollywood diner, and Helen (Pagano), who was a receptionist.[3] He is of Cherokee (father) and Italian (mother) descent.[4] His mother's family owned a renowned salon on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Jack Peters died when Jon was 10 years old and Helen later remarried.[5]

Career

As a child, Peters was recruited as an extra in Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 film The Ten Commandments as one of the Jews liberated by Moses. Peters was so enthralled by the experience that he refused to wash off his makeup when returning home.

Prior to becoming a producer, Peters first joined the family hairdressing business at Rodeo Drive where he made many film industry connections. He designed a short wig that Barbra Streisand wore for the comedy For Pete's Sake (1974); as a result, Peters and Streisand began a relationship. He later produced Streisand's studio album ButterFly (1974) and also gained a producing credit on Streisand's remake of A Star Is Born (1976), although the extent of his contribution has been disputed.[6] He also worked alongside Peter Guber for the next 10 years, with whom he headed Sony Pictures from 1989 until 1991.

Superman

In the early 1990s, Peters bought the film rights to the Superman franchise from Warner Bros. In his Q&A/comedy DVD An Evening With Kevin Smith, filmmaker Kevin Smith talked about working for Peters when he was hired to write a script for a new Superman film, which was then called Superman Reborn and later Superman Lives.[7] According to Smith, Peters had expressed disdain for most of Superman's iconic characteristics by demanding that Superman was never to fly[8] nor appear in his trademark costume.[8] He also suggested Sean Penn for the role based on his performance as a death row inmate in Dead Man Walking, which he said that Penn had the eyes of a "caged animal, a fucking killer." Peters then demanded that the third act of the film include a fight between Superman and a giant spider,[9] to be unveiled in an homage to King Kong. Peters later produced the 1999 steampunk western action comedy Wild Wild West, the finale of which featured a giant mechanical spider.[9]

Smith met Peters after completing a script, to which Peters instructed him to include a robot sidekick for Brainiac, a fight scene between Brainiac and two polar bears and a marketable "space dog" pet similar to the Star Wars character Chewbacca. Smith inserted them into his script, but then the project was abandoned and the script discarded.

In Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, Peters admitted that the Superman franchise was problematic for him, stating: "The elements that I was focusing on were away from the heart, it was more leaning towards 'Star Wars' in a sense, you know. I didn't realize the human part of it, I didn't have that."

He subsequently produced Superman Returns, the 2006 Superman film directed by Bryan Singer, and executive-produced Man of Steel, the 2013 Superman film directed by Zack Snyder.[10] Peters was banned from the Man of Steel set by producer Christopher Nolan.[11]

The Sandman

Peters was a producer for a planned adaptation of the Sandman comics for Warner Bros., which met with controversy. One draft script commissioned by Peters was reviewed on the Internet at Ain't It Cool News,[12] and was met with scorn. Sandman creator Neil Gaiman called the last screenplay that Warner Bros. would send him "...not only the worst Sandman script I've ever seen, but quite easily the worst script I've ever read."[13] By 2001, the project had become stranded in development hell.

In a 2005 interview, Gaiman commented: "But Sandman movies, they just got increasingly appalling. It was really strange. They started out hiring some really good people and you got Elliott and Rossio and Roger Avary came in and did a draft. They were all solid scripts. And then Jon Peters fired all of them and got in some people who take orders, and who wanted fistfights and all this stuff. It had no sensibility and it was just...they were horrible."[14]

Proposed autobiography

Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood blog reported on a book proposal for the autobiography of Peters, written by himself and Los Angeles writer William Stadiem.[15] Peters reportedly intended to write about his life with Streisand and a string of other celebrity lovers. In 2009, he subsequently withdrew from the HarperCollins book deal after adverse publicity triggered by the leaking of the proposal and potential lawsuits.[16]

Sexual harassment lawsuit

In August 2011, a Los Angeles jury ordered Peters to pay a former assistant $3.3 million after finding she was subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment during production of Superman Returns.[17][18] Since 2009, Peters has only been credited for four projects: two for executive producing and two for producing.

Peters was credited as one of the producers of the 2018 film A Star Is Born, but did not receive certification from the Producers Guild of America to use the "p.g.a." designation after his credit. Director Bradley Cooper said that he had not known of the sexual harassment allegations against Peters, and Peters had not been present on the set of his film but received a producer credit because he controlled the rights to the 1976 film.[19]

Personal life

Peters' first four marriages ended in divorce.[20] On January 20, 2020. he married model-actress Pamela Anderson.[21][22] The marriage certificate on this fifth marriage was not filed and they separated after 12 days.[23][24]

Barbra Streisand and Peters had a high-profile personal and business relationship in the mid-1970s and 1980s.[25]

Peters has three children: one son with his second wife, actress Lesley Ann Warren,[26] and two daughters with his third wife, Christine Peters.[27][28] Streisand is godmother to his daughters.[29][30] The three Peters children, which include Caleigh Peters, are in the entertainment industry.[26][31][32][33][34][35] [29]

Filmography

Producer unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1976	A Star Is Born
1978	Eyes of Laura Mars
1979	The Main Event	Executive producer
1980	Die Laughing	Executive producer
	Caddyshack	Executive producer
1981	An American Werewolf in London	Executive producer
1982	Missing	Executive producer	Uncredited
	Six Weeks
1983	Flashdance	Executive producer
	D.C. Cab	Executive producer
1985	Vision Quest
	The Legend of Billie Jean	Executive producer
	Clue	Executive producer
	The Color Purple	Executive producer
	Head Office	Executive producer
1986	The Clan of the Cave Bear	Executive producer
	Youngblood	Executive producer
1987	The Witches of Eastwick
	Innerspace	Executive producer
	Who's That Girl	Executive producer
1988	Caddyshack II
	Gorillas in the Mist	Executive producer
	Missing Link	Executive producer
	Rain Man	Executive producer
1989	Batman
	Tango & Cash
1990	The Bonfire of the Vanities	Executive producer
1992	Batman Returns	Executive producer
1993	This Boy's Life	Executive producer
1994	With Honors	Executive producer
1995	Money Train
1996	My Fellow Americans
1997	Rosewood
1999	Wild Wild West
2001	Ali
2006	Superman Returns
2013	Man of Steel	Executive producer
2018	A Star Is Born

As an actor

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1956	The Ten Commandments	Boy on Donkey Crossing Red Sea	Uncredited

Makeup department

Year	Film	Notes
1965	Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine	Hair stylist: Susan Hart
1974	For Pete's Sake	Hair stylist: Barbra Streisand

Miscellaneous crew

Year	Film	Notes
2002	The Guru	Head chef
2006	Forgiveness	Caterer

Music department

Year	Film	Notes
1981	The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper	Executive producer: Soundtrack album

Thanks

Year	Film	Notes
1988	High Spirits	Special thanks

Television

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
1979	Getting in Shape for the Main Event	Executive producer	Documentary
1984	Television and the Presidency	Executive producer	Documentary
	The Toughest Man in the World	Executive producer	Television film
	Dreams
1985	Oceanquest	Executive producer	Documentary
1986	Brotherhood of Justice	Executive producer	Television film
1987	Bay Coven	Executive producer	Television film
1988	Nightmare at Bittercreek	Executive producer	Television film
	Superman 50th Anniversary	Executive producer	Documentary
1989	Finish Line	Executive producer	Television film

As an actor

Year	Title	Role
1961	Shirley Temple's Storybook	The Ironmonger

Thanks

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Fast Track	Special thanks	Television film

Further reading

• Griffin, Nancy; Masters, Kim (1996). Hit & Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80931-1.

References

1. "John H. Peters". Sacramento, California: California Birth Index, Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services – via Family Tree Legends. (subscription required)
2. Day, Patrick Kevin (June 9, 2010). "Hollywood Star Walk: Jon Peters". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
3. "Jon Peters Biography (1945?-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
4. Shah, Diane K. (October 22, 1989). "The Producers". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
5. "Jon Peters biography" Yahoo Movies
6. Barbra by Donald Zec and Anthony Fowles, chapter 17
7. Kevin Smith talks about Superman on YouTube
8. Rossen, Jake (2008). Superman Vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon. Chicago Review Press. p. 217. ISBN 1-55652-731-4.
9. Cronin, Brian (2009). Was Superman a Spy?: And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed. Penguin Group. p. 25. ISBN 0-452-29532-7.
10. Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" teaser trailer with Jon Peters credited on YouTube
11. ""I Am the Trump of Hollywood": The Reclusive and Outrageous Jon Peters Is Still Rich. Really Rich". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
12. Moriarty takes a look at what Jon Peters has done with Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN property!!! – Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news
13. Comics2Film: Sandman Archived December 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
14. "Interview: Neil Gaiman and Joss Whedon", Time, 2005
15. "IT SHOULD BE CALLED 'DICKHEAD': Why Jon Peters' Book Proposal Sets New Low", Deadline Hollywood
16. "PETERS PULLS PLUG ON TELL-ALL" Archived May 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Post, May 23, 2009
17. Film producer ordered to pay $3 million in sex case
18. Hollywood Docket: 'Superman' Producer Jon Peters Ordered To Pay $3.3 Mil in Sexual Harassment Trial
19. Yang, Rachel (September 14, 2018). "Bradley Cooper Addresses 'A Star Is Born' Producer Jon Peters' Harassment Charges". Variety.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
20. ""I Am the Trump of Hollywood": The Reclusive and Outrageous Jon Peters Is Still Rich. Really Rich". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
21. Siegel, Tatiana (January 21, 2020). "Pamela Anderson Marries Movie Mogul Jon Peters in Secret Malibu Ceremony". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020.
22. D'Zurilla, Christie (January 21, 2020). "Pamela Anderson gets married to fellow five-timer Jon Peters". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. The couple were married Monday in a private ceremony in Malibu. 'They love each other very much. It's a great Hollywood romance,' her publicist said in confirming the news Tuesday.
23. Haas, Susan. "Newlyweds Pamela Anderson and Jon Peters call it quits after less than two weeks". USA Today. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
24. Anderson in Morin, Alyssa (February 1, 2020). "Pamela Anderson and Jon Peters Split 12 Days After Getting Married". E! News. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020. I have been moved by the warm reception to Jon and my union. We would be very grateful for your support as we take some time apart to re-evaluate what we want from life and from one another.
25. Nast, Condé. "Jon Peters Is Scared to Tell "Love of My Life" Barbra Streisand He Voted for Trump". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
26. Coleman, Jim (October 1995). "Eight men enter, one man leaves". Black Belt. pp. 54–59. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
27. "The junior mint". Los Angeles Times. January 8, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
28. "Producer Jon Peters' Family Shopping Reality Show (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
29. "Barbra Streisand Archives | Vanity Fair 1994". barbra-archives.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
30. "Smith, Liz (September 22, 2004). "Time to say your Friared!" Newsday. (Retrieved for Barbra Streisand Wikipedia article December 13, 2012)".
31. Moss, S., "An introduction to the entertainment industry.", The entertainment industry: an introduction, CABI, pp. 1–17, ISBN 978-1-84593-551-1, retrieved February 16, 2020
32. "Christopher Peters". IMDb. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
33. "Gaga Who? Why These Hollywood Daughters Were the Quiet Stars of L.A.'s 'Star Is Born' Premiere". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
34. "Skye Peters". IMDb. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
35. [e-mail]. "Skye Peters, Director, Producer, Los Angeles". Mandy. Retrieved February 16, 2020.

External links

• Jon Peters on IMDb