Lawrence Gordon (producer)

Lawrence Gordon (born March 25, 1936) is an American producer and motion picture executive.[1] He specializes in producing action-oriented films and other genres. Some of his most popular productions include Predator (1987), Die Hard (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990), Predator 2 (1990), Point Break (1991), Boogie Nights (1997) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001).

Lawrence Gordon
Born (1936-03-25) March 25, 1936
Yazoo City, Mississippi
OccupationProducer, executive
Years active1975–present
Children3

Life and career

Gordon was raised in a Jewish family[2] in Belzoni, Mississippi. He graduated from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana. After moving to Los Angeles, he began his producing career in 1964 working for Aaron Spelling and became writer and associate producer on the TV series Burke's Law. He quickly moved up the ranks and took executive producer roles at ABC and Screen Gems.[3]

In the 1970s he was a key executive at American International Pictures and received credit as executive producer on John Milius's Dillinger (1973).[3] He left as worldwide production head in 1973 to produce his first solo production, Hard Times (1975), for Columbia Pictures.[4][3] In 1978 he had two high-grossing films with Hooper and The End, both starring Burt Reynolds.[3]

He and Walter Hill were going to make The Last Gun. Financing fell through so they made The Warriors instead.[5]

In the early 1980s, he created the TV series Matt Houston. He served as President of 20th Century Fox from 1984 to 1986.[6]

In 1989, he produced Field of Dreams, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. He subsequently formed Largo Entertainment which was backed by the Japanese company JVC.[7] This was revolutionary as it was the first time a Japanese company had seriously invested in a film enterprise. Under the Largo Entertainment banner, Gordon produced Point Break (1991), Mulholland Falls (1996), G.I. Jane (1997), and 23 other films.

In 1994, he left Largo. Gordon Company was split up into two companies Golar, in tandem with the Lawrence Gordon Productions shingle headed by Lawrence Gordon, and Daybreak Productions, headed up by Charles Gordon over the late 1990s.

Gordon also had an independent production deal with Universal Pictures under the shingle Lawrence Gordon Productions. Under Lawrence Gordon Productions, he produced Jumpin' Jack Flash, Boogie Nights, Mystery Men, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider franchise, the Hellboy franchise and Watchmen.

Gordon has been credited with giving some of the most prolific producers their start in entertainment such as Joel Silver, Scott Rudin, Amy Pascal, and James L. Brooks.

He has three children including filmmaker and musician, George Joseph Gordon, who is married to the sister of the late Wall Street Journal columnist Michael J. Ybarra.[8]

Selected filmography

All films, he was producer unless otherwise noted.

Film
Year Film Credit Notes
1973DillingerExecutive producer
1975Hard Times
1977Rolling ThunderExecutive producer
1978The End
The Driver
HooperExecutive producer
1979The Warriors
1980Xanadu
1981Paternity
1982Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again
48 Hrs.
1984Streets of Fire
1985Brewster's Millions
1986Jumpin' Jack Flash
1987Predator
1988The Couch Trip
The Wrong GuysExecutive producer
Die Hard
1989LeviathanExecutive producer
Field of Dreams
K-9
Lock Up
Family Business
1990Another 48 Hrs.
Die Hard 2
Predator 2
1991The Rocketeer
1995Waterworld
1997The Devil's Own
Event Horizon
Boogie NightsExecutive producer
1999Mystery Men
K-911Executive producerDirect-to-video
Thieves
2001Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
K-PAX
2002K-9: P.I.Executive producerDirect-to-video
2003Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life
2004Hellboy
2008Hellboy II: The Golden Army
2009Watchmen
2019Hellboy
Miscellaneous crew
Year Film Notes
1991Point BreakPresident: Largo Entertainment
1992Back in the USSR
Unlawful Entry
Dr. Giggles
Used PeoplePresident: Largo Entertainment
Presenter
1994TimecopPresident: Largo Entertainment
1995WaterworldPresenter
1997The Devil's Own
Event Horizon
1999Mystery Men
Thanks
Year Film Notes
2020Da 5 BloodsSpecial thanks

Television
Year Title Credit Notes
1975The Missing Are DeadlyExecutive producerTelevision film
Home Cookin'Executive producerTelevision film
1977Dog and CatExecutive producer
Executive producerTelevision film
1978Lacy and the Mississippi QueenExecutive producerTelevision film
1980Stunts UnlimitedExecutive producerTelevision film
1982The RenegadesExecutive producerTelevision film
1983Executive producer
Just Our LuckExecutive producer
Lone StarExecutive producerTelevision film
1984The StreetsExecutive producerTelevision film
1982−84Matt HoustonExecutive producer
1985Our Family HonorExecutive producer
1997TimecopExecutive producer
2006Hellboy: Sword of StormsExecutive producerTelevision film
2007Hellboy: Blood and IronExecutive producerTelevision film
2019WatchmenConsulting producer
TBAThe Warriors
As writer
Year Title Notes
1982The RenegadesTelevision film
1983
1982−84Matt Houston
gollark: Well, for massively parallel tasks it doesn't matter.
gollark: The cost scales nonlinearly, I think.
gollark: But they have !!LIMITED LOGIC UNITS!!.
gollark: It's probably cheaper than buying really big FPGAs.
gollark: yeß.

References
  1. The New York Times
  2. Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life: "Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities – Belzoni, Mississippi" retrieved October 25, 2017
  3. Klain, Stephen (September 6, 1978). "Gordon, Ex AIP Prod. Head, Gets Payoff From Indie Flexibility". Variety. p. 26.
  4. Taylor, Clarke (Oct 8, 1978). "Larry Gordon Rolls His Dice". Los Angeles Times. p. n35.
  5. Vagg, Stephen (14 July 2020). ""John Wick with spurs" – A look at Walter Hill's Unmade The Last Gun". Diabolique.
  6. "New York Times Biography". New York Times. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  7. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/13/business/company-news-chief-quits-film-venture-financed-by-japanese.html
  8. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/07/business/media/michael-j-ybarra-author-and-extreme-sports-reporter-is-dead-at-45.html
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