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Great Lives from History: The Twenty-First Century (2000-2017)

Michael Eisner

by Michael Eisner

Born: March 7, 1942

Area(s) of significance: Entertainment

Early Life

Michael Eisner (IZ-nur) was born in Mount Kisco, New York, on March 7, 1942, to Lester Eisner, Jr., an atorney, and Margaret Dammann. Eisner was raised on Manhattan’s Park Avenue and attended the Allen Stevenson School through ninth grade and finished at the Lawrenceville School. Enrolling in Denison University as a premed student, Eisner found his interests piqued by literature and theater, and he graduated in 1964 with a bachelor of arts degree in English.

As a student, Eisner worked summers as a page at the National Broadcasting Company(NBC). After graduation he returned to NBC, but he soon moved to the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), where he sloted commercials for children’s programs. Barry Diller, then at the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), noticed Eisner and hired him to assist ABC’s national programming director. In 1967, Eisner produced his first television special (Feelin’Groovy at Marine World). In1971,EisnerwaspromotedtoABC’svicepresidentof daytime programming, in charge of soap operas such as All My Children and One Life to Live. At about that time, Eisner met and married Jane Breckenridge, with whom he had three sons: Breck, Eric, and Anders.

In 1976, Eisner became senior vice president for prime time production and development at ABC, where he worked on Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Family Ties, Barney Miller, Star sky and Hutch, and Welcome Back, Kotter. When Diller became chairman of the board of Paramount Pictures, he brought Eisner with him to be president and chief executive officer of the film division. Eisner was involved in the production of such hits as Saturday Night Fever (1977), Grease (1978), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Ordinary People (1980), Airplane! (1980),The Elephant Man (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Terms of Endearment (1983), Trading Places (1983), Flash dance (1983), Footloose (1984), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), and three Star Trek films: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982),and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984).

Life’s Work

In 1984, Eisner became chairman and chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company, where he would make a lasting mark on the entertainment world. Disney, whose long-standing mainstays were its animated films, theme parks, and film-based merchandise, had floundered since the death of its founder, Walt Disney. Eisner soon changed that. As Eisner said, “The striving for perfection will put you out of business; the striving for magic makes your business.”

So began a ride helmed by Eisner that brought Disney to the top of the entertainment field. Films such as Down and out in Beverly Hills (1986) and Three Men and a Baby (1987) grossed higher domestic revenues for Disney than ever before. New animated features—The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994)—were all major successes. Eisner acquired the independent film company Miramax, and its Good Will Hunting (1997) and Shakespeare in Love (1998), major critical and commercial hits, rewarded his decision. Eisner also established Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, which created Broadway shows such as Beauty and the Beast (1994), The Lion King (1997), and Aida (2000). Eisner also developed ancillary economic engines, such as Disney Cruise Lines. During his tenure, Disney increased 3,200 percent in value.

After Disney president Frank Wells was killed in a tragic aircraft accident, Eisner did not promote studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg to head the company. Katzenberg departed, with a nasty lawsuit and a massive company payout. The situation deteriorated when Eisner hired as Katzenberg’s replacement Michael Ovitz, who proved to be unfit for the job. When Eisner discovered the error of that decision, another lawsuit and another massive payout were necessary to remove Ovitz. Eisner’s shiny public image began to tarnish.

In 1995, Eisner acquired Capital Cities, owners of ABC television, making Disney one of the most significant players in the communications and entertainment industry. He also partnered with Pixar to develop technologically advanced animated films such as Toy Story (1995), Monsters, Inc. (2001), and Finding Nemo (2003), all blockbusters.

When Steve Jobs, founder of Pixar, decided not to renew his contract with Disney, stockholders, already infuriated by the Katzenberg-Ovitz debacles and declining ABC revenues, demanded a change in leadership. In 2005, Eisner stepped down as chief executive officer of the company.

Eisner, once one of the most highly paid chief executive officers in the United States, left his job with a healthy bank account. He founded the Tornante Company to develop business entities in media and entertainment, such as Team Baby Entertainment and the Veoh Network. Eisner also acquired the Topps Company, a maker of bubblegum and candy and a leader in the trading card business, which is touted as a tie-in to cable sports ventures. He also created his own cable television program, Conversations with Michael Eisner. In March, 2007, the Tornante Company founded Vuguru, a production studio that produces and distributes streaming videos for social networks on computers, cell phones, and other devices. Eisner was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2012.

Significance

Eisner recognized that creative top executives were necessary to foster his company’s growth. By surrounding himself with experienced people and interconnecting all of Disney’s projects, he increased the company’s bottom line. He built one of the most powerful and profitable entertainment entities in the world. “At Disney, it is our conviction that synergy can be the single most important contributor to profit and growth in a creatively driven company,” he said. “It is simply this: when you embrace a new idea, a new business, a new product, a new film or television show, whatever—you have to make sure that everyone throughout the company knows about it early enough so that every segment of the business can promote or exploit its potential in every other possible market, product, context.”

By turning the staid Disney brand into a tightly woven net of affiliated products with which to saturate different segments of the entertainment industry, Eisner was instrumental in creating a mega-company of international proportions. He satisfied the thirst for family-oriented diversions, with films, music, theatricals, vacation packages, amusement parks, cruises, radio and television programs, and a host of other products.

Further Reading

1 

Baghai, Mehrdad, Stephen Coley, and David White. The Alchemy of Growth: Practical Insights for Building the Enduring Enterprise. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Books, 2000. Consultants evaluate the facets of business that propel companies forward using case studies of companies for which they have worked. Includes several references to Eisner.

2 

Baker, Cory M. “Michael Eisner: Striving for Magic.” Lifestyles 31, no. 85 (2003): 6-8. An interview with little in the way of analysis and critique but with useful biographical information.

3 

Barnes, Brooks. “The Very Model of a Modern Media Mogul.” The New York Times, March 3, 2008. Brooks examines the world of Eisner, post-Disney, as he continues to be active in the modern media world.

4 

Bryman, Alan. Disney and His Worlds. London: Rout-ledge, 1995. An overview of what happened to his company after Walt Disney died. The book examines its movement from the amusement park world into other aspects of the entertainment industry.

5 

Compaine, Benjamin M., and Douglas Gomery. Who Owns the Media? Competition and Concentration in the Mass Media Industry. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000. An examination of the major players in the media industry, the march of technology, and technology’s impact on the industry.

6 

Krämer, Peter. “Entering the Magic Kingdom: The Walt Disney Company, The Lion King, and the Limitations of Criticism.” Film Studies 2 (2000): 44. An examination of the Disney universe, its claim to the mantle of “family entertainment,” and the elements of the Disney brand. Critiques The Lion King.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Eisner, Michael. "Michael Eisner." Great Lives from History: The Twenty-First Century (2000-2017),Salem Press, 2017. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=GL21A_0106.
APA 7th
Eisner, M. (2017). Michael Eisner. Great Lives from History: The Twenty-First Century (2000-2017). Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Eisner, Michael. "Michael Eisner." Great Lives from History: The Twenty-First Century (2000-2017). Hackensack: Salem Press, 2017. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.