Gary Barber

Gary Barber (born 1957) is a South African-born American film producer. Barber was the chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[1] He is also co-founder of Spyglass Entertainment.

Gary Barber
Born1957 (age 65–66)
NationalitySouth African
EducationB.S. University of the Witwatersrand
OccupationMedia executive
Known forCEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (2010–2018)
Co-founder of Spyglass Entertainment
Children3

Biography

Barber was born to a Jewish family[2] in Johannesburg, South Africa.[3][4] He was educated at King David School, Linksfield, in Johannesburg. He then received an accounting degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, also in Johannesburg.[1][5] He later worked as a Chartered Accountant and Certified Public Accountant in South Africa and the United States, both with Price Waterhouse.[1]

In 1982, he won a trip to the Arlington Million horse race in Illinois.[5] In the same year, he moved to the United States, where his brother Cecil had been living since 1979. In the mid-1980s, Barber became a U.S. citizen.[3] In 1998, he and Roger Birnbaum founded Spyglass Entertainment in Los Angeles.[1] His highest-grossing film as producer was The Tourist (2010), which grossed close to US$280 million at the worldwide box office.[6]

In December 2010, Barber became Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).[1] Under his leadership, MGM together with Eon Productions and Sony Pictures financed the successful James Bond film Skyfall, which grossed US$1,1 billion. MGM then also financed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), 21 Jump Street (2012) and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013). MGM then moved forward with remakes of RoboCop and Poltergeist.[7][8] In March 2018, Barber was ousted from MGM, coming five months after the renewal of his contract with the studio to 2022; he received a $260M settlement.[9][10]

Barber has three daughters and lives in Los Angeles.[5]

Horse racing

Barber is also a Thoroughbred racehorse owner. The Deputy, owned in partnership with Team Valor, won the 2000 running of the Grade II Santa Catalina Stakes and the Grade I Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. In 2006, Becrux, also owned in partnership with Team Valor, won the Grade I Woodbine Mile at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada.[11] In 2014, his filly Lexie Lou won the Queen's Plate and was named the Canadian Horse of the Year.[12] His horse War of Will won the 2019 Preakness Stakes.[13]

Filmography

Executive Producer

Producer

Special thanks

References
  1. mgm.com Gary Barber: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer bei mgm.comm; retrieved, 14 January 2014.
  2. Portland Press Herald: "A ‘Ben-Hur’ for our time" by Steven Zeitchik August 21, 2016 | Downey and Burnett are staunch Catholics; Ridley is also a devout Christian, Huston and Bekmambetov, who was raised in a communist country, are more secular; Daniel and MGM principal Gary Barber are Jewish
  3. Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Owner Profiles — 2013 Archived 2014-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, dmtc.com, 14 January 2014.
  4. Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Kevin Tsujihara, kentuckyderby.com, 14 January 2014.
  5. Gary Barber Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine bei arlingtonpark.com; retrieved, 14 January 2014.
  6. "The Tourist (2010)". Box Office Mojo. March 10, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  7. "MGM Looks Ahead with 'Mr. Mom', 'Idolmaker'", Variety, February 17, 2011
  8. "MGM Finally Comes Back from the Dead with Five Projects including Remakes of "RoboCop" and "Poltergeist"". Collider.com. February 18, 2011. Archived from the original on January 5, 2012.
  9. MGM Shakeup: Gary Barber Out as CEO, variety.com, Mar 19, 2018.
  10. Big $260M Payout For MGM’s Former Chairman/CEO Gary Barber In Official Resolution With Company, deadline.com, June 14, 2018.
  11. "Owner Statistics: Gary Barber". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  12. Shinar, Jack. "Lexie Lou Adapts to Turf in Wonder Where Win". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  13. Crosby, Claire (May 18, 2019). "War of Will Punches Back With Preakness Win". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
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