Ben Silverman

Ben Silverman

Silverman at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Born Benjamin Noah Silverman
(1970-08-15) August 15, 1970
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, US
Residence Los Angeles, California
Alma mater Tufts University
Occupation Founder & CEO, Electus
Spouse(s) Jennifer Cuoco (2010–present)

Benjamin Noah "Ben" Silverman is the Co-CEO and Chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate.

From 2007-2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.[1] He is also an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning executive producer of such shows as The Office, "Jane The Virgin", Ugly Betty, "Marco Polo", The Tudors, and The Biggest Loser. Silverman is currently in production on numerous new series' including CW's praised "No Tomorrow" and Apple's first reality television show "Planet of the Apps".[2] On July 10, 2014, The Banff World Media Festival presented Silverman with the Award of Excellence in Digital Innovation. As of the fourth quarter 2016, Silverman's most recently released feature film Hands of Stone starring Edgar Ramirez, Robert De Niro and Usher_(singer), and was released theatrically in North America on August 26, 2016 through The Weinstein Company.

Life and career

Silverman was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He was raised in a Reform Jewish family.in Manhattan.[3][4] Silverman is a 1992 magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University, where he majored in history and belonged to the Epsilon Theta chapter of the Theta Chi Fraternity. His mother, Mary (Delson) Silverman, was an actress and programming executive whose career included employment at the Disney Channel, BBC, USA Network, Lifetime Television, and Court TV.[5][6] His father, Stanley Silverman, is an award-winning music composer/arranger.[7]

Formerly, Silverman was in charge of the international packaging division at the William Morris Agency, where he was the company's youngest division head, packaging more than 25 television series, including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The Weakest Link, Big Brother, and Queer as Folk.[8] Prior to joining William Morris, he was vice-president for New World/Marvel Entertainment, and also held posts at CBS, and Warner Bros.

In 2007, Silverman received the P.T. Barnum Award from Tufts University for his exceptional work in the field of media and entertainment. Silverman is involved with multiple philanthropic endeavors, including Seeds of Peace, a group helping to foster peace among young people from adversarial cultures. In addition, Silverman sits on the Cedars-Sinai Hospital board of governors. Silverman also serves on the board of directors of Best Buddies, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing guidance and integrated employment.[9]

In 2008, Silverman received an Honorary Rose for lifetime achievement the Rose d'Or ceremony.[10][11]

Silverman married Jennifer Cuoco, a shiksa and real estate agent, in December 2010.[12]

Reveille

Silverman is the founder of Reveille, a television, film, and theater production and distribution company now owned by Shine Limited under News Corporation. He founded Reveille in 2002 in order to exploit international formats by selling them in the United States. Through his work at Reveille, he is the executive producer of such shows as NBC's The Office, The Restaurant, The Biggest Loser, and ABC's Ugly Betty, as well as several cable shows, including Nashville Star, on USA Network, 30 Days on FX, MTV's Parental Control and Date My Mom, Blow Out on Bravo, and House of Boateng on the Sundance Channel.[13]

Journalist Michael Wolff wrote a 2001 profile of Silverman in New York Magazine a year before he founded Reveille. "In some sense, he's like those boy geniuses of the eighties and nineties who invented new financial instruments -- junk bonds and derivatives and whatnot. The discovery and marketing of a new format is really like that. It's creating something that is negotiable and transferable and that people believe in deeply -- it solves all their problems. Now, obviously, there is a certain obsolescence to these formats (with junk bonds you had inevitable bankruptcies). And Ben, of course, is already searching the world for new formats. Variety shows might be a possibility," Wolff wrote.[14]

NBC

NBC Entertainment co-chairman Silverman in November 2008

Silverman was named co-chairman of NBC Entertainment in 2007 (along with Marc Graboff), succeeding Kevin Reilly. That same year, Silverman was the first producer since Norman Lear, 34 years earlier, to have two shows nominated for an Emmy in the best comedy category (The Office and Ugly Betty).[15] He is credited for his role in saving the critically acclaimed but low-rated NBC drama Friday Night Lights by striking an innovative deal with DirecTV.[16] The satellite television provider agreed to take on a substantial amount of the show's production budget in exchange for exclusive first-window airing rights on its 101 channel. NBC would then repurpose the episodes to be aired on the network later in the season.[17]

Electus

On July 27, 2009, Silverman announced he was leaving NBC to form a new company, Electus, with Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp that will produce and distribute programs across media platforms, for television, the Web and mobile devices.[18] As part of its inception, IAC partnered Electus with the interactive comedy portal CollegeHumor. In January 2010, Silverman and Electus partnered with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett to launch their sponsor-driven advertising and digital production company DumbDumb.[19] Electus also has partnerships with 5x5 and DiGa. On May 8, 2014, The CW announced a first season order for Silverman’s new television show Jane The Virgin.[20]

Acting roles

Silverman had a cameo appearance in the first episode of the fifth season of the television show Entourage. Silverman read a single line in which he expressed annoyance at Johnny Drama wasting his time.

Silverman had a cameo appearance in the 11th episode of the ninth season of the television show The Office. Silverman plays the boom mic operator

Credits

List of Silverman productions
Year Production Role
2003-2004 The Restaurant Executive producer
2003-2008 Nashville Star Executive producer
2005–2008 30 Days Executive producer
2005–2011 The Office Executive producer
2005–2011 The Biggest Loser Co-creator / Executive producer
2006–2011 Ugly Betty Executive producer
2007–2010 The Tudors Co-creator / Executive producer
2008–2009 Kath & Kim Executive producer
2010 MacGruber Co-executive producer
2011–present Mob Wives Executive producer
2011–present King of the Nerds Executive producer
2011–present Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls Executive producer
2014 Killer Women Executive producer
2014–present Jane the Virgin Executive producer
2015 Breaking Greenville Executive producer
2016 Hands of Stone Executive producer
2016 No Tomorrow Executive producer
2017 Planet of the Apps Executive producer

References

  1. ↑ Josef Adalian. "Silverman named NBC co-chair," Variety, May 29, 2007.
  2. ↑ http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/jessica-alba-apple-series-planet-of-the-apps-1201847740/
  3. ↑ Malone, Michael. Silverman Searches Globe for Next Trend, Broadcasting & Cable, November 14, 2005.
  4. ↑ Berrin, Danielle (2009-07-27). "NBC chair Ben Silverman resigns". JewishJournal. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  5. ↑ Brady, Shirley (2007-05-30). "How Ben Silverman Got Started". Cable360. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  6. ↑ Rubin, Stephen E. (1972-12-17). "The Magic Theater of Dr. . . Who?; Theatre of Dr . . . Who?". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ "Stanley Silverman". Stanley Silverman. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  8. ↑ NATPE Speaker Bio, 2006
  9. ↑ "Ben Silverman: The Washington Scene," Archived April 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. The Hill.
  10. ↑ "Rose d'Or Winners 2008" (PDF). Rose d'Or AG. 2008-05-06. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  11. ↑ "Blighty plucks Roses".
  12. ↑ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_11/b4219060707213.htm
  13. ↑ "The Whole World Is Watching, and Ben Silverman Is Watching Back" Archived March 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., New York Times, September 17, 2006.
  14. ↑ "The Missing Link", New York Magazine, June 4, 2001.
  15. ↑ "Silverman the peacock at NBC-Uni's pre-Emmy party"
  16. ↑ "Ben Silverman, 'Friday Night Lights' Savior: Saved Show By 'Yelling At A Lot Of People'"
  17. ↑ "'Friday Night Lights' Gets 26-Episode Order From DirecTV, NBC" Archived October 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ Thomasch, Paul (2009-07-27). "NBC executive Silverman exits for IAC venture". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  19. ↑ "Bateman, Arnett Form DumbDumb" Variety
  20. ↑ "CW Picks Up ‘The Flash’, ‘iZombie’, ‘Jane the Virgin’ & ‘The Messengers’ To Series", Deadline.com, May 8, 2014.

External links

Preceded by
Kevin Reilly		 Chairman of NBC Entertainment
2007-2009 		Succeeded by
Jeff Gaspin
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