GRAZER, BRIAN

GRAZER, BRIAN (1951– ), U.S. producer-writer. Born in Los Angeles to a Jewish mother and Catholic father, Grazer graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1974. He also attended the University of Southern California Law School for one year. He began his career in the entertainment industry as a legal intern with Warner Bros. and then joined Brut/Faberge Productions as a script reader. After joining the Edgar J. Scherick-Daniel Blatt Company, Grazer produced his first made-for-TV movies, Zuma Beach and Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery in 1978. He signed a development deal with Paramount Pictures in 1980 and in 1982 he produced his first feature film, Night Shift, which also marked his first collaboration with director Ron Howard. In 1984, Grazer received an original screenplay Oscar nomination for his first turn as a writer on Splash, also directed by Howard. Grazer and Howard formed Imagine Entertainment in 1986, which developed such films as Parenthood, Kindergarten Cop, The Doors, Backdraft, and Far and Away. Grazer and Howard continued to work together on such feature films as Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind (2001), which won the Academy Award for best picture. Grazer's other television work includes From the Earth to the Moon, Sports Night, Felicity, 24, and Arrested Development. (Adam Wills (2nd ed.)