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Here's a look at the life of David Geffen, producer, studio executive and philanthropist.
Birthdate: February 21, 1943
Place of birth: Brooklyn, New York
Birth name: David Lawrence Geffen
Father: Abraham Geffen, pattern maker
Mother: Batya (Volovskaya) Geffen, merchant
Education: He attended the University of Texas, Austin; Brooklyn College, City University of New York; and Santa Monica City College.
He dropped out of his studies at Santa Monica City College, Brooklyn College and the University of Texas.
He lied on his job application at the William Morris Agency, saying he graduated from UCLA.
During Geffen's tenure, Geffen Records was home to popular artists such as Cher, Donna Summer, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Elton John and Guns 'N' Roses.
During the 1990s, Geffen was a top fundraiser for the Democratic Party. He was rewarded with a night at the White House during Bill Clinton's presidency.
Before the 2008 presidential election, Geffen supported Senator Barack Obama, rather than Hillary Clinton. Geffen was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “Everyone in politics lies, but they (Bill and Hillary Clinton) do it so easily it's worrying.”
1964-1968 – He works as a mailroom clerk and agent at the William Morris Agency.
1968 – Talent agent for Ashley Famous Agency.
1969 – Executive Vice President and Talent Agent at Creative Management Associates.
1970 – Co-founded Asylum Records with Elliot Roberts.
1971 – Sells Asylum Records to Warner Communications for $7 million.
1975 – He becomes vice president of Warner Brothers Pictures.
1976 – He is misdiagnosed with bladder cancer.
1981 – Produces “Dreamgirls” on Broadway.
1982 – Produces “Cats” and “Little Shop of Horrors” on Broadway.
1982 – He founded the Geffen film company.
1983 – Geffen Film Company releases “Risky Business.”
1990 – Sells Geffen Records to Music Corporation of America (MCA) for $550 million.
1990 – Wins a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Animated Program, “Beetlejuice.”
1994 – Co-founded Dreamworks Studio with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg.
nineteen ninety five – Dreamworks signs $100 million deal with ABC.
May 2002 – He donates $200 million to UCLA in what is considered the largest single donation to a US medical school in history at the time. The David Geffen School of Medicine is named in his honor after this donation.
January 2006 – Dreamworks is sold to Paramount Pictures.
2008 – Leave Dreamworks.
March 5, 2010 – He is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a “non-performer.”
February 12, 2011 – Receives the Grammy President's Merit Award.
2012 – Donates $100 million to the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
March 4, 2015 – Lincoln Center announces it will rename Avery Fisher Hall, best known as the home of the New York Philharmonic, to David Geffen Hall in gratitude for the movie mogul's $100 million gift.
September 2015 – The David Geffen Foundation sells two paintings for $500 million to billionaire Ken Griffin in one of the world's largest contemporary art deals.
February 7, 2020 – The Motion Picture Academy presents the David Geffen Theater at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
February 12, 2020 – The Wall Street Journal reports that Geffen sold his Beverly Hills property to Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos for $165 million, a price believed to be the highest ever paid for a home in a California real estate transaction.
June 30, 2021 – In a statement, Yale University's theater school announces a $150 million gift from Geffen, which will make tuition free for all current and future students. The donation is the largest donation in American theater history, according to Yale.
December 12, 2023 – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center announces that Geffen and Ken Griffin will donate $400 million. This is the largest single donation in the hospital's history.
