Product Description

Complex, contentious, and blessed with the perfect-pitch ability to find the next big talent, David Geffen has shaped American popular culture for the last three decades. His dazzling career has included the roles of power agent, record-industry mogul, Broadway producer, and billionaire Hollywood studio founder. From the beginning, though, Geffen's many accomplishments have been shadowed by the ruthless single-mindedness with which he has pursued fame, power, and money. In The Operator, Tom King--the first writer to have been granted full access to Geffen and his circle of intimates--captures the real David Geffen and tells a great American story about success and the bargains made for it.

The extent of Geffen's accomplishments is extraordinary. As a manager in the 1960s, he made the deal for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to appear at Woodstock. He discovered 1970s superstars Jackson Browne and the Eagles and masterminded Bob Dylan's famed 1974 tour; Joni Mitchell, Geffen's roommate for a time, memorialized him in her song "Free Man in Paris." He produced Risky Business, the movie that made Tom Cruise a star, and was the moneyman behind Cats, the longest-running musical in Broadway history. One of the most brilliant dealmakers ever to work in Hollywood, he became a billionaire shortly after selling Geffen Records in 1990, and he made movie history when he founded, with friends Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks SKG, the first new Hollywood studio in fifty-five years. And Geffen's influence has extended far beyond show business and into the worlds of Wall Street, art, real estate, and politics.

Geffen's personal journey is as compelling as his business machinations. Although he knew from an early age that he was gay, he hid his true sexual urges and for years attempted to lead a heterosexual life. In the mid-1970s, he dated--and almost married--Cher. Not until 1992, when being honored for his extraordinary financial contributions to the fight against AIDS, did he open the closet door. His coming-out was national news.

Beneath this phenomenal life story has always been a ferocious drive to succeed, a blind ambition that has left onlookers astounded. Geffen learned from his earliest days in the William Morris mailroom that he could cheat and lie his way to the top, and he has ever after lived unconstrained by traditional notions of right and wrong. Geffen has demonstrated time and again that he is willing to sabotage any relationship, business or personal, to get what he wants.

At his best, David Geffen is a fiercely devoted friend and a bountifully generous man, both privately and publicly. At his worst, he is a vindictive bully who lashes out at loved ones and colleagues with irrational screaming fits that leave his victims shaking and sweating. And though he has periodically attempted to better himself through psychotherapy and self-help programs like est and Lifespring, he seems always able to find new enemies to rage against.

For years, David Geffen has managed his own life story and rewritten history. But in The Operator, Tom King has set the record straight. Written with Geffen's cooperation--though not his authorization--The Operator is an explosive, illusion-shattering story that details the mogul's indisputable contributions to entertainment history while also baring the man behind the legend.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #504003 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03-07
• Released on: 2000-03-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 688 pages

Amazon.com Review
DreamWorks cofounder David Geffen, as portrayed by Wall Street Journal reporter Tom King, is in various ways a saint, a visionary, and an absolute maniac. In his saintly mode, Geffen both raises and gives record-breaking sums of money to AIDS foundations, advises and supports the President and progressive causes, and races to visit old friends stricken with grief or illness (even the washed-up agent Sue Mengers, whose friendship could do him no earthly good).

As a visionary in the music, movie, and Broadway theater industries, Geffen orchestrates the sale of his record companies, which made him a billionaire, and brings you Laura Nyro; Cats; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Tom Cruise; the Eagles; Nirvana; Bob Dylan; John Lennon; Guns N' Roses; Saving Private Ryan; and Joni Mitchell (who immortalized his deepest yearnings in her tune "Free Man in Paris").

But the most impressive and detailed portion of King's landmark biography is Geffen's performance as an entertainment entrepreneur, and in this capacity he is apparently a visionary and a maniac at the same time. Not only does he discover all manner of talents and works of art and hire the best hit-sniffers in the business, he also masters the fine Hollywood art of the Machiavellian tantrum. Geffen allegedly softens up his prey in a business deal by offering up disarming gossip about his own life--his traumatic courtship of Cher, or Marlo Thomas, perhaps, or the male prostitute he is said to have boasted about being in bed with the night John Lennon was shot. At some point, minutes or decades into an apparent friendship, Geffen is shown betraying anyone, even best friends and mentors, in his relentless quest for winning a deal. King's book provides a ringside seat; it's fascinating to watch Tinseltown's titans slug it out in championship bouts, maneuvering, lying, reuniting, and seizing power like crazed Renaissance princes.

In one memorable encounter, Geffen protests that Sid Sheinberg of MCA is displeasing his DreamWorks colleague, Steven Spielberg. "David, stop screaming," says Sheinberg. "I'm not screaming!" Geffen screams. "David, you know what would make me happy?" says Speilberg. "Stop screaming." It turns out that Geffen doesn't even know the details of the deal in question. But nobody knows how to strike a deal--with mind and maniacal heart--like David Geffen. --Tim Appelo

From Library Journal
It's easy to see why David Geffen hates this book. King, who has written about the entertainment business for the Wall Street Journal for nearly ten years, portrays Geffen as a mixed-up, tantrum-prone, greed-driven, Machiavellian huckster. King clearly got a good deal of access to friends and past associates as well as Geffen himself before the mogul decided to withdraw authorization from the project. And Geffen apparently has plenty of enemies willing to tell tales of infantile and brutish behavior. King carefully orders these to reveal the chronology of Geffen's rise and subsequent manipulations; and plentiful personal anecdotes will satisfy readers looking for cocktail-party small talk. It may all even be true; but truth is not the only measure of biography. King's journalistic training is his biggest problem. His unnuanced, just-the-facts style does not sustain interest through more than 500 pages of narrative, and his insistence on resolving inconsistencies and explaining behavior with formulaic psychology results in a cardboard cutout of his subject. Most surprisingly from a WSJ reporter, Geffen's skills as a deal-maker are left relatively unexplored beyond retellings of who were the players and who got what out of the deal. There will be demand for the book, and King's early access means it will be the most fully researched source on Geffen for years to come, but most libraries can make do with a single copy of this workmanlike effort.
---Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
From The Operator

Geffen told Cher about the sexual encounters he had had with men and how he was struggling with his sexual identity. He hastily added that his relationships with men had been about sex and nothing more. He was afraid of the opposite sex, he told her, but said that he believed a relationship with a woman would offer him the best chance to find true love. Cher had been surrounded by gay men her entire professional life, and Geffen's confessions left her unfazed.

"What is it that you do?" Cher finally asked Geffen.
"I am the chairman of Elektra/Asylum Records," he told her.
"Oh, well, you don't look like it," she said. "You look just like a little schlepper."

Geffen was charming, offsetting his usual braggadocio with vulnerability. The two stayed up well into the night, exchanging the stories of their lives. Geffen told her he had become a millionaire more than five years earlier. He told her that he thought he had accomplished everything he wanted to achieve, but that somehow the fame and the money was unfulfilling.

"I'm not alone anymore," Cher thought to herself. She had never known anyone in her life who made her feel so comfortable.

During his therapy session the next day, Geffen made a startling admission to Dr. Grotjahn. "I think I'm in love with Cher," he said. -- Review

Customer Reviews

terrible and terrifying
I must confess. I have not as yet read the entire book on David Geffin. I am reviewing the first 80% simply because this biography stands as the best book on a Hollywood celebrity I have ever read. The first thing that impressed me about the book was how ruthless Geffin was in his quest for power and how sad it was that he seemed to have finally realized that money was NOT in fact the thing that really made him happy. I think virtually everyone who makes multi millions comes to realize this. IF you have one Porsche turbo thats green does having ones in blue, red and black made you three times happier? No... Geffin coveted money over all else, and the book goes into minutea about this topic, because he grew up with an unambitious father who his mother, named Batya, thought was shiftless. The reader can make his or her own conclusion but my take is Geffin wanted to make dollars delux to ensure his mother's love. In the book Geffin shows no mercy in his quest for fame and glory and tramples on his closest associates. But I came away fascinated with Mr. Geffin in spite of, or maybe because of, these traits. A GREAT READ. And again, even if the last 15% of the book isn't as interesting as the first 85% its still an unbelievable tale of rags to riches unbridled ambition.

A fast paced life told in a long but fast reading book

The meteoric rise of David Geffen is told by Wall Street Journal reporter, Tom King. King's business background was invaluable in researching and explaining Geffen's deals... in some parts there is a different deal on every page.

Geffen seems to be living on adrenalin be it his hard charging in your face negotiating or his indulgence of artists and friends. He crashes hard too, finds therapies and cries when hurt or moved. To paraphrase one of his artists, it's like the sound of his own wheels drive him crazy.

When he bet on a star he went all the way, as he did with his first artist-Laura Nyro. He housed and fed them. Sometimes he provided lawyers for them and sometimes took them on trips. He gave his top managers wide decision making authority. Besides salaries they could be surprised by bonuses of cars or houses. Not knowing the industry norm, it's hard for me to judge if those who felt he didn't do enough them (after their/his success) have legitimate complaints.

Years, differences and feuds can separate him from family, friends, mentors and staff. There can be a kiss and make up (Cher, Spielburg, etc.), sometimes just separation (Nyro, Roberts, etc.) and sometimes a continuing freeze (Ovitz, Loddengaard etc.). He can be very generous, for instance giving Jackson Browne his copyrights or subsidizing cousins he doesn't know. He can also give to get, for instance rescuing his friend Calvin Klein paid him well at the end.

His success began with falsifying his resume, opening others' mail and forging mail. He intimidated, reneged, spread disinformation, brown nosed and bad mouthed. A lot of these very same tactics were used against him.

His talent was knowing entertainment that would sell, and he was usually right on the mark. His mistakes seemed to come when he worked with established stars, not the artists he "discovered".

This is an almost 600 page book, but you have the feel that there is much more to be written.

Excellent biography! Must read for serious business people!
I had never heard of David Geffen before this book was recommended to me...Now, I say WOW!!! What an OPERATOR he was and is...What a fitting title. I highly recommend this book to all serious business people...Mike Stokes