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Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer.
Silver appears on-screen at the beginning of Who Framed Roger Rabbit as Raoul J. Raoul, the director of the animated short Something's Cookin. Raoul loses his temper at toon Roger Rabbit for seeing tweety birds when a refrigerator crashes on his head, and not stars as the script specified. This was a prank Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis pulled on then-Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, as Eisner and Silver had despised each other since their days at Paramount Pictures in the early 1980s, especially with the issues they faced making 48 Hrs. Silver trimmed his beard off, paid his expenses, and asked to not have his name in initial cast lists. Reportedly, when production wrapped, because Silver was unrecognizable, Eisner questioned who played Raoul and was told it was Silver, at which point, Eisner shrugged and praised his performance.
Silver directed "Split Personality", (1992), an episode of the HBO horror anthology Tales from the Crypt.
In 1996, he set up Decade Entertainment with Richard Donner to make low budget films with new talent financed by HBO, The Kushner-Locke Company and Republic Pictures, with its first production being Double Tap (1997). In 1998, he set up Dark Castle Entertainment, co-owned by Robert Zemeckis. In 2000, Zinc Entertainment was launched as a low-budget division of Silver Pictures, with its first production being Proximity (2000) and Decade Entertainment ceasing to produce films.
Silver is also known for his eccentric temper, inspiring characters based on him in movies such as Grand Canyon, True Romance and I'll Do Anything. The character of Les Grossman (played by Tom Cruise) in the movie Tropic Thunder, is a parody of Silver. Actor Rick Moranis parodied Silver on SCTV in the skit The Larry Siegel Talk Show.
He also voiced "the police chief" in the 2001 film Osmosis Jones in an uncredited role.
On June 24, 2019, Silver Pictures CEO Hal Sadoff announced that Silver had resigned from the company. Two days later, The Hollywood Reporter cited unnamed sources claiming that Silver's overspending, dearth of recent box-office hits, and an animosity between Silver and financier Daryl Katz led to his departure. No official reason has yet been given by the Katz Group, Silver Pictures, or Silver himself.
On November 30, 2023, Silver was fired as a producer of Play Dirty by Amazon Studios.
Silver has also owned and restored two Lincoln Continental automobiles previously owned by Wright, one a 1940 convertible and the other a 1941 coupe. After the 1940 car was damaged, Wright had a body shop rebuild the car based on his custom redesign. For a time both cars were displayed in the Storer House.
TV series
TV movies
Television
Television
Frank Lloyd Wright houses and automobiles
Silver is well known as an aficionado of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1984, he bought the Wright-designed Storer House in Hollywood and made considerable investments to restore it to its original condition. The Storer House's squarish relief ornament then became the company logo of Silver Pictures. Silver sold it in 2002 for $2.9 million. In 1986, he purchased the long-neglected C. Leigh Stevens Auldbrass Plantation in Yemassee, South Carolina, and has been restoring it since then. Both restorations have been managed and supervised by the architect Eric Lloyd Wright (grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright).
Carmel Musgrove incident
On August 19, 2015, Silver's 28-year-old assistant Carmel Musgrove drowned in a lagoon while working on vacation with Silver and his family in Bora Bora. Later, in August 2017, Musgrove's family sued Silver and his assistant Martin Herold, arguing the latter had provided her with cocaine, which, along with alcohol consumption and exhaustion from work, they alleged had contributed to her death. Silver was exonerated in February 2021 by a Los Angeles judge.
Filmography
Producer
Film
Executive producer
Film
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Acting roles
Film
1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit Raoul J. Raoul 2001 Osmosis Jones Police Chief Uncredited voice role "Split Second" "Less Than 30"
Other credits
Film
Assistant to producer Assistant to executive producer Associate producer Creative consultant TV special Episode "Split Personality"
External links
Categories: 1952 Births, Living People, 20th-century American Jews, 21st-century American Jews, American Animated Film Producers, American Businesspeople In The Entertainment Industry, American Film Producers, American Television Producers, American Male Voice Actors, Columbia High School Alumni, Lafayette College Alumni, People From South Orange, New Jersey, People From Yemassee, South Carolina, Tisch School Of The Arts Alumni, Ultimate Players
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