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Ben Silverman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Silverman in 2020 | |
| Born | Benjamin Noah Silverman (1970-08-15)August 15, 1970 (age 55) |
| Alma mater | Tufts University |
| Occupation(s) | Chairman,Propagate Content |
| Spouse | |
Benjamin Noah Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO andchairman of the entertainment production company Propagate.[1]
From 2007–2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment andUniversal Media Studios.[2] He is also anEmmy and Golden Globe-winning executive producer of such shows asThe Office,Jane The Virgin,Ugly Betty,Marco Polo,The Tudors andThe Biggest Loser. Silverman also produced CW's praisedNo Tomorrow and Apple's first reality television showPlanet of the Apps.[3] On July 10, 2014, The Banff World Media Festival presented Silverman with theAward of Excellence in Digital Innovation. As of the fourth quarter 2016, Silverman's most recently released feature filmHands of Stone starringEdgar Ramirez,Robert De Niro andUsher, and was released theatrically in North America on August 26, 2016 throughThe Weinstein Company.
Silverman was born inPittsfield, Massachusetts. He was raised in aReform Jewish family inManhattan where he attendedRodeph Sholom School.[4][5][6] Silverman is a 1992magna cum laude graduate ofTufts University, where he majored in history and belonged to the Epsilon Theta chapter of theTheta Chi fraternity. His mother, Mary (Delson) Silverman, was an actress and programming executive whose career included employment at theDisney Channel,BBC,USA Network,Lifetime Television, andCourt TV.[7][8] His father,Stanley Silverman, is a music composer/arranger.[9]
He had summer internships atWarner Bros., and after college in 1993, worked atCBS and then worked forBrandon Tartikoff atNew World Entertainment.[4] He worked for theWilliam Morris Agency starting in 1995; Silverman was in charge of the international packaging division, where he was the company's youngest division head, packaging more than 25 television series, includingWho Wants to Be a Millionaire,Weakest Link,Big Brother, andQueer as Folk.[10] He worked for William Morris Agency until 2002, when he left to found Reveille.[11]
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.[12]
In 2008, Silverman received an Honorary Rose for lifetime achievement theRose d'Or ceremony.[13][14]
Silverman married Jennifer Cuoco, a real estate agent, in December 2010.[15]
Silverman is the founder ofReveille, a television, film, and theater production and distribution company now owned byShine Limited underNews 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 asNBC'sThe Office,The Restaurant,The Biggest Loser, andABC'sUgly Betty, as well as several cable shows, includingNashville Star, onUSA Network,30 Days onFX,MTV'sParental Control andDate My Mom,Blow Out onBravo, andHouse of Boateng on theSundance TV.[16]
JournalistMichael Wolff wrote a 2001 profile of Silverman inNew 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.[17]
Silverman was named co-chairman of NBC Entertainment in 2007 (along with Marc Graboff), succeedingKevin Reilly. That same year, Silverman was the first producer sinceNorman Lear, 34 years earlier, to have two shows nominated for an Emmy in the best comedy category (The Office andUgly Betty).[18] He is credited for his role in saving the critically acclaimed but low-rated NBC dramaFriday Night Lights by striking an innovative deal withDirecTV.[19] 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.[20]
On July 27, 2009, Silverman announced he was leavingNBC to form a new company, Electus, in partnership withBarry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, that would produce and distribute programs acrossmedia platforms, fortelevision, theWeb andmobile devices.[21] As part of its inception,IAC partnered Electus with the interactive comedy portalCollegeHumor. In January 2010, Silverman and Electus partnered withJason Bateman andWill Arnett to launch their sponsor-driven advertising and digital production company DumbDumb.[22]Electus also has partnerships with 5x5 andDiGa. On May 8, 2014, The CW announced a first season order for Silverman's new television showJane The Virgin.[23]
Silverman had acameo appearance in the first episode of the fifth season of the television showEntourage. Silverman read a single line in which he expressed annoyance at Johnny Drama wasting his time.
Silverman appeared in four episodes during the ninth season of the television showThe Office, starting with "Here Comes Treble"; he played Isaac, one of Jim's business partners.
| 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 |
| 2011–2016 | Mob Wives | Executive producer |
| 2011–2015 | King of the Nerds | Executive producer |
| 2013 | Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls | Executive producer |
| 2014 | Killer Women | Executive producer |
| 2014–2019 | Jane the Virgin | Executive producer |
| 2014–2016 | Marco Polo | 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 |
| 2017–2018 | Lore | Executive producer |
| 2018 | November 13: Attack on Paris | Producer |
| 2018–2022 | Charmed | Executive producer |
| 2018–2021 | Haunted | Executive producer |
| 2019–2022 | Blood & Treasure | Executive producer |
| 2019–2021 | Prank Encounters | Executive producer |
| 2019–present | Kings of Pain | Executive producer |
| 2020 | Broke | Executive producer |
| 2021-2022 | Our Kind of People | Executive producer |
| 2021-2022 | American Song Contest | Executive producer |
| 2024 | Reunion | Producer |
| 2024 | Incoming | Producer |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
