Don Simpson
Born	Donald Clarence Simpson (1943-10-29)October 29, 1943 Seattle,Washington, U.S.
Died	January 19, 1996(1996-01-19) (aged 52) Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Education	West Anchorage High School
Alma mater	University of Oregon (BS)
Occupations	Film producer screenwriter actor
Years active	1975–1996
Notable work	Flashdance Beverly Hills Cop Top Gun The Rock

Donald Clarence Simpson (October 29, 1943 – January 19, 1996) was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor, known for his work in blockbuster films of the 1980s and '90s. Simpson entered the film industry in the 1970s and worked at Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures. He eventually began a professional partnership withJerry Bruckheimer, and together, they produced hit films such asFlashdance (1983),Beverly Hills Cop (1984),Top Gun (1986), andThe Rock (1996), the latter released posthumously. As his stature in Hollywood grew, Simpson became notorious for his debauched lifestyle, which included severe and longstanding substance abuse, and he ultimately died from heart failure caused by an overdose ofcocaine and prescription drugs. By the time of his death, his and Bruckheimer's films had grossed over $3 billion worldwide.^[1]

Simpson was born inSeattle, Washington, to June Hazel (née Clark), a housewife, and Russell J. Simpson, a mechanic atBoeing at the time of his son's birth.^[2] He grew up inJuneau, Alaska. His parents were strictBaptists and Simpson would go to church four to five times a week.^[3] He would call himself a "straight-A Bible student".^[4] He attendedWest Anchorage High School and later majored in English at theUniversity of Oregon. Upon graduation, Simpson worked as a ski instructor inUtah. He later moved to San Francisco where he worked for a theatrical advertising agency and did public relations for the First International Erotic Film Festival.^[5]

In the early 1970s, Simpson started working for Jack Wodell & Associates in San Francisco before moving to Los Angeles.^[6] He got a job marketingexploitation films forWarner Bros in 1972, handling distribution marketing for the moviesWoodstock andA Clockwork Orange.

In 1975 Simpson went into an interview withParamount Pictures. He was referred by his friendSteve Tisch, nephew ofLarry Tisch (who later owned CBS and Westinghouse), for the job Steve Tisch turned down. Steve Tisch would later go on to produceRisky Business,Forrest Gump and more.Jerry Bruckheimer, who was already friends with Simpson, loaned his personal car to Simpson to drive to the interview.^[7]

While there, he co-wrote the 1976 filmCannonball, in which he also had a small role. By 1977, he was named vice-president of production at Paramount, and president in 1981.^[8][5] He was fired at Paramount in 1982 after passing out during a studio meeting due to drug use.^[9] He was working on eight productions at once, and would regularly throw a tantrum while in production.^[8]

Soon after, he forged a partnership with fellow producerJerry Bruckheimer.^[10][11] The two would go on to produce some of the most financially successful films of the 1980s:Flashdance (1983),Beverly Hills Cop (1984),Top Gun (1986) andBeverly Hills Cop II (1987). In 1985 and again in 1988, he and Bruckheimer were named Producers of the Year by theNational Association of Theatre Owners.^[12] The success ofFlashdance prompted Simpson and Bruckheimer to launch their own production company that was affiliated with Paramount Pictures.^[13]

In 1990, Simpson and Bruckheimer signed a five-year deal with Paramount worth a reported $300 million. The deal would prove to be short lived. Later that year, the Simpson/Bruckheimer-producedDays of Thunder starringTom Cruise was released. The auto racing film received mixed reviews and grossed $158 million (on a $60 million budget). While a financial success, it did not match the success of Simpson and Bruckheimer's previous films. Simpson and Bruckheimer blamed Paramount for the film's lackluster box-office returns, saying the studio rushed its planning and release. Paramount blamed the film's performance on Simpson and Bruckheimer's overspending. The duo parted with Paramount shortly thereafter.^[14][15]

In 1991, the two signed withDisney. Their first film for Disney,The Ref (1994), was a financial flop. Their next films,Dangerous Minds,Crimson Tide, andBad Boys (distributed byColumbia Pictures rather than Disney), all released in 1995, returned them to success.^[14]

Simpson never married.^[8] In the 1970s, he took classes to join theChurch of Scientology but quit after spending $25,000 and not seeing any significant personal improvements.^[16][17] During the shooting ofDays of Thunder, Simpson threw Scientology leaderDavid Miscavige off the production after Simpson refused to pay for a more expensive Scientology-patented sound recording device.^[18]

Simpson was known for his brash personality, provocative comments and questionable claims. Of directorSteven Spielberg, Simpson said, "I'm surprised for a smart Jew he's as white-bread as he is."^[19] He later said, "Any person who suggestedDavid Lynch forDune should have every part of their anatomy examined."^[8] He said several times that, as a producer, "our obligation is to make money".^[20] Simpson worked out every day with special equipment provided byArnold Schwarzenegger.^[21]

Simpson claimed he discoveredMichael Mann, launchedDebra Winger's career and castRichard Gere forAmerican Gigolo. He also claimed he created the concept forBeverly Hills Cop, whichMichael Eisner denied.^[8] In the movie industry, professionals working with Simpson would refer to the "Don Simpson Discount Factor" (DSDF, coined byJeff Katzenberg), a way to tone down his exaggerations.^[8]

According to director Robert Altman, Simpson opposed the proposed casting ofShelley Duvall as Olive Oyl for the projectPopeye by standing up at a 1979 meeting of studio executives and saying, "Well, I wouldn't want to fuck her. And if I don't want to fuck her, she shouldn't be in the movie."^[22]

Due to their films' success, Simpson and Bruckheimer became very rich. They often dressed in similar clothing, choosing black as their signature color. Simpson would wear blackLevi 501 jeans only before their first wash and then throw them away. He frequented theCanyon Ranch in Arizona for occasional workouts and tanning. Though Simpson claimed he never underwent any plastic surgery procedures,^[3] there are reports that he underwent ten different plastic surgeries between 1988 and 1994, including a penis-enlargement procedure. Those surgeries eventually led to infection and many reversal procedures.^[23]

As Simpson and Bruckheimer's success grew, so did Simpson's reputation as a "party animal". He said that "next to eating and having sex, making movies is the best thing in the world".^[8] Simpson's debauched lifestyle was well known in Hollywood and has been documented in a number of sources. He was a fixture on the "Hollywood cocaine-party" circuit throughout the 1970s and '80s, and in his later years became known for throwing lavish all-night parties at his mansion.^[24] An entire chapter of the bookYou'll Never Make Love in This Town Again (which describes four prostitutes' stories about their sexual encounters withHollywood celebrities) discusses his frequent sex parties and preference forS & M.^[25] He also gave himselftestosterone shots to boost his sex drive. According to the call girl Alexandra Datig, Simpson auditioned struggling actresses for his movies, convinced them to have sex with him, and secretly filmed their sex acts.^[23]

Simpson had been usingcocaine since the 1970s, but increased his usage over the years.^[26] The excessive spending (in both films and his personal life) and erratic mood swings caused by his drug use were well known in Hollywood by the 1990s.^[14] In a 1994 interview withThe New York Times, Simpson tried to downplay his reputation and claimed that while he had done drugs in the past, he had stopped. He claimed that his only addiction at the time was food.^[4] According to screenwriterJames Toback, Simpson's drug use never stopped, and promptedDavid Geffen andJeffrey Katzenberg to stage an intervention to get Simpson to go to rehab.^[14]

Simpson refused to admit himself into a traditional rehab facility. In 1995, he employed a doctor named Stephen Ammerman to help him with his addiction. Ammerman, who had a history of drug abuse himself, believed that in order for Simpson to quit drugs, he had to use other drugs to combat the painful withdrawal symptoms. Ammerman designed what has been called a "dangerously unorthodox" detox program, which included several medications (includingmorphine) for Simpson to take at home.^[26][27] In August 1995, Ammerman died at Simpson's residence, from what was later determined to be an accidental overdose ofcocaine,Valium,venlafaxine, and morphine.^[26][28]

Frustrated with Simpson's escalating drug use and declining work, Bruckheimer terminated their partnership in December 1995. The two agreed to finish work onThe Rock, which was already in production.^[29] Simpson died before production was completed, and the film is dedicated to his memory.^[30]

On January 19, 1996, Simpson was found dead in the bathroom of hisBel Air, Los Angeles, home.^[31] His death was initially attributed to "natural causes". An autopsy and toxicology report later determined that Simpson had died of heart failure caused bycombined drug intoxication (cocaine and prescription medications).^[32] At the time of his death, there were 21 different drugs in his system, including antidepressants, stimulants,sedatives, and tranquilizers.^[23] In August 1996, investigative reporterChuck Philips of theLos Angeles Times revealed that Simpson had been obtaining large quantities of prescription drugs from 15 different doctors, and that police found 2,200 prescription pills lined up in alphabetical order in his bedroom closet.^[26][33]

A 1998 book by journalistCharles Fleming reported that Simpson's prescription drug expenses totaled more than $60,000 a month at the time of his death. He called Simpson "a supercharged simple-minded creature, an Aesop's fable on crystal meth".^[34][20]

Following his death, his brother Lary Simpson had his own production banner, in order to develop products originated by Don Simpson himself in 1997^[35] until his death at his home inNoank, Connecticut, on January 25, 2023, at the age of 77.^[36][37]

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

As an actor

As writer

• Charles Fleming (April 20, 1999).High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Cultures of Excess. Main Street Books.ISBN 978-0385486958.

• Don Simpson atIMDb

• 1943 births
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