Robert Thornson Jr. March 9th, 2019 - 3:43 PM
Sid Sheinberg, considered one of “Hollywood’s Greats”, passed away on Thursday at the age of 84. No cause of death has been revealed but the news came from an Instagram post from Sheinberg’s son, Jon Sheinberg.
Many are paying their respects including Casey Wasserman, the grandson of previous MCA manager Lew Wasserman- a former colleague of and guide to Sheinberg- and Ronald Meyer, current Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal, who have both issued statements commemorating the late entertainment executive.
Sheinberg served as President and COO of MCA Inc. and Universal studios for over 40 years until his departure in 1995 which led him to create the production company, The Bubble Factory, with his two sons. He was known for a number of things, namely for the films he produced during his time in the entertainment industry. Sheinberg was also oddly famous for his attempt to convince filmmaker and producer, Steven Spielberg, to change the title for the now-classic science fiction film, Back to the Future, to Space Man From Pluto.
Arguably, his most notable achievement was giving a job and contract to Spielberg following the director’s 1968 short film, Amblin (which then became the name for his production company), and guiding him. Under Sheinberg’s guidance, Spielberg would go on to create what are probably his three most notable and highest grossing works: Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park. Spielberg noted Sheinberg’s impact on his career as a filmmaker and the Twitter account for Amblin Entertainment released his statement on the former executive’s passing.
"He gave me 'Jaws,' I gave him 'E.T.,' and he gave me 'Schindler’s List.' We were a team for 25 years and he was my dear friend for 50. I have no concept about how to accept that Sid is gone. For the rest of my life I will owe him more than I can express." — Steven Spielberg
— Amblin (@amblin) March 8, 2019
