{"product_id":"the-operator-david-geffen-builds-buys-and-sells-the-new-hollywood-9780679457541","title":"The Operator: David Geffen Builds  Buys  and Sells the New Hollywood","description":"\u003cp\u003eComplex  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  Geffens 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 Geffens accomplishments is extraordinary. As a manager in the 1960s  he made the deal for Crosby  Stills  Nash \u0026amp; Young to appear at Woodstock. He discovered 1970s superstars Jackson Browne and the Eagles and masterminded Bob Dylans famed 1974 tour; Joni Mitchell  Geffens 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 Geffens influence has extended far beyond show business and into the worlds of Wall Street  art  real estate  and politics.  Geffens 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 Geffens cooperation--though not his authorization--The Operator is an explosive  illusion-shattering story that details the moguls indisputable contributions to entertainment history while also baring the man behind the legend.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45646944927797,"sku":"ByrdShop_0679457542","price":21.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780679457541.jpg?v=1781682761","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-operator-david-geffen-builds-buys-and-sells-the-new-hollywood-9780679457541","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}