Kirschner, David 1955-

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KIRSCHNER, David 1955-

PERSONAL: Born 1955, in Van Nuys, CA. Education: Attended University of Southern California School of Film until 1976.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—c/o Hanna-Barbera Productions, 3400 West Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90068.

CAREER: Producer, writer, and illustrator. Designed album covers for Neil Diamond and Olivia Newton-John; illustrator for Muppet and Sesame Street characters; created "Rose Petal Place" line of books and products. Hanna-Barbera, Los Angeles, CA, president and C.E.O., 1989—, chairman, 1992—. Producer and creator of films, including Child's Play, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 1988; Child's Play 2, Universal, 1990; (as executive producer) Child's Play 3, Universal, 1991; and (as executive producer) An American Tale: Fievel Goes West (animated), 1991. Producer of films, including (as executive producer) Monster in My Pocket: The Big Scream (animated), Kidmark, 1992; Hocus Pocus, Buena Vista, 1993; Once upon a Forest, 1993; The Pagemaster, Lauren Film, 1994; (as executive producer) The Flintstones, Universal, 1994; Cats Don't Dance (animated), Warner Bros., 1997; Bride of Chucky, Universal, 1998; Titan A.E. (also known as Titan: After Earth), Twentieth Century-Fox, 2000; Frailty, Lions Gate Films, 2001, Immortals, 2003; and Secondhand Lions, New Line Cinema, 2003. Executive producer of made-for-television movie The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1990, and of television series Wake, Rattle & Roll (also known as Jump, Rattle & Roll), syndicated, 1990; Gravedale High, National Broadcasting Company (NBC), 1990; and Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict (also known as Gene Roddenberry's Battleground Earth), syndicated, 1997.

AWARDS, HONORS: Children's Book of the Year award, American Library Association, for The Page-master; Golden Crown, Annecy, and American Animation Award for best feature, both for Cats Don't Dance.

WRITINGS:

(With others) An American Tale (animated film screenplay), Universal, 1986.

(With others) The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story (television screenplay), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1990.

(With others) Hocus Pocus (film screenplay), Buena Vista, 1993.

(With Ernie Contreras) The Pagemaster (children's book), illustrated by Jerry Tiritilli, Turner (Atlanta, GA), 1993.

(With others) The Pagemaster (film screenplay), Lauren Films, 1994.

"Law & Order" (television episode), in Earth: Final Conflict, syndicated, 1997.

Author of the short story "Rose Petal Place," 1979.

ADAPTATIONS: The television series Fievel's American Tales was based on characters Kirschner created in An American Tail.

SIDELIGHTS: David Kirschner, head of the Hanna-Barbera animation company, has been the imagination behind such popular films as An American Tail and Child's Play. He began his career as an illustrator drawing other people's characters, including the Muppets and the inhabitants of Sesame Street, but at the age of twenty-three he developed his first original character, a thumb-sized girl who lives in a magic flower garden called Rose Petal Place. Subsequently, Hallmark bought the rights to Rose Petal Place and released a series of books and toys, as well as a movie, set there.

Kirschner had only two films to his credit when, in 1989, he was asked to become the president and chief executive officer of Hanna-Barbera. "David's attitude is, if it makes me laugh, if it makes me cry, if it scares me, there's got to be a million other me's out there," Hanna-Barbera vice president Laura Moskowitz explained to Richard Blow in Business Month. Since taking over Hanna-Barbera, Kirschner has done more producing than creating and writing, but he did find the time to write the screenplay for the hit horror-spoof film Hocus Pocus, starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, Volume 37, Gale (Detroit, MI), 2002.

periodicals

Adweek's Marketing Week, October 23, 1989, Matthew Grimm, "Hanna-Barbera Chief Readies Yogi for Modern Merchandising," p. 5.

Boston Herald, October 8, 1997, Daniel M. Kimmel, review of Earth: Final Conflict, p. 46.

Broadcasting, April 27, 1992, "David Kirschner Was Named Chairman of Hanna-Barbera, Inc.," p. 72.

Business Month, November, 1990, Richard Blow, profile of Hanna-Barbera, pp. 50-53.

Christian Science Monitor, December 1, 1993, Karen Williams, review of The Pagemaster, p. 12.

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), March 26, 1997, Dann Gire, review of Cats Don't Dance, p. 9; October 21, 1998, Dann Gire, review of Bride of Chucky, p. 9; June 16, 2000, Dann Gire, review of Titan A.E., p. 2.

Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), September 24, 1998, Glenn Whipp, "Girls Give Horror a Thumbs-Up," p. L6.

Fortune, December 3, 1990, Richard S. Teitelbaum, "David M. Kirschner, 25," p. 178.

Houston Chronicle, August 25, 1996, Jane P. Marshall, review of The Pagemaster, p. 25.

New York Times, October 11, 1989, Michael Lev, "Hanna-Barbera Head to Mix Old with New," p. C4; January 9, 1990, Michael Lev, "Hanna-Barbera Follows Disney Map," p. C1; July 28, 1991, Michael Lev., "On the Block: Yogi & Co.," p. F12; October 24, 1997, Anita Gates, review of Earth: Final Conflict, p. B7.

PR Newswire, October 10, 1989, "David Kirschner Named New Head of Hanna-Barbera Productions," p. 1010LA006.

Publishers Weekly, November 8, 1993, review of The Pagemaster, pp. 76-77.

Record (Bergen County, NJ), June 16, 2000, Roger Ebert, review of Titan A.E., p. 3; Roger Ebert, April 12, 2002, review of Frailty, p. 4.

Spectator, December 17, 1994, Mark Steyn, review of The Pagemaster (film), pp. 90-91.

Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), February 15, 1998, Kendal A. Rautzhan, review of The Pagemaster, p. 7.

Variety, December 9, 1991, "New Hanna-Barbera Gets a Head," p. 36; April 27, 1992, "David Kirschner," p. 4.