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Denis O'Brien (producer)

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Denis O'Brien (September 12, 1941 – December 3, 2021) was an American attorney, best-known as the business manager of George Harrison of the Beatles and co-founder of the film studio HandMade Films.

Biography

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O'Brien was born on September 12, 1941,[1] and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Ruth O'Brien and Albert James O'Brien. Albert was Vice Chairman of the Board at Ralston Purina, and also Chairman of the Board of Union Bank of Illinois, Union Illinois Company, and the State Bank of Jerseyville, Illinois, a bank that he gained control of in 1974. Denis became President and CEO of the bank in 1997, but was ousted two years later by the bank's board "after his business strategy proved too aggressive for the board of directors".[1]

O'Brien attended Northwestern University and earned a JD from Washington University School of Law. He lived in Paris from 1968 through 1970, where he worked for the prestigious law firm Coudert Frères/Coudert Brothers. He then moved to London for a position with the Rothschild banking group. His two daughters by his first wife, Kristen and Laura O'Brien, were born in London.

O'Brien met George Harrison when the former Beatle was looking to extricate himself from Allen Klein's management.[2] He was introduced to Harrison by Peter Sellers, one of the financial clients O'Brien successfully helped by turning around his flailing career in 1974 when Sellers signed on to make The Return of the Pink Panther. O'Brien helped the former Beatle sort out his mounting tax issues after becoming his manager in 1973.[3] Their partnership was initially founded on mutual admiration. Harrison said of O'Brien, "In 20 minutes, he gets more from a budget sheet than most people do in 20 hours", while O'Brien recalled of their first meeting: "The chairman of Shell, of RTZ, of IBM, of Ford – I've met all these people and I've never met anyone as together as George."[2]

Harrison and O'Brien founded the film production company HandMade Films in 1978 to finance the completion of Monty Python's Life of Brian after EMI Films, the original backers, pulled out at the last moment.[4] O'Brien ran HandMade Films, as well as acting as executive producer for Life of Brian, and later productions such as The Long Good Friday, Time Bandits, The Missionary, Mona Lisa, Withnail and I and Nuns on the Run. The company ceased operations in 1991[5] and was sold three years later to Paragon Entertainment, a Canadian corporation.

Harrison brought a lawsuit against O'Brien in Los Angeles in January 1995, claiming O'Brien had deprived him of £16 million over a 12-year period.[3] The court found that O'Brien had mismanaged HandMade and ruled that he should pay Harrison $11 million.[6][7] He was subsequently instructed to pay Harrison £6.7 million in damages.[8] Harrison felt betrayed by O'Brien, whom he considered a close family friend. According to Eric Idle of Monty Python, Harrison wrote the unreleased song "Lyin' O'Brien" about his former manager.[9][10]

O'Brien filed for bankruptcy, while Harrison sued O'Brien in bankruptcy court without success. In August 2001, the judge dismissed the case because Harrison failed to appear for a deposition, and also dismissed Harrison's claim that his poor health had prevented him from doing so.[6][11] Harrison died of lung cancer three months later on November 29, 2001.[12] O'Brien died on December 3, 2021, at the age of 80.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b Manning, Margie (16 August 1999). "O'Brien ousted from Union Financial". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
  2. ^ a b Clayson, Alan (2003). George Harrison. London: Sanctuary. pp. 333–34. ISBN 1-86074-489-3.
  3. ^ a b "George", The Independent, 28 October 1995
  4. ^ Michael Brooks "HandMade Films", BFI screenonline
  5. ^ Barber, Nicholas (3 April 2019). "How George Harrison – and a very naughty boy – saved British cinema". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2019. [verification needed]
  6. ^ a b "Judge Throws Out Harrison Bid". Billboard. August 30, 2001. Archived from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  7. ^ Sandler, Adam (February 16, 1998). "Court affirms $11 mil Harrison judgment: Former Beatle's charges that manager backed out of deal upheld". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Paula Hawkins "Trust me, I'll take care of it all", The Independent, 5 November 2000
  9. ^ Sellers, Robert (2013). Very Naughty Boys: The Amazing True Stories of HandMade Films. London: Titan Books. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-78116-708-3.
  10. ^ Leng, Simon (2006). While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-4234-0609-9.
  11. ^ Hoffmann, Bill (August 30, 2001). "Beatle Tried to Make Me Fool on the Hill: Judge". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2021-09-20. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  12. ^ Kozinn, Allan (30 November 2001). "George Harrison, Former Beatle, Dies at 58". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "Denis O'Brien, Former Manager of George Harrison, Dies at 80". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
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