Frank Price

One of the few Hollywood executives to come out of a writing background, Price interrupted his early TV career (where he was story editor and writer for CBS-TV from 1951-53) with a stint as story editor at Columbia Pictures (1953-57) which he would later head at two separate times. Credited with helping to create new TV formats: movies made for TV and the mini-series as well as the 90 minute series, Price left the presidency of Universal TV to become president of Columbia Pictures Productions and later chairman and chief executive officer of Columbia Pictures where he was involved with such story-driven, award-winning films as "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979), "Tootsie" and "Gandhi" (both 1982) and top-grossers as "Ghostbusters" and "The Karate Kid" (both 1984). In 1983, after conflict with parent company Coca-Cola over his autonomy, Price swung back to Universal as chairman of the motion picture group and president of Universal Pictures, leaving in 1987 to form Price Entertainment. The company released a string of small budget, high quality pictures including such films as "Shadowlands" (1993), "Circle of Friends" (1995), "A Bronx Tale" (1993) and "Texas Rangers" (2001). After Sony's purchase of Columbia, the newly-installed executives Jon Peters and Peter Guber appointed Price to head Columbia Pictures. Eighteen months later in October 1991 when his colleague at Warner Bros., Mark Canton, was freed from his contract, he was brought in to replace Price who continued his association with Sony Pictures Entertainment with a non-exclusive production deal. Frank Price died on August 25, 2025 in Santa Monica, CA at the age of 95.