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Ben Silverman

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This article is about the media executive. For the golfer, see Ben Silverman (golfer).
Ben Silverman
Silverman in 2012
Born
Benjamin Noah Silverman

(1970-08-15) August 15, 1970 (age 54)
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, US
Alma materTufts University
Occupation(s)Chairman, Propagate Content
Spouse
Jennifer Cuoco
​
(m. 2010)​

Benjamin Noah Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO and chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate.[1]

From 2007–2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.[2] He is also an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning executive producer of such shows as The Office, Jane The Virgin, Ugly Betty, Marco Polo, The Tudors and The Biggest Loser. Silverman also produced CW's praised No Tomorrow and Apple's first reality television show Planet of the Apps.[3] On July 10, 2014, The Banff World Media Festival presented Silverman with the Award of Excellence in Digital Innovation. As of the fourth quarter 2016, Silverman's most recently released feature film Hands of Stone starring Edgar Ramirez, Robert De Niro and Usher, and was released theatrically in North America on August 26, 2016 through The Weinstein Company.

Life and career

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Silverman was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He was raised in a Reform Jewish family in Manhattan where he attended Rodeph Sholom School.[4][5][6] Silverman is a 1992 magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University, where he majored in history and belonged to the Epsilon Theta chapter of the Theta Chi fraternity. His mother, Mary (Delson) Silverman, was an actress and programming executive whose career included employment at the Disney Channel, BBC, USA Network, Lifetime Television, and Court TV.[7][8] His father, Stanley Silverman, is a music composer/arranger.[9]

He had summer internships at Warner Bros., and after college in 1993, worked at CBS and then worked for Brandon Tartikoff at New World Entertainment.[4] He worked for the William Morris Agency starting in 1995; Silverman was in charge of the international packaging division, where he was the company's youngest division head, packaging more than 25 television series, including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Weakest Link, Big Brother, and Queer as Folk.[10] He worked for William Morris Agency until 2002, when he left to found Reveille.[11]

In 2007, Silverman received the P.T. Barnum Award from Tufts University for his exceptional work in the field of media and entertainment. Silverman is involved with multiple philanthropic endeavors, including Seeds of Peace, a group helping to foster peace among young people from adversarial cultures. In addition, Silverman sits on the Cedars-Sinai Hospital board of governors. Silverman also serves on the board of directors of Best Buddies, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing guidance and integrated employment.[12]

In 2008, Silverman received an Honorary Rose for lifetime achievement the Rose d'Or ceremony.[13][14]

Silverman married Jennifer Cuoco, a real estate agent, in December 2010.[15]

Reveille

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Silverman is the founder of Reveille, a television, film, and theater production and distribution company now owned by Shine Limited under News Corporation. He founded Reveille in 2002 in order to exploit international formats by selling them in the United States. Through his work at Reveille, he is the executive producer of such shows as NBC's The Office, The Restaurant, The Biggest Loser, and ABC's Ugly Betty, as well as several cable shows, including Nashville Star, on USA Network, 30 Days on FX, MTV's Parental Control and Date My Mom, Blow Out on Bravo, and House of Boateng on the Sundance TV.[16]

Journalist Michael Wolff wrote a 2001 profile of Silverman in New York Magazine a year before he founded Reveille. "In some sense, he's like those boy geniuses of the eighties and nineties who invented new financial instruments -- junk bonds and derivatives and whatnot. The discovery and marketing of a new format is really like that. It's creating something that is negotiable and transferable and that people believe in deeply -- it solves all their problems. Now, obviously, there is a certain obsolescence to these formats (with junk bonds you had inevitable bankruptcies). And Ben, of course, is already searching the world for new formats. Variety shows might be a possibility," Wolff wrote.[17]

NBC

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NBC Entertainment co-chairman Silverman in November 2008

Silverman was named co-chairman of NBC Entertainment in 2007 (along with Marc Graboff), succeeding Kevin Reilly. That same year, Silverman was the first producer since Norman Lear, 34 years earlier, to have two shows nominated for an Emmy in the best comedy category (The Office and Ugly Betty).[18] He is credited for his role in saving the critically acclaimed but low-rated NBC drama Friday Night Lights by striking an innovative deal with DirecTV.[19] The satellite television provider agreed to take on a substantial amount of the show's production budget in exchange for exclusive first-window airing rights on its 101 channel. NBC would then repurpose the episodes to be aired on the network later in the season.[20]

Electus

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On July 27, 2009, Silverman announced he was leaving NBC to form a new company, Electus, in partnership with Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, that would produce and distribute programs across media platforms, for television, the Web and mobile devices.[21] As part of its inception, IAC partnered Electus with the interactive comedy portal CollegeHumor. In January 2010, Silverman and Electus partnered with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett to launch their sponsor-driven advertising and digital production company DumbDumb.[22] Electus also has partnerships with 5x5 and DiGa. On May 8, 2014, The CW announced a first season order for Silverman's new television show Jane The Virgin.[23]

Acting roles

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Silverman had a cameo appearance in the first episode of the fifth season of the television show Entourage. Silverman read a single line in which he expressed annoyance at Johnny Drama wasting his time.

Silverman appeared in four episodes during the ninth season of the television show The Office, starting with "Here Comes Treble"; he played Isaac, one of Jim's business partners.

Credits

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List of Silverman productions
Year Production Role
2003–2004 The Restaurant Executive producer
2003–2008 Nashville Star Executive producer
2005–2008 30 Days Executive producer
2005–2011 The Office Executive producer
2005–2011 The Biggest Loser Co-creator / Executive producer
2006–2011 Ugly Betty Executive producer
2007–2010 The Tudors Co-creator / Executive producer
2008–2009 Kath & Kim Executive producer
2010 MacGruber Co-executive producer
2011–2016 Mob Wives Executive producer
2011–2015 King of the Nerds Executive producer
2013 Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls Executive producer
2014 Killer Women Executive producer
2014–2019 Jane the Virgin Executive producer
2014–2016 Marco Polo Executive producer
2015 Breaking Greenville Executive producer
2016 Hands of Stone Executive producer
2016 No Tomorrow Executive producer
2017 Planet of the Apps Executive producer
2017–2018 Lore Executive producer
2018 November 13: Attack on Paris Producer
2018–2022 Charmed Executive producer
2018–2021 Haunted Executive producer
2019–2022 Blood & Treasure Executive producer
2019–2021 Prank Encounters Executive producer
2019–present Kings of Pain Executive producer
2020 Broke Executive producer
2021-2022 Our Kind of People Executive producer
2021-2022 American Song Contest Executive producer
2024 Reunion Producer
2024 Incoming Producer

References

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  1. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (2018-10-30). "Ben Silverman, Electus Partners Bury the Hatchet and Reunite in Search of Scale". Variety. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  2. ^ Josef Adalian. "Silverman named NBC co-chair," Variety, May 29, 2007.
  3. ^ "Jessica Alba Joins Apple's 'Planet of the Apps' Reality Series". 30 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b Malone, Michael. Silverman Searches Globe for Next Trend, Broadcasting & Cable, November 14, 2005.
  5. ^ Berrin, Danielle (2009-07-27). "NBC chair Ben Silverman resigns". JewishJournal. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  6. ^ "Stanley Silverman". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  7. ^ Brady, Shirley (2007-05-30). "How Ben Silverman Got Started". Cable360. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  8. ^ Rubin, Stephen E. (1972-12-17). "The Magic Theater of Dr. . . Who?; Theatre of Dr . . . Who?". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "Stanley Silverman". Stanley Silverman. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  10. ^ "NATPE Speaker Bio, 2006". Archived from the original on 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
  11. ^ Frankel, Daniel (2009-07-27). "The Crazy Career of Ben Silverman". The Wrap. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
  12. ^ "Ben Silverman: The Washington Scene," Archived April 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine The Hill.
  13. ^ "Rose d'Or Winners 2008" (PDF). Rose d'Or AG. 2008-05-06. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  14. ^ "Blighty plucks Roses". Archived from the original on 2011-04-17.
  15. ^ "Ben Silverman, Advertainer - Businessweek". Archived from the original on 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2013-05-05.
  16. ^ "The Whole World Is Watching, and Ben Silverman Is Watching Back" Archived March 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, New York Times, September 17, 2006.
  17. ^ "The Missing Link", New York Magazine, June 4, 2001.
  18. ^ "Silverman the peacock at NBC-Uni's pre-Emmy party" Archived 2013-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ "Ben Silverman, 'Friday Night Lights' Savior: Saved Show By 'Yelling At A Lot Of People'"
  20. ^ "'Friday Night Lights' Gets 26-Episode Order From DirecTV, NBC" Archived October 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ Thomasch, Paul (2009-07-27). "NBC executive Silverman exits for IAC venture". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  22. ^ "Bateman, Arnett Form DumbDumb" Variety
  23. ^ "CW Picks Up ‘The Flash’, ‘iZombie’, ‘Jane the Virgin’ & ‘The Messengers’ To Series", Deadline.com, May 8, 2014.
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