Jeffrey Lurie


Jeffrey Robert Lurie is an American motion picture producer, businessman, and the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League.

Early life and education

Lurie was born to a Jewish family in Boston, the son of Nancy and Morris John Lurie. His grandfather, Philip Smith, founded the General Cinema movie theater chain, which was one of the largest operators of drive-in movie theaters in the United States. His uncle is Richard A. Smith. He has two siblings, Peter and Cathy. His father died April 14, 1961 at the age of 44 when Jeffrey was nine years old.
In the late 1960s, General Cinema began acquiring bottling franchises, including a Pepsi bottling operation. General Cinema evolved over the years into Harcourt General Inc., a $3.7-billion conglomerate based in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, with 23,700 employees worldwide. In its heyday it was the nation's fourth-largest chain of movie theaters, owned several publishing houses, three insurance companies, and a leading global consulting firm. In 1984 Carter Hawley Hale was acquired, which was at the time the tenth-largest clothing retailer in the United States, including Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman-Marcus.
Lurie earned a B.A. from Clark University, a master's degree in psychology from Boston University, and a doctorate in social policy from The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, where he wrote his thesis on the depiction of women in Hollywood movies. He was born to Jewish parents but has spent his adult life as a non-practicing Jew. Prior to entering business, Lurie served as an adjunct assistant professor of social policy at Boston University.

Career

In 1983, he left academia to join General Cinema Corporation, a major film company founded by his grandfather, Philip Smith, and was headed by his uncle, Richard A. Smith. He worked as an executive in the company as a liaison between General Cinema Corporation and the production community in Hollywood. He was also an advisor in The General Cinema national film buying office.
He then founded Chestnut Hill Productions in 1985, which produced a string of Hollywood movie and TV shows.
On February 27, 2011, the Lurie-produced movie Inside Job won an Academy Award for best documentary film. The company also produced television commercials. Two years later he won a second Oscar when Inocente, in which he was executive producer, won for Best Documentary Short Film.

Philadelphia Eagles ownership

As a fan of all the Boston sports teams, Lurie went to games and put himself to sleep listening to the Boston Red Sox on his transistor radio. The Luries had been season-ticket holders since the New England Patriots franchise began in 1960, the year the American Football League was founded. Lurie cheered for Gino Cappelletti, Houston Antwine, and Babe Parilli. In 1993, Lurie tried to buy the New England Patriots, but he dropped out of the bidding at $150 million when his uncle Richard Smith nixed the purchase based on the financials.
Lurie's name also had surfaced in sale talks regarding the Los Angeles Rams, and he was a potential investor in a bid for a Baltimore expansion team with Robert Tisch, who subsequently bought 50% of the New York Giants. Five months later, Smith agreed to let his nephew buy the Philadelphia Eagles. Lurie contacted Norman Braman, then owner of the Eagles. Lurie bought the Philadelphia Eagles on May 6, 1994 from Braman for $195 million. Lurie and his mother, Nancy Lurie Marks of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, borrowed $190 million from the Bank of Boston to buy the Eagles. To back the Bank of Boston loan, Lurie put up millions of dollars' worth of personal stock in Harcourt General and GC Companies Inc., as equity capital. Additionally, he and his mother pledged their stock in the family trust as collateral so Lurie could borrow the rest.
In 2017, Forbes valued the club at $2.65 billion, ranking them 10th among NFL teams in value.
On February 4, 2018, the Eagles upset the Patriots to win Super Bowl LII by the score of 41–33, giving Lurie his first title as Eagles owner. The victory evened the score with New England, as the only other Lurie-era Super Bowl appearance was a 24-21 loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.
In a pre-production meeting for I Love You To Death, Lurie met Christina Weiss, a former actress who was working for his production company. In 1992, Lurie married Weiss in Gstaad, Switzerland. They had two children: a son Julian and a daughter Milena. In 2012, the couple announced that they were divorcing; the divorce was finalized in August 2012. She received a "sizeable" ownership interest in the Philadelphia Eagles as part of the divorce settlement. On May 4, 2013, he married Tina Lai.

Filmography

All films, he was producer unless otherwise noted.

Film

;As an actor
YearFilmRole
1996Jerry MaguireHimself

;Thanks
YearFilmNotes
1996Jerry MaguireSpecial thanks

Television

;As an actor
YearTitleRoleNotes
1998The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia PhenomenonBarney's FriendTelevision film
2000ArlissHimself

Awards and honors