Seagram Scion No Newcomer to Hollywood

When “Chariots of Fire” producer David Puttnam was trying to move from advertising to entertainment two decades ago, a teen-ager gave him his first big break. Edgar M. Bronfman Jr. was only 14, but already angling for a serious career in show business when he persuaded his father to put up two-thirds of the financing for a Puttnam project called “Melody.”

Bronfman went on to spend more than a decade in entertainment, working as a lyricist and a producer before joining the family business, Seagram Co., in 1982. Now, as the anointed heir to the Seagram throne, Bronfman has the family back in entertainment in a big way.

Sources close to the deal say that Seagram’s $702-million investment in Time Warner, which was revealed on Wednesday, was engineered by Bronfman Jr. Those same sources see Bronfman’s close ties to industry heavyweights, such as Creative Artists Agency Chairman Michael S. Ovitz and QVC Chairman Barry Diller, as evidence of his more than casual interest in the business--and as another sign that Seagram’s passive posture may be short-lived.

One longtime friend calls Bronfman’s entertainment background a “mega-influence” on the deal, saying: “This is an investor with knowledge of the inner workings of (show) business and a basic understanding of the people. Time Warner is a company he understands.”

At 38, Bronfman is formally second in command at Seagram, with Edgar Sr. remaining as chairman and chief executive. But the younger Bronfman has already made his mark by leading well-timed acquisitions of beverage companies Martell and Tropicana. With the Time Warner deal, in which Seagrams has said it intends to increase its stake to 15%, he raises his profile even further.

Associates uniformly describe Bronfman, who declined to be interviewed, as an intense, strategically minded executive with a strong creative bent. It is already part of the Bronfman family legend that he dropped out of school to pursue a career in show business--a move that may have been inspired by his father’s brief ownership of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1960s. “Edgar decided he had enough of school,” said Puttnam, who remains a close friend.

Bronfman lived with the Puttnams in Europe after helping to get “Melody” made. He then worked on Puttnam’s second film, “The Pied Piper,” before Puttnam persuaded him to strike out on his own. Bronfman followed that advice, producing “The Blockhouse” at the ripe age of 17.

One of the people he ran into in the early years was Diller, who remembers Bronfman as serious-minded even then, unlike a lot of wealthy youths who try to make it in Hollywood.

“He was as different from the stereotype as can be imagined,” Diller said. “He acted as if his parents were immigrants and he had to do this to feed his nine brothers and sisters.”

Bronfman went on to produce “The Border,” a 1982 film starring Jack Nicholson, and assorted television shows, while also pursuing a career as a lyricist and theater backer.

Puttnam says Bronfman ultimately became disillusioned with his business opportunities as a producer. But others say that intense pressure to join his father and brother at the Montreal-based distilling giant are what ultimately drove him from Hollywood.

At Seagrams, Bronfman swiftly moved up the ladder and was formally anointed as his father’s successor in 1986 at the age of 30. With his father heavily involved in worldwide Jewish activities, Edgar Jr. has for years run the company on a day-to-day basis.

As an executive, Bronfman has shown a strong interest in diversifying Seagrams beyond liquor, which is considered a mature business. Friends say that goal has played a prominent role in all his dealings, whether he is investing in entertainment or orange juice.

“This is not an emotional kind of thing,” said John L. Weinberg, senior partner at Goldman Sachs and a family friend. “You don’t just (invest in Time Warner) because you like movies.”

Technology may be another matter. Associates say Bronfman spent six months considering his options before choosing Time Warner, largely based on its cable and other technological holdings. While friends say he is far from a techie--he still does much of his work, including lyric writing, on a legal pad instead of a computer--they warn against underestimating his grasp of technology.

“This is a young, aggressive, smart guy who wants to put his imprint on the empire,” one associate said. “And he feels that the multimedia business is a safe place to put his money.”

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Truth in Advertising?: Walt Disney Studios, which is known for being tight with a buck, has had some well-documented run-ins with talent agents. Perhaps that is what inspired its advertising campaign for the upcoming Michael J. Fox film, “Life with Mikey.” One ad, which shows Fox standing behind a young client in a director’s chair, says: “He’s a talent agent. She’s a thief. Looks like they’ve already got something in common.”