Jerome Leonard Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, comedy, fantasy, horror and science fiction. After working in advertising out of college, Bruckheimer moved into film production in the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, he partnered with fellow producer Don Simpson. Bruckheimer and Simpson's partnership continued until Simpson's death in 1996. Bruckheimer has produced films including Flashdance, Days of Thunder, The Rock, Crimson Tide, Dangerous Minds, Con Air, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, as well as the Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, Bad Boys, Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure franchises.
At the helm of his self-titled production company, he has produced films that have been produced in association with and distributed by numerous film studios such as Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures and Disney, while his television works have been co-produced by Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios. In July 2003, Bruckheimer was honored by Variety as the first in Hollywood history to produce the first and second highest-grossing films of a single weekend: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Bad Boys II. In 2023, Top Gun: Maverick earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Picture at the 95th Academy Awards. He was nominated again in the same category for F1 (2025).
His best known television series are television dramas CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, CSI: Cyber, Without a Trace, Cold Case, Lucifer and reality competition series The Amazing Race, which would spawn a franchise with international versions. For the latter, he won ten Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2003, three of his television productions—CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Without a Trace and CSI: Miami—ranked among the top ten in the US ratings, making him the first producer to achieve this.
Bruckheimer is also the co-founder (with David Bonderman) and majority owner of the Seattle Kraken, the 2021 expansion team of the National Hockey League.
Early life
Bruckheimer was born on September 21, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of German Jewish immigrants. He graduated from Mumford High School in 1961 in Detroit, at age 17, before moving to Arizona for college. Bruckheimer was also an active member of the Stamp Collecting Club. He graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Arizona. He was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. A film buff at an early age with an interest in photography, Bruckheimer would take snapshots when he had the opportunity. After college, Bruckheimer worked in advertising in Detroit (creative producer) and New York City. At the Detroit agency he worked on a one-minute ad spot for the new Pontiac GTO. Early in his career, Bruckheimer produced television commercials, including one for Pepsi.
Career
1970s & 1980s: From advertising to film production
Bruckheimer started producing films in the 1970s after leaving his job in advertising, with director Dick Richards. They worked together on the films The Culpepper Cattle Company, Farewell, My Lovely and March or Die. Bruckheimer then worked with Paul Schrader on two films, American Gigolo and Cat People, which began to attract notice for him in Hollywood.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he was a co-producer with Don Simpson of a string of highly successful films for Paramount Pictures. He first met Simpson at a screening of 1973's The Harder They Come at Warner Brothers. The two worked together and created Bruckheimer's first big hit, 1983's Flashdance, which brought in . He had a number of other hits during that time period, including the Beverly Hills Cop films, Top Gun and Days of Thunder. Top Gun marked his first collaboration with English director Tony Scott, who directed six films for Bruckheimer. The first Beverly Hills Cop movie, which was supposed to star Sylvester Stallone, launched Eddie Murphy's career and in just five days, became the highest grossing winter release in Paramount's history. On August 9, 1983, Bruckheimer and Simpson struck a three-year agreement with Paramount to produce theatrical and television projects through his new Simpson/Bruckheimer Productions company.
While working with Simpson, Bruckheimer became known as "Mr. Outside" because of his experience with filmmaking, while Simpson became known as "Mr. Inside" because of his film industry contacts. The Rock was the last film in which Bruckheimer collaborated with Simpson. After Simpson's death in 1996, Bruckheimer stipulated that The Rock be dedicated to the memory of Simpson.
1990s: Big-budget films
In 1990, Bruckheimer and Simpson struck a deal with Paramount to produce five movies, entirely of their choice. However, his 1990 production of the film Days of Thunder, which starred Tom Cruise, did not perform as well as expected, which was a step backwards in the Bruckheimer-Simpson success story. The duo made a come-back in 1994, however, with the low-budget film () The Ref.
thumb|Bruckheimer (right) and [[Michael Bay during the filming of 1998's Armageddon]]
Despite Simpson's untimely death, Bruckheimer continued to produce a large number of action films, often working with director Michael Bay on several box office hits, including Armageddon. Other popular films he produced include Remember the Titans, Black Hawk Down and the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Bruckheimer has also acquired the rights to produce a film based on the popular role playing game by Palladium Books, Rifts. In the late 1990s, he started Technical Black Films to produce non-action films, with Remember the Titans being the only film produced.
2000s: Franchises, television, video games
Since 1996, Bruckheimer has branched out into television, creating a number of police dramas of which CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has been the most notable on daytime television. He also produced the reality game show The Amazing Race. In May 2008, CBS announced it had picked up Bruckheimer's newest series, Eleventh Hour, for the 2008–2009 broadcast television season. The science fiction drama follows a government agent and a professor as they investigate strange scientific and medical activity.
From 2004 (beginning of CSI: NY) to 2009 (end of Without a Trace), Bruckheimer had six hit television shows on the air: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Cold Case, Without a Trace and The Amazing Race. At one point, three of his television series ranked among the top 10 in the ratings. The same year, Bruckheimer joined the ZeniMax Media board of directors and has since showed up at several launch parties for Bethesda Softworks titles, including Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. In 2009, Bruckheimer unveiled Jerry Bruckheimer Games, headed by former Microsoft Studios Publishing Executive Producer Jim Veevaert, as President of Production, and Jay Cohen, previously Ubisoft's Vice President of US Publishing, as President of Development.
It was announced on September 10, 2009, that NBC had picked up an action procedural from Bruckheimer. The show, titled Chase, "tells the stories of a team charged with making sure fugitive criminals don't evade justice," reports The Hollywood Reporter. It was canceled in May 2011, however. Skin, which was another Bruckheimer production, was cancelled in 2003, after only three episodes.
On February 13, 2026, Bruckheimer teased to Entertainment Tonight that when it came to the status update involving upcoming film installments of Pirates of the Caribbean and of Top Gun, that Bruckheimer is "expecting a script shortly" on the latter. He then further elaborated that "I think it's a horse race between the two of them, so we'll see." And "right now, Top Gun is a hair ahead, but that's it. We're expecting a script shortly."
2010s: Independent producer, sports
In 2011, it was rumored that Jerry Bruckheimer Games was working on three titles, but nothing came to fruition. In March 2013, Jerry Bruckheimer Games was closed. Although Jerry Bruckheimer Games is closed, Bruckheimer still remained a ZeniMax board member, mostly due to being a close associate of former ZeniMax President Ernest Del, until ZeniMax was purchased by Microsoft in 2021.
thumb|[[Christopher McQuarrie, Kenneth R. Whitesell, Tom Cruise, Joseph Kosinski and Bruckheimer at the global premiere of Top Gun: Maverick]]
In 2014, after the disappointment of The Sorcerer's Apprentice and The Lone Ranger, Bruckheimer and the Disney Studios chose to part ways by not renewing their first-look deal that expired that year. He signed a new first-look deal with Paramount that same year and mentioned a new Beverly Hills Cop and a Top Gun 2 as potential production ventures with his new partner.
In June 2016, Jerry Bruckheimer Television became an independent outfit, ending a 15-year run exclusive pact with Warner Bros Television. The next year, the production company signed a deal with CBS Television Studios. In 2020, it was reported that his first look deal with Paramount was not renewed.
Bruckheimer was named as one of the investors of a proposed sports arena in Las Vegas, and he had been rumored to be the leading choice by the National Hockey League (NHL) to own an expansion hockey team that would play in the arena. Bruckheimer was also named as one of the investors of a proposed Seattle-based NHL expansion team, whose application was submitted in early 2018. The NHL Board of Governors voted to approve the team, named the Seattle Kraken, on December 4, 2018, which started to play in the 2021–22 season. Bruckheimer was part of an investment group that also included Tim Leiweke (Oak View Group) and David Bonderman (minority owner NBA's Boston Celtics).
Impact on the film industry
High-profit productions
thumb|left|Bruckheimer (center) with [[Johnny Depp (left) and Tom Cruise (right) in June 2013]]
The movie Top Gun was produced in collaboration with the Pentagon to rebrand the US Navy's image after the Vietnam War and attract new Navy recruits. Top Gun was the first full-blown collaboration between Hollywood and the Navy. The model, which was developed by Bruckheimer, launched a new trend of military movies in the 1990s and onward. When asked why he makes films, he stated, "If I made films for the critics, or for someone else, I'd probably be living in some small Hollywood studio apartment."
In a 1984 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Bruckheimer said, "We [he and Don Simpson] put together all the elements. We decide what aesthetic is right for a picture. We are as much a part of the process as the director." He resides in Los Angeles with his second wife, novelist Linda Cobb Bruckheimer whom he married in 1993. He has one stepdaughter. The couple own a farm in Bloomfield, Kentucky, about southeast of Louisville, as well as another in Ojai, east of Santa Barbara.
When asked about his favorite films, Bruckheimer named The Godfather (1972), The French Connection (1971), Good Will Hunting (1997) and The 400 Blows (1959). According to The Smoking Gun, however, the last time the Jerry Bruckheimer Foundation made a contribution was in 1995, when it gave to Van Nuys Prep School.
Bruckheimer has aided in the repair and restoration of the historic clipper ship, Cutty Sark. A collection of photos taken by Bruckheimer went on display in London in November 2007 to help raise money for the Cutty Sark Conservation Project. The exhibition featured more than thirty pictures taken on set during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
Political contributions
Bruckheimer has donated more than to Republican campaigns and committees. He donated funds to John McCain's 2008 presidential election campaign. He gave to a joint fundraising committee on John McCain's behalf. He donated to the 2012 Mitt Romney Victory Fund.
Filmography
Film
Paramount Pictures
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1980
| American Gigolo
| Paul Schrader
|
|-
| 1983
| Flashdance
| Adrian Lyne
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1984
| Beverly Hills Cop
| Martin Brest
|
|-
| Thief of Hearts
| Douglas Day Stewart
|
|-
| 1986
| Top Gun
|rowspan=3|Tony Scott
|
|-
| 1987
| Beverly Hills Cop II
|
|-
| 1990
| Days of Thunder
|
|-
| 2019
| Gemini Man
| Ang Lee
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2022
| Top Gun: Maverick
| Joseph Kosinski
|
|-
| Secret Headquarters
| Henry Joost<br />Ariel Schulman
| Via Paramount+
|-
|}
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1994
| The Ref
| Ted Demme
| Executive producer
|-
|rowspan=2|1995
| Crimson Tide
| Tony Scott
|
|-
| Dangerous Minds
| John N. Smith
|
|-
| 1996
| The Rock
| Michael Bay
|
|-
| 1997
| Con Air
| Simon West
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1998
| Armageddon
| Michael Bay
|
|-
| Enemy of the State
| Tony Scott
|
|-
|rowspan=3|2000
| Coyote Ugly
| David McNally
|
|-
| Gone in 60 Seconds
| Dominic Sena
|
|-
| Remember the Titans
| Boaz Yakin
|
|-
| 2001
| Pearl Harbor
| Michael Bay
|
|-
| 2002
| Bad Company
| Joel Schumacher
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2003
| Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
| Gore Verbinski
|
|-
| Veronica Guerin
| Joel Schumacher
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2004
| King Arthur
| Antoine Fuqua
|
|-
| National Treasure
| Jon Turteltaub
|
|-
|rowspan=3|2006
| Déjà Vu
| Tony Scott
|
|-
| Glory Road
| James Gartner
|
|-
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
| Gore Verbinski
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2007
| National Treasure: Book of Secrets
| Jon Turteltaub
|
|-
| Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
| Gore Verbinski
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2009
| Confessions of a Shopaholic
| P. J. Hogan
|
|-
| G-Force
| Hoyt Yeatman
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2010
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
| Mike Newell
|
|-
| The Sorcerer's Apprentice
| Jon Turteltaub
|
|-
| 2011
| Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
| Rob Marshall
|
|-
| 2013
| The Lone Ranger
| Gore Verbinski
|
|-
| 2017
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
| Joachim Rønning<br />Espen Sandberg
|
|-
| 2024
| Young Woman and the Sea
| Joachim Rønning
|
|-
|}
Sony Pictures Releasing
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Director
|-
| 1977
| March or Die
| Dick Richards
|-
| 1995
| Bad Boys
| Michael Bay
|-
| 2002
| Black Hawk Down
| Ridley Scott
|-
| 2003
| Bad Boys II
| Michael Bay
|-
| 2014
| Deliver Us from Evil
| Scott Derrickson
|-
| 2020
| Bad Boys for Life
|rowspan=2|Adil El Arbi<br />Bilall Fallah
|-
| 2024
| Bad Boys: Ride or Die
|}
Warner Bros.
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1975
| Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
| Dick Richards
| Associate producer
|-
| 2003
| Kangaroo Jack
| David McNally
|
|-
| 2018
| 12 Strong
| Nicolai Fuglsig
| With Alcon Entertainment and Black Label Media; released by Lionsgate internationally
|-
| 2025
| F1
| Joseph Kosinski
| With Apple TV
|-
|}
Others
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Distribution
! Notes
|-
| 1972
| The Culpepper Cattle Co.
|rowspan=2|Dick Richards
| 20th Century Fox
| Associate producer
|-
| 1975
| Farewell, My Lovely
| Avco Embassy Pictures
|
|-
| 1980
| Defiance
| John Flynn
| American International Pictures
|
|-
| 1981
| Thief
| Michael Mann
| United Artists
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1982
| Cat People
| Paul Schrader
| Universal Pictures
| Executive producer
|-
| Young Doctors in Love
| Garry Marshall
| 20th Century Fox
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2024
| The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
| Guy Ritchie
| Lionsgate
|
|-
| Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
| Mark Molloy
| Netflix
|
|-
| 2025
| Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert
| Paul Dugdale
| Trafalgar Releasing
|
|-
|}
Television
Co-producer
- Fearless (2004)
- Take the Money and Run (2011)
Executive producer
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Notes
! Ref.
|-
| 1996–97 || Dangerous Minds || ||
|-
| 1998–99 || Soldier of Fortune, Inc. || ||
|-
| 1998 || Max Q || rowspan="2" | TV films ||
|-
| 1999 || Swing Vote ||
|-
| 2000–15 || CSI: Crime Scene Investigation || ||
|-
| 2001–present || The Amazing Race || ||
|-
| 2002–09 || Without a Trace || ||
|-
| 2002–12 || CSI: Miami || ||
|-
| 2002–03 || The Legacy || ||
|-
| 2003 || Profiles from the Front Line || ||
|-
| 2003–04 || Skin || ||
|-
| 2003–10 || Cold Case || ||
|-
| 2004–13 || CSI: NY || ||
|-
| 2005–06 || Just Legal || ||
|-
| 2005–06 || E-Ring || ||
|-
| 2005–07 || Close to Home || ||
|-
| 2006 || Modern Men || ||
|-
| 2006–07 || Justice || ||
|-
| 2008–09 || Eleventh Hour || ||
|-
| 2009–10 || The Forgotten || ||
|-
| 2009–10 || Dark Blue || ||
|-
| 2010 || Miami Medical || ||
|-
| 2010–11 || Chase || ||
|-
| 2010–11 || The Whole Truth || ||
|-
| 2013–14 || Hostages || ||
|-
| 2015–16 || CSI: Cyber || ||
|-
| 2016–21|| Lucifer || ||
|-
| 2017 || Training Day || ||
|-
| 2020 || Council of Dads || ||
|-
| 2020–2024 || Hightown || ||
|-
| 2021–2024 || CSI: Vegas || A sequel of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ||
|-
| 2021 || Cocaine Cowboys || Inspired by the 2006 Cocaine Cowboys documentary ||
|-
| 2022–present || Fire Country || ||
|-
| 2022 || American Gigolo || ||
|-
| 2022–2023 || National Treasure: Edge of History || ||
|-
| 2024 || The Real CSI: Miami || ||
|-
| 2025–present || Sheriff Country || ||
|}
Honors and awards
- 1998: ShoWest Producer of the Year Award
- 2000: Producers Guild of America
- 2000: David O. Selznick Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2003: "No. 1 most-powerful person in Hollywood" by Entertainment Weekly
- 2003–2009, 2011–2012, 2014: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Competition Program for The Amazing Race
- 2006: #10 on Premieres "Power 50" list
- 2013: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, placed right by El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
His productions collected the following:
- Academy Award: 52 nominations, 8 wins
- Grammy Award: 8 nominations, 5 wins
- Golden Globe: 23 nominations, 4 wins
- Emmy Award: 77 nominations, 17 wins
- Peabody award for visionary award
- People's Choice Awards: 8 nominations, 4 wins
Notes
References
External links
- Jerry Bruckheimer Films
- ZeniMax Media Inc.