Tom Sherak: Pioneering Spirit

THOMAS M. SHERAK, whose remarkable career saw him at the pinnacle of motion picture marketing, distribution and production, was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Mayor Eric Garcetti’s LA Film Czar, in addition to consulting for Skydance Productions, One Three Media, and other entertainment entities. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 28, 2014. Previously, Sherak was a partner at Revolution Studios which released more than forty seven films, including America’s Sweethearts, Black Hawk Down, XXX, Anger Management, 13 Going On 30, and Across the Universe. Sherak also consulted for Marvel Studios on films such as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor.

Prior to joining Revolution Studios, Sherak was Chairman of Twentieth Century Fox Domestic Film Group. Sherak also served as Senior Executive Vice President of Fox Filmed Entertainment. Previously, he was President of Domestic Distribution and Marketing for Twentieth Century Fox. In that position, he supervised the company’s domestic distribution, advertising/publicity/promotion operations and the nontheatrical film division. Sherak oversaw the marketing and distribution of such films as Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition), Romancing the Stone, Wall Street, Die Hard, Working Girl, Home Alone, Edward Scissorhands, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Mrs. Doubtfire, True Lies, Speed, Independence Day, and Star Wars: Episode 1–The Phantom Menace. Sherak joined Fox from General Cinema, where he was Vice President and head film buyer. Sherak began his career in the film industry at Paramount Pictures in 1970 where he worked in the New York, Washington, D.C. and St. Louis distribution offices.

He was an active board member of the Southern California Chapter of The National Multiple Sclerosis Society and chaired the MS Dinner of Champions for over 20 years, raising more than 47 million dollars for multiple sclerosis research and programs. He was the Chairman of the MS Hope Foundation, which he recently helped form, as well as an active board member of the Fulfillment Fund of Southern California, a college access organization helping inter-city youth in Los Angeles. He was a former Chairman of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation and formerly on the Board of Directors for the Motion Picture and Television Fund, as well as the Southern California Variety–the Children’s Charity. Sherak had also previously served as Treasurer of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He and his wife, Madeleine, received the 2010 Visionary Honor from the Lighthouse International Board of Directors for their philanthropic work. The Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation gave Sherak the 2011 Dave Winfield Humanitarian Award. In April 2011, the American Academy of Neurology honored Sherak with the Public Leadership in Neurology Award for his efforts in raising funds and public awareness on behalf of patients with multiple sclerosis and their families. He also served on the advisory board of Vision To Learn.

Sherak received an honorary doctorate in the arts from the Academy of Art University in May 2010, had a degree in marketing from New York City Community College and served on the faculty in the UCLA Producers Program. Also, he was one of the producers of the Broadway play Relatively Speaking, which opened in October 2011.