- Born
- Died
- Gil Friesen was born on March 19, 1937 in Pasadena, California, USA. He was a producer, known for Better Off Dead (1985), The Breakfast Club (1985) and 20 Feet from Stardom (2013). He was married to Janet. He died on December 13, 2012 in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Spouses? (1 child)Janet(? - December 13, 2012) (his death, 2 children)
- His last film project, a documentary about backup singers entitled "20 Feet from Stardom (2013)", is scheduled to open at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January 17th, 2013.
- Was a founding partner in mid-1990s of the Classic Sports cable-TV channel, sold in 1997 to ESPN for $175 million.
- Was one of the very first employees hired by A&M Records founders' Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Later it was he ho persuaded Alpert & Moss to launch a film division. In 1977 he was named president of A&M, which eventually grew into an international corporation with over 500 employees that was bought by PolyGram in 1990 for some $500 million.
- While not a musician himself, he grew up in a musical family and attended UCLA. He began his career by working in the mail room of Capitol Records. Later at A&M he helped establish its reputation as a haven for young talent such as The Carpenters and The Police, as well as Janet Jackson, Carole King and Barry White.
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