Alan Mruvka (born 1958 in Bronx, New York) is an American entertainment and media entrepreneur, film producer and screenwriter. He created and co-founded Movietime Channel, which later became E! Entertainment television.[1][2][3] He is the Founder, President and CEO of 'The Alan Mruvka Company',[4] and is a New Jersey real estate developer.[5]
Alan Mruvka | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957 (age 66–67) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Miami Pratt Institute |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, film producer, television producer, screenwriter, actor, entrepreneur, real-estate developer, self-storage owner & operator |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Parent(s) | Murray Mruvka (father) Ruth Mruvka (mother) |
| Website | thealancompany |
Background
editMruvka was born to Polish refugees in Bronx, New York in 1957.[6] He grew up in Flushing, Queens and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, where he attended Dwight Morrow High School. He studied architecture and structural engineering at the University of Miami and New York's Pratt Institute.[4]
Career
editMruvka founded E! Entertainment Television, formerly known as Movietime, and was chairman and co-founder of The Ministry of Film and Filmtown Entertainment, and is now President/ CEO of TwelveOne Entertainment, a movie and television production company.
Entertainment, film, and television
editMruvka created and founded Movietime Channel Inc now known as "E! Entertainment Television" with partner Larry Namer in 1984.[2] While with E!, Mruvka oversaw production of over 20,000 hours of programming while guiding the channel to the fastest growth of a start-up of a cable network in television history. He also founded Movies USA magazine, as a national movie magazine distributed in movie theaters. Also in the 90's, Mruvka co-founded Ministry of Film (MOF) with Marilyn Vance, however that union ended in a lawsuit dispute.[7] In 1992, shortly after leaving E!, he created FX TV (Fitness and Exercise Television Inc.) as a cable channel to be launched in 1994, but sold FX to 20th Century Fox before it was launched.[8] Fox Television planned a launch of their own FX Channel, and Mruvka sued them with the assertion that Fox had prior knowledge of his use of the initials. Mruvka then sold FX to Fox for an undisclosed amount thus allowing Fox to use the name.[9]
While under the Ministry of Film shingle, Mruvka produced Erotic Confessions for Cinemax (1994–1997), Embrace of the Vampire (1995) starring Alyssa Milano, and co-wrote and produced Showtime's The Legend of Gator Face (1996). In 1998 he produced Intimate Sessions for Cinemax (1998), and the winner of the Chicago International Children's Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival critically acclaimed Digging to China starring Evan Rachel Wood, USA Network's Pacific Blue (1996–2000), the David Mamet directed State and Main, HBO's Red Letters, and the weekly boxing series Thunderbox (2000).[10]
Internet
editIn 2000, Mruvka founded the internet entertainment portal celebstreet.com.[11] As his first internet venture, the April 5 launch was christened by actress Pamela Lee Anderson at the Spring Internet world trade show at the Los Angeles Convention Center.[12]
Partial filmography
editFilm and television producer
edit- State and Main (2000)
- Red Letters (2000)
- Thunderbox (2000) TV series
- Digging to China (1997) (producer)
- Pacific Blue (1996) TV series
- The Legend of Gator Face (1996)
- Embrace of the Vampire (1995)
- Erotic Confessions" (1994) TV series
- E! Entertainment Television (1987) (Founder)
Writer
edit- The Legend of Gator Face (1996) (writer)
Actor
edit- Red Letters (2000)
- Digging to China (1997)
References
edit- ^ "Alan Mruvka". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ a b Slide, Anthony (1991). The television industry: a historical dictionary (illustrated ed.). Greenwood Press. p. 94. ISBN 9780313256349.
- ^ "Alan Mruvka Credits". hollywood.com. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ a b "Alan Mruvka official bio". bluesquare.us. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ Karlin, Beth (November 1, 2003). "Hollywood Moxie comes to Riverside". Retail Traffic. Archived from the original on November 7, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ Dougherty, Philip H. (July 30, 1987). "Advertising; Promoting Movies Via Cable". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ Shirkani, K.D. (December 20, 1999). "Battle lines drawn in $10 mil Ministry suit – Producer Vance claims partner Mruvka kept her out of financial loop". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ "Movietime duo planning fitness net". Multichannel News. April 12, 1993. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
- ^ Flint, Joe (October 14, 1993). "Fox in fight over FX. (FXTV Fitness and Exercise Television Inc. files suit against Fox Broadcasting Co. for use of similar name)". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ "People – Alan Mruvka". Los Angeles Times. November 11, 1990. pp. Business, PART–D, Financial Desk, page 3. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
- ^ Schlosberg, Jeremy (April 4, 2000). "From the guy who put the ! in entertainment". Media Life. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2009.
- ^ "E! Founder to Launch New Entertainment Website". writenews.com. The Write News. March 31, 2000. Retrieved July 4, 2009.