Hollywood Producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Photo By Angela George – Wikimedia

Top 10 Facts About Jerry Bruckheimer   


 

Jerome Leon Bruckheimer is a successful American film and television producer. If you have watched CSI, Amazing Race, or any of The Bad Boys sequels, then you have watched a Jerry Bruckheimer production. 

Jerry is among the wealthiest producers in Hollywood. His genres range from action to drama, to fantasy, and science fiction. He credits his success in the film industry to working with great professional writers, directors, actors, and technical team members. 

He is known for high-quality film and television shows that deliver rich stories that take audiences to different settings such as forensic labs, fifth-century Britain, or a race around the globe. 

Here are the top 10 facts about Jerry Bruckheimer. 

1. Jerry Had A Very Humble Upbringing 

Jerry was born on 21st September 1943 in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Anna and Ludwig Bruckheimer were Jewish-German immigrants and Jerry was their only child. His parents were not very wealthy, as his dad was a salesman in an exclusive ladies’ shop and his mum was a bookkeeper for her brother’s (Jerry’s Uncle) supplies business, but they could afford the basics and had a decent lifestyle. 

Jerry’s parents took him to the movies regularly because they knew he had an interest in cinema. They had a vision for their son and so they worked very hard and ensured their son was educated up to the university level. 

2. One Of Jerry’s Hobbies Was Stamp Collection 

From left to right Johnny Depp, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Tom Cruise. Photo By Angela George – Wikimedia

Jerry had an uncle who was a photographer. As early as when he was six years old, he could take still photos using his uncle’s old cameras. When he was older, his parents gifted him a camera. Apart from taking photos at every opportunity, his other hobby was collecting stamps.   

Jerry was a keen stamp collector and was an active member of the Stamp Collecting Club. Some of the photos he took were so good that he won local awards for them. 

3. He Studied Psychology In College 

One would assume that this great producer went to film school. Well, Jerry attended Mumford High, a public school in Detroit where he graduated in 1961. He then moved states and went to Arizona where he joined the University not to study film production but psychology.  

Jerry graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and an algebra minor and he was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity. 

All the knowledge about the film industry that Jerry has, was self-taught. He researched widely because he knew he wanted to tell stories using film as a medium.  

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4. He Started As A Mail Room Boy 

After graduation, his uncle offered him a job that had good pay but Jerry declined because it was not what he was interested in doing. He took up a job at the mailing office of an advertising company where he was being paid 50 dollars weekly. 

Having learned the value of hard work from his family when he was young, he gave the mail room assignment his all. He would do favors for the people in the Television department which always made the head of the mail room look good.  

When the opportunity came, his boss recommended him as the best on the team and that is how he worked his way up. 

5. Jerry’s First Productions Were TV Commercials and Advertisements  

From left to right, Christopher McQuarrie, Kenneth R. Whitesell, Tom Cruise, Joseph Kosinski, and Jerry Bruckheimer at the premiere of Top Gun. Photo By U.S. Navy – Wikimedia

When Jerry moved from the mail room at the advertising agency, he became a creative producer for television commercials. He did this job first in Detroit before later moving to New York. Jerry created commercials for many companies including Pepsi. 

He then moved on to the film industry. He produced several movies that were not popular but American Gigolo and Cat People were the ones that put him in the spotlight. Some of Hollywood’s greatest hits like Beverly Hills Cops, Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Armageddon, and Top Gun among others have his name on them. Jerry is known as “Mr. Blockbuster” because of the high number of commercially successful films.   

Jerry had formed a partnership with Don Simpson, a fellow producer, and they worked together until his death in 1996. He died of heart failure due to a drug overdose.

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6. His Productions Have Won Various Awards Over The Years 

After the partnership ended, he established Jerry Bruckheimer Films and continued releasing movies. He then ventured into TV production. Some of the television series include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI Miami, New York, Cyber and Vegas, Without a Trace, Cold Case, and the Amazing Race among others. 

For most of his movies, he works with Paramount pictures and Disney, while for the TV series he works with Warner Bros and CBS Studios. Other companies he has worked with over the years include Columbia, 20th Fox, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Netflix, and others.  

So far, his productions have won 6 Academy, 5 Grammy, 4 Golden Globes, 17 Emmy’s and 4 People’s Choice Awards. 

 

7. He Owns A Sports Team  

Jerry Bruckheimer. Photo By Gage Skidmore – Wikimedia

Apart from TV and film, Jerry is interested in sports, particularly ice hockey. This producer is part owner of The Seattle Kraken, a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. Together with David Bonderman and Tod Leiweke, Jerry formed an organization called the Seattle Hockey Partners. The three gentlemen are the majority owners of the young ice hockey team.    

Formed in 2021, this National Hockey League expansion team started to play in the 2021–2022 season, finishing its first season in last place in the Pacific Division with a 27–49–6 record and 60 points. An improvement is expected over time and it is also worth noting that Seattle city has not had a hockey team since 1975.    

8. Jerry Has A Star On The Walk Of Fame  

Jerry has had a huge creative impact on the entertainment industry for as long as we can remember. Because of this, he is among the celebrities with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was awarded the star in 2013, and it is located near El Captain Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.  

9. As A Producer, Jerry Has Been Honored Severally 

Hollywood Producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Photo By Angela George – Wikimedia

This super producer was honored with the “ShoWest Producer of the Year Award” in 1998. He was number 39 on Forbes Celebrity 100 List in 2007 and four years earlier, in 2003, he had been named the most powerful person in Hollywood. 

Though Jerry didn’t study film in school, he has an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree (DFA) from the University of Arizona’s College of Fine Arts, which was awarded to him in 2006. It is no doubt that he has achieved great success in his career.  

10. Jerry Is A Family Man  

This guy has been married twice. His first wife was Bonnie Bruckheimer, a producer, known for Hocus Pocus, and Beaches. They got married in 1969 and divorced in 1974. Years later, in 1993, he married Linda Bruckheimer, who is a writer, producer, and editor and is now a preservation activist who helps in the restoration and preservation of historic buildings.  

They are still together and though Jerry has no biological children, he has a stepdaughter.  

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