Tom Pollock

Having begun in the movie business by managing the affairs of the American Film Institute's marketing branch, Pollock set up the law firm of Pollock, Bloom and Dekom in 1971. The young lawyers included producer-director George Lucas and writer-director Matthew Robbins among their clients. Pollock was soon serving as chairman of Filmex Inc. as well. His executive experience and high-powered contacts eventually led to Pollock's being appointed the chairman of MCA/Universal's motion picture group and an executive vice president of MCA Inc. During his tenure with MCA, Pollock had a hand in greenlighting and overseeing such popular and distinguished projects as the "Back to the Future" trilogy, "Field of Dreams" (1989), "Henry and June" (1990), "Cape Fear" (1991), "Sneakers" (1992), "Scent of a Woman" (1992), "Jurassic Park" (1993) and "Schindler's List" (1993). In July 1995, he was appointed vice chairman of MCA Inc. Less than a year later, in March 1996, Pollock announced his resignation. He was subsequently elected as the ninth chairman of the American Film Institute which was formalized in October 1996. Tom Pollock died on August 2, 2020 at the age of 77.