Biographie
Price, one of the few Hollywood executives with a writing background, began his early TV career as a story editor and writer for CBS-TV from 1951 to 1953. He then served as story editor at Columbia Pictures from 1953 to 1957, a studio he would later lead on two occasions. During the 1970s, as head of Universal TV, he developed or supervised hit shows such as The Six Million Dollar Man (1974), The Bionic Woman (1976), The Incredible Hulk (1977), Battlestar Galactica (1978), and The Rockford Files (1974), among others. He played a key role in pioneering new TV formats, including made-for-TV movies, mini-series, and 90-minute series. In 1978, Price left Universal TV's presidency to become President, and later Chairman and CEO, of Columbia Pictures. There, he contributed to acclaimed, story-driven films like Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Tootsie (1982), and Gandhi (1982), as well as blockbuster hits such as Ghostbusters (1984) and The Karate Kid (1984). After a dispute with Coca-Cola over his autonomy in 1983, Price returned to Universal as chairman of the motion picture group and president of Universal Pictures, where he developed successful films including Back to the Future (1985), Fletch (1985), Out of Africa (1985), and The Breakfast Club (1985). Following Sony's acquisition of Columbia, new executives Jon Peters and Peter Guber appointed Price to head Columbia Pictures. Eighteen months later, in October 1991, when Warner Bros.' Mark Canton became available, Canton replaced Price, who maintained a non-exclusive production deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment.
