DAVID GEFFEN

DAVID GEFFEN ENTERTAINMENT EXEC, AIDS ACTIVIST

With a sure instinct for entertaining the public, Geffen has had huge success in records, theater, and movies. He has given generously of his time and money to AIDS organizations.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 21, 1943, David Geffen made his first million (before age 25) as a talent agent, then worked as a record producer. He promoted a wide variety of artists -Joni Mitchell, Aerosmith, Kitaro, Guns N' Roses, Pat Metheny, and Cher. Having been president of Elektra-Asylum Records, he founded Geffen Records in 1980. He produced such films as Personal Best (1982), Risky Business (1983), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), and Beetlejuice (1988), and on Broadway his hits include Cats (1982), Dreamgirls (1983), and M. Butterfly (1988), which won nine Tony Awards, including Best Play. Having produced 50 records that sold more than 500,000 copies and 31 that sold a million, Geffen sold his company to MCA for $545 million in 1990.

An art collector, Geffen has served on the board of the Los Angeles County Art Museum. From 1980 to 1987, he was a Regent of the University of California. He was active in the formation of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR) in 1985 (see card 98) and served on its board of directors until 1992. At that time he said he had put enough time and effort into AmFAR and felt it was time to give as much to other organizations. In 1992 he contributed $1 million each to the service organizations AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) in New York (see card 108). Geffen's contribution to GMHC was the largest individual gift in its history. Next Card 96: DR. C. EVERETT KOOP: Former Surgeon General