Charlie Ebersol

Charlie Ebersol
Born Charles Duncan Ebersol
December 1982 (age 35)
Torrington, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater University of Notre Dame
Occupation Television Producer, Television Director, Film Producer, Film Director
Parent(s) Dick Ebersol
Susan Saint James

Charles Duncan Ebersol,[1] (born December 1982)[2] is an American television and film producer and director, based out of Los Angeles. Ebersol is best known as the co-founder of The Company with Justin Hochberg,[3] executive producer of USA Network’s NFL Characters Unite and a co-producer of The Profit on CNBC.[4]

In 2012, Ebersol was named by The Hollywood Reporter as one of Reality Television’s 50 Most Powerful Producers.[5]

Early life

Charlie Ebersol was born in Torrington, Connecticut,[2] the son of actress Susan Saint James and senior television executive Dick Ebersol.[6]

Plane crash

On November 28, 2004, during Charlie Ebersol’s senior year at Notre Dame, a private chartered jet carrying Dick Ebersol and his two sons Charlie and Teddy Ebersol crashed during takeoff.[7]

Charlie rescued his father from the wreckage, but Charlie’s younger brother, Teddy, along with the pilot and flight attendant on board were killed.[8][9]

The injuries the Ebersols sustained in the plane crash were extensive; Dick Ebersol fractured six vertebrae, sternum, three ribs, pelvis, and coccyx, and Charlie Ebersol burned his arm and suffered a less severe back injury.[10]

Charlie Ebersol returned to the University of Notre Dame shortly after the plane crash to finish his senior year and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree on May 15, 2005.[11]

Early projects

While studying at Notre Dame, Ebersol created his first documentary entitled Ithuteng: Never Stop Learning in 2006.[12] The movie received critical acclaim, winning the Toronto International Film Festival’s first OneXOne award and inspired Oprah Winfrey to donate $1.14 million to the Ithuteng Trust School.[13]

Ebersol also produced the documentaries Don’t Look Down, about the life of Olympian Shaun White after he won Olympic Gold in 2006,[14] and Tradition Never Graduates, a film about Notre Dame Football.[15]

In 2009, Ebersol formed and sold Saint James Films and also co-created and executive produced NBC’s The Wanted, a primetime show in which Ebersol and producing partner Adam Ciralsky led a team of former Navy Seals, a former UN Ambassador and a former Lieutenant Green Beret around the world in search of the most wanted terrorists and war criminals.[16]

The Company

In 2011, Charlie Ebersol co-founded The Hochberg-Ebersol (THE) Company with Justin Hochberg and Mike Lanigan.[17]

Early projects included TNT’s The Great Escape,[6] executive produced with Bertram Van Munster, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, and History’s Off the Grid: Million Dollar Manhunt.[18]

Ebersol created USA Network’s The Moment in 2013, a show hosted by Kurt Warner devoted to giving Americans a second chance to achieve their dreams. Ebersol was inspired to create the show after receiving his own second chance at life after surviving a plane crash in 2004.[19]

Ebersol is also the co-creator and executive producer of NFL Characters Unite a yearly television special with USA Network[20] and The Profit on CNBC. In 2013 he worked with Dolph Lundgren on the Reelz competition show Race to the Scene.[21]

Ebersol’s production company changed its name from THE Company to The Company in 2013, upon the exit of Justin Hochberg.[22] Ebersol’s stated mission with The Company is to bring “Joy, Happiness, and Change…to the world through entertainment.”[23]

In 2014, The Company announced a production and finance partnership with Israeli production house Dori Media.[24][25]

Ebersol was rumored to be attached to produce Space Jam 2, with his brother Willie Ebersol writing.[26]

Ebersol is executive producing The Untitled Yale Drama for USA Network along with Rob Reiner. [27]

Ebersol directed This Was the XFL, a documentary in the 30 for 30 series about the XFL. He was chosen by ESPN to direct the documentary because of his father's co-founding of the league, and he used the longtime friendship between Dick and WWE chairman Vince McMahon as the centerpiece for the film.

Alliance of American Football

In March of 2018, Ebersol announced the creation of a new pro football league, called the Alliance of American Football.[28] The announcement was made at a press event at the Park Hyatt in Manhattan, and was streamed live on Facebook.[29] Ebersol co-founded the league, which will start playing in 2019, with former NFL executive and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Bill Polian.[30] Ebersol's father, who co-founded rival league XFL and who led NBC Sports and created Sunday Night Football, will also sit on the league's board.[31] The league is backed by investors such as Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, The Chernin Group and former NFL player Jared Allen, and has attracted coaches like Mike Singletary, Brad Childress and Steve Spurrier as well as former NFL players like Justin Tuck, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu who will step into executive roles.[32][33] Games will be played during the "off-season," from February to April, and will air on CBS and the league's mobile app.[34]

Philanthropy

For his 30th birthday, Ebersol held a party entitled “Charlieland” benefiting Charity: Water, raising nearly $60,000 for the charity.[35] Fulbright Scholar and USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Fellow, Anne Elizabeth Moore, has posed some very serious concerns about where the money raised for charity actually went.[36]

Charlie Ebersol and The Company became entertainment partners of the veteran campaign Got Your 6 in 2014 together with the First Lady Michelle Obama and the actor Bradley Cooper.[37][38][39]

Personal life

Ebersol briefly dated tennis star Maria Sharapova in 2008[40] and singer Britney Spears from 2014 until 2015.[41][42] On March 17, 2017, he announced via Twitter his engagement to Melody McCloskey, Founder and CEO of StyleSeat. On July 29, 2017, Ebersol and McCloskey were married at a farm in Walland, Tennessee. [43]

References

  1. ↑ "Susan Saint James". Yahoo Movies Canada. Archived from the original on 2015-05-30.
  2. 1 2 "Newsmakers > Susan Saint James [gives birth to William James Ebersol]". Kentucky New Era. Associated Press. October 23, 1986. p. 8E. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  3. ↑ AJ Marechal “THE Co. Co-Founder Justin Hochberg Exits Shingle (Exclusive)”] "Variety" July 3, 2013
  4. ↑ “The Profit (2013– ) Full Cast & Crew on CNBC”
  5. ↑ THR Staff “Reality TV: THR's 50 Most Powerful List”, “The Hollywood Reporter”, May 16, 2012
  6. 1 2 John Ourand “Young Ebersol finds his place in TV production”, “Sports Business Journal”, April 1, 2013
  7. ↑ Sam Davis “Notre Dame senior Charlie Ebersol survives Colorado plane crash”, “The Observer”, November 29, 2004
  8. ↑ “Ebersol family discusses plane crash that killed son”, “USA Today”, February 2, 2006
  9. ↑ “Susan Saint James remembers her son Teddy”, “TODAY.com”, December 12, 2004
  10. ↑ Claire Heininger “The Observer”, Wednesday, January 12, 2005
  11. ↑ Klowetter, Barbara. Records Management Team, Office of the Registrar, University of Notre Dame.
  12. ↑ Kaitlynn Riely “Ebersol to again go on ‘Oprah’”, “The Observer”, April 20, 2006
  13. ↑ Richard Sandomir “Film About Despair in South Africa, and School That Offers Hope”, “The New York Times”, July 2, 2005
  14. ↑ “Don't Look Down: Shaun White”, “Eye Candy Cinema”, November 30, 2014
  15. ↑ “Notre Dame: Tradition Never Graduates”, “www.stephanmazurek.com”, November 26, 2014
  16. ↑ Jim Halterman “Interview: "The Wanted" Executive Producers Charlie Ebersol & Adam Ciralsky”, “Futon Critic”, July 20, 2009
  17. ↑ Stuart Levine “Hochberg Ebersol Co. takes off”, “Variety”, November 11, 2011
  18. ↑ Jacob Goodwin “Off the Grid reality TV depicts real-world surveillance technologies”, “GSN: Government Security News”, November 29, 2011
  19. ↑ Randee Dawn “Charlie Ebersol seizes 'The Moment,' offers people a second chance at dreams”, “TODAY.com”, April 12, 2013
  20. ↑ “"NFL Characters Unite" film to air Friday on USA Network”, “NFL.com”, February 6, 2013
  21. ↑ Deadline Team “Dolph Lundgren To Host ReelzChannel Competition Series 'Race To The Scene'”, “Deadline”, July 25, 2012
  22. ↑ AJ Marechal “THE Co. Co-Founder Justin Hochberg Exits Shingle (Exclusive)”, “Variety”, November 10, 2013
  23. ↑ “The Mission” Archived November 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine., “The Company”, November 29, 2014
  24. ↑ Brian Steinberg “Charlie Ebersol, Israel’s Dori Media Set Production Venture”, “Variety”, March 5, 2014
  25. ↑ Daniel Holloway “The Company Partners With Israel’s Dori Media on International Venture”, “Broadcasting & Cable”, March 5, 2014
  26. ↑ Anita Busch “Ebersols Aboard To Produce And Script Warner Bros’ ‘Space Jam 2′ As A Starring Vehicle For LeBron James”, “Deadline”, February 21, 2014
  27. ↑ Nellie Andreeva “Rob Reiner & Andrew Lenchewski Sell Spy Drama Set In Yale’s Skull & Bones Society To USA”, “Deadline”, August 13, 2014
  28. ↑ Bixenspan, David (March 21, 2018). "Why Is Charlie Ebersol Launching A Direct Rival To His Buddy Vince McMahon's XFL?". Deadspin. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  29. ↑ Joyce, Greg (2018-03-20). "Why Alliance of American Football thinks it will be different". New York Post. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  30. ↑ Fowler, Jeremy. "A new football league is here: The AAF has big plans". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
  31. ↑ Spangler, Todd (2018-03-20). "New Pro Football League Sets 2019 Debut With CBS Sports Pact". Variety. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  32. ↑ Perez, A.J. (2018-03-21). "New AAF pro football league, set for 2019 debut, described as 'complementary' to NFL". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  33. ↑ Rovell, Darren. "Former NFLers involved in league to rival XFL". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
  34. ↑ Moore, Greg (2018-05-21). "Alliance of American Football might work by appealing to fans, gamblers in post-NFL window". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  35. ↑ “CharlieLAND”, “Charity: Water”, December 31, 2012
  36. ↑ Moore, Anne Elizabeth. The Problem With Charity Water. Truthout, January 12, 2013. http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/13814-the-problem-with-charity-water
  37. ↑ "Charlie Ebersol Teams Up with Michelle Obama & Bradley Cooper to Advocate for Veterans". PEOPLE.com.
  38. ↑ Andrea Seikaly “Bizzers Meet to Discuss Media’s Portrayal of Veterans”, “Variety”, May 29, 2014
  39. ↑ Jeff Nelson “Meet Britney Spears's New Beau: 5 Things to Know About Charlie Ebersol”, “People”, November 6, 2014
  40. ↑ Anthony Miccio http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/2008-09-30/maria-sharapova-announces-new-boyfriend-at-date-auction, VH1 Celebrity, September 30, 2008
  41. ↑ Zach Johnson “Britney Spears Confirms She's Dating Charlie Ebersol, Calls Her New Boyfriend 'Someone Special'”, “E! Online”, November 6, 2014
  42. ↑ France, Lisa Respers (2015-06-23). "Britney Spears and Charlie Ebersol split". CNN. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  43. ↑ "Melody McCloskey, Charles Ebersol". Retrieved 2018-09-07.
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