David Permut

When his peers were concerning themselves with grade-point-averages and whether they should work during the summer or back-pack through Europe, David A. Permut had quit college and was already working producing motion pictures. Starting with such projects as "Give 'Em Hell Harry" (1975) starring James Whitmore as Harry S Truman and the "Richard Pryor -- Live in Concert" (1979), Permut has gone on to produce or executive producer more than 20 motion pictures and several TV projects as well, ranging from studio efforts such as the big screen version of "Dragnet" in 1987, to the edgy independent "Three of Hearts" (1993), in which a man and a woman are in love with the same woman. Permut came to the attention of Hollywood powers in 1975 when he taped a performance of Whitmore in "Give 'Em Hell, Harry" for a production cost of $320,000, transferred the result to film, released it nationwide, and grossed $11 million. "Richard Pryor Live" grossed $32 million domestically on an investment of less than $1 million. Permut formed his own projection company in 1979, and signed his first studio deal in 1979 with Columbia, under the tutelage of Ray Stark, although it was not until 1982 that he saw his first feature film released -- "Fighting Back" by Paramount. "Dragnet" was his first box office success, although it was followed with the less successful "The Marrying Man," which writer Neil Simon disavowed. In 1992, Permut produced Alan J. Pakula's sputtering "Consenting Adults," about wife swapping and murder, and the abysmal Martin Short-Kurt Russell match-up, "Captain Ron." It was in 1993 that Permut moved away from studio fare to "Three of Hearts," although he was back with Paramount in 1993 for "The Temp," which has been described by critics as "Eve Harrington with a psychotic streak." After the equally forgettable "Trapped in Paradise" and "Surviving the Game" (both 1994), Permut produced "Eddie" (1996), in which Whoopi Goldberg becomes a pro basketball coach. In 1997 came