Dawn Steel
| Dawn Steel | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Dawn Leslie Steel August 19, 1946 The Bronx, New York, United States |
| Died | December 20, 1997 (aged 51) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Steel Dawn The Tank |
| Alma mater |
Boston University New York University |
| Occupation | Film studio executive Film producer |
| Years active | 1979–1997 |
| Known for |
Flashdance Top Gun Fatal Attraction |
| Notable work | They Can Kill You But They Can't Eat You |
| Spouse(s) | Ronnie Rothstein (1975–1975) Charles Roven (1985–1997; her death) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Nat Steel Lillian Steel |
Dawn Leslie Steel (August 19, 1946 – December 20, 1997) was one of the first women to run a major Hollywood film studio, rising through the ranks of merchandising and production to head Columbia Pictures.
Steel was born in the Bronx, New York to Nathan "Nat" Steel (ne Spielberg), a zipper salesman to the military and semi-professional weight lifter called the "Man of Steel," and Lillian Steel (née Tarlow), also an electronics executive. She grew up in Manhattan and in Great Neck, New York, according to her autobiography. She had one sibling, a brother, Larry Steel.
Both of her parents were of Russian Jewish descent. When she was 9 years old, Steel's father suffered a nervous breakdown, so her mother was the family's sole support.
Steel attended the School of Business Administration at Boston University from 1964 to 1965, but left due to money problems. She attended New York University from 1966 to 1967, studying marketing, but did not graduate.
In 1968, Steel worked as a sportswriter for Major League Baseball Digest and the NFL in New York.
In 1968, after starting out as a secretary, Steel became merchandising director for Penthouse.
In 1975, she founded a merchandising company that produced novelty items such as designer logo toilet paper called Oh Dawn! Inc. One of the products she created was Gucci-logo embellished toilet paper. Within months the Gucci family sued Steel for copyright infringement. Steel hired attorney Sid Davidoff, a former top aide to Mayor John Lindsay. The case was in the news as "toilet paper caper" and was the subject of an editorial cartoon. The case was settled out of court.
In 1978, Steel moved to Los Angeles, working as a merchandising consultant for Playboy.
In 1978, Steel sold her interest in the Oh Dawn! merchandising business to her ex-husband and asked Davidoff to place a call to Hollywood. Davidoff made an introduction to Richard Weston, who ran Paramount Pictures' merchandising unit. In 1978, Steel joined Paramount Pictures as Director of Merchandising and Licensing, where she planned marketing tie-ins for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. She was promoted to Vice President, and then Vice President of Production in 1980, Senior Vice President of Production in 1983. She was a protege of Barry Diller, who was CEO of Paramount at the time.
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