Howard Roffman
| Howard Roffman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 18, 1953 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Education |
University of Florida University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | lawyer, marketing executive, photographer |
Howard Roffman (born April 18, 1953) is an American lawyer and marketing executive, best known for his work on the Star Wars franchise as the head of Licensing at Lucasfilm. He is also a photographer, known for a series of books of gay-positive images published by Bruno Gmünder. In 2013 he decided to take a break from photography and focus on other priorities.
Roffman, as stated by himself, a "white, Jewish man who grew up in a decidedly white middle-class section of Philadelphia", attended the University of Pennsylvania and in 1977 obtained a law degree from the University of Florida College of Law. He served as a law clerk on United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and afterwards, at the Washington D.C. law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
In 1980 Roffman joined the movie production company Lucasfilm to do legal counseling and afterwards, was promoted to general counsel. Roffman then became Lucasfilm’s Vice President of Licensing in 1986.
In 1991, he convinced Lucas to publish the first in a series of Star Wars-spin-off novels. The book, Heir to the Empire by noted science fiction author Timothy Zahn stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for nineteen weeks, paving the way for a highly successful re-launch of the franchise.
In 1999, Roffman was appointed President of Lucas Licensing, a subsidiary of Lucasfilm, which owns the licensing rights to the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series. Among the many initiatives launched by Roffman during his tenure as President of the division was the highly successful Star Wars: In Concert, a global arena tour that involved a full symphony orchestra and high definition video. Roffman served as Executive Producer. In early 2012, Roffman transitioned to the role of Senior Advisor, passing the baton to Paul Southern, who had worked for Roffman for 15 years. Later that year he was asked to return full-time to help manage the Star Wars franchise. Roffman has made several public appearances in connection with his work on Star Wars, including a speech at TEDx in 2010.
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