Jeff Pollack | |
---|---|
Born |
Jeffrey Ian Pollack November 15, 1959 Los Angeles, California |
Died | December 23, 2013 Hermosa Beach, California |
(aged 54)
Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, television producer, writer, entrepreneur |
Years active | 1990–2013 |
Spouse(s) | Solange White Pollack (divorced) |
Children | Lael Pollack (daughter, 20), Logan Pollack (son, 15) |
Jeffrey Ian Pollack (November 15, 1959 – December 23, 2013) was an American film director, screenwriter, television producer and writer.
Jeff was known as the co-creator, writer, and producer of the '90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
As a film director he directed the films Above the Rim (1994),Booty Call (1997) and Lost & Found (1999).
Pollack served as executive consultant on The Tyra Banks Show. He was a frequent collaborator with Benny Medina. He was an alum of University of Southern California film school.
Following graduation from University of Southern California Film School in the early 1980s, Jeff Pollack traveled through Asia both as a tourist and documentarian. After three years on the road—and in the rice fields and jungle—Pollack returned to the U.S., dabbling in real estate development before devoting himself to an entertainment career.
Pollack co-created the NBC TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel Air with friend and business partner Benny Medina, who was the inspiration for the show's title character played by then-rapper Will Smith. He wrote, produced and directed for the show until its end. Pollack and Medina also launched and ran a management/production company together, Medina/Pollack Entertainment (later becoming Handprint), with clients that included Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey and Tyra Banks. Pollack produced two Billboard Music Awards ceremonies in 1992 and 1993, produced the TV documentary Jennifer Lopez in Concert, and worked with Banks on her talk show.
In 1994, under the banner of Medina/Pollack Entertainment, Pollack wrote, produced and directed the urban feature film Above the Rim starring Tupac Shakur, Leon, Duane Martin and Marlon Wayans.