Benny Medina | |
|---|---|
 Medina in June 2013 | |
| Born | January 24, 1958 |
| Occupation | Producer |
| Years active | 1979–present |
Benny Medina (born January 24, 1958) is an American record executive, talent manager, and television producer.
Benny Medina | |
|---|---|
| Medina in June 2013 | |
| Born | January 24, 1958 |
| Occupation | Producer |
| Years active | 1979–present |
Benny Medina (born January 24, 1958) is an American record executive, talent manager, and television producer.
Medina was born in East Los Angeles, California, into a poor family. The death of his mother and abandonment by his father resulted in him being placed into a number of foster homes, which he repeatedly ran away from before he and his siblings were taken in by his aunt. In his early teenage years, Medina dealt cannabis and amphetamines.
He befriended a wealthy white teenager, whose family in Beverly Hills allowed him to live in a refurbished garage behind their property. Medina then attended Beverly Hills High where he met Kerry Gordy and was a successful student. Medina's experiences of transferring to this wealthy environment is the loose basis for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air . [1] [2] [3]
Medina started his career with the group Apollo, who released their self-titled debut on Gordy/Motown in 1979. He was the lead singer. Other members included Kerry Gordy (keyboards), Cliff Liles (bass), Lenny Greene (drums) and Larry Robinson (guitar). Medina co-wrote three of the seven tracks, including “Astro Disco,” their best known track. The album was produced by Ray Singleton, former wife of Motown founder Berry Gordy.
At age 24, Medina became the head of A&R for Motown, working as a protégé to Berry Gordy. Under Gordy, Medina wrote and produced for legendary Motown acts such as The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Billy Preston, Rick James and Teena Marie.
Medina then moved on to Warner Bros. Records, where executive Mo Ostin tasked him to build and cultivate the careers of the company's urban artists as VP/GM of its urban-music division. While there, Medina collaborated with artists such as Ray Charles, Babyface, Prince, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Paul Simon and Fleetwood Mac. He also worked with Naughty by Nature, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Biz Markie, Kool G. Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Roxanne Shanté, and Monie Love. [4]
After leaving Warner Bros., Medina and longtime friend Jeff Pollack formed Medina/Pollack Entertainment, which grew into a full service management and production company. Among their projects were Booty Call , Above the Rim , and Maid in Manhattan . [5]
In early 2009, Medina formed The Medina Company. [6]
Medina managed Jennifer Lopez, and along with then-head of Sony Music, Tommy Mottola, Medina launched Lopez's pop music career in 1999, after which, in 2003, at the height of her popularity, Lopez fired Medina and filed a complaint against him with California's labor commission. [3] As of 2008, Medina officially resumed his role as Lopez's manager, [7] and is also a godparent to her twin children. [7]
Other clients were also managed by Medina, including Tyra Banks, P. Diddy, [8] Medina also managed singer-songwriter Vanessa Daou from 1996 to 1998 while the artist was signed to Krasnow Entertainment/MCA Records. Medina also managed Mariah Carey from 2003 to 2008. Carey later parted ways from Medina's Handprint Entertainment to represent herself, with her own Maroon Entertainment.
In November 2017, actor Jason Dottley accused Medina of attempting to rape him in December 2008. [9] Dottley stated the event happened at Medina's Los Angeles mansion after Medina gave Dottley and fellow actor T. Ashanti Mozelle a tour of the home. [10] Dottley stated in an interview with The Advocate that Anthony Rapp's recent sexual assault allegations against Kevin Spacey inspired him to come out with his "shameful secret." [11] Through his attorneys Howard Weitzman and Shawn Holley, Medina said in a statement, "Benny Medina categorically denies the allegation of attempted rape." [12]
Corey Scott Feldman is an American actor and musician. As a youth, he became well known for his roles in popular 1980s films such as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985), and Stand by Me (1986). Feldman collaborated with Corey Haim starring in numerous films such as the comedy horror The Lost Boys (1987), the teen comedy License to Drive (1988) and the romantic comedy Dream a Little Dream (1989). They reunited for the A&E reality series The Two Coreys, which ran from 2007 to 2008.
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Berry Gordy III, also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.
Jermaine LaJuane Jackson is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the Jackson 5, and played bass guitar. In 1983, he rejoined the group, which had been renamed the Jacksons; he then consistently played in the group's performances and recordings until he left the group again in 2020.
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Bryan Jay Singer is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed.
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Dreamgirls is a 2006 American musical drama film written and directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name, Dreamgirls is a film à clef, a work of fiction taking strong inspiration from the history of the Motown record label and its superstar act the Supremes. The story follows the history and evolution of American R&B music during the 1960s and 1970s through the eyes of a Detroit girl group known as "The Dreams" and their manipulative record executive.
Ronald Jeremy Hyatt is an American former pornographic actor.
Digital Entertainment Network was a multimedia dot-com company founded in the late-1990s by Marc Collins-Rector and his partner, Chad Shackley. Rector and Shackley had sold their ISP, Concentric Network, and used the proceeds of that sale, along with additional investor funding, to launch DEN. In February 1999, Jim Ritts resigned as commissioner of the LPGA to become chairman of DEN.
Sherrick was an American soul singer and musician.
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Kerry Ashby Gordy is a career music executive, and fourth eldest child of the founder of Motown Records, Berry Gordy. Kerry is the chief executive officer of Kerry Gordy & Associates, Inc. LLC, KGIP Inc., and NuVintage, LLC., intellectual property and branding companies focused on entertainment.
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