Career
Thorne was admitted to the State Bar of California on December 16, 1980, [4] and began his career as an entertainment lawyer. [3] From 1987 to 1990, Thorne served as the chair of the Entertainment Law Section of the Century City Bar Association. [5]
In February 1990, Thorne was made a partner at the law firm Loeb & Loeb in California. [6]
Robert Thorne, was hired by Dave Olsen, Mary-Kate and Ashley's father, in 1990. At the time, they were only four years old, and Thorne was retained to help renegotiate their contracts for Full House. [7] The legal advice morphed, and Thorne became the managers of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen when they were only 4 1/2-years old. [8]
In March 1992, Thorne was named president-elect of Century City Bar Association in Los Angeles, after serving as the secretary for a number of years. [9] [5]
In 1993, on behalf of Mary-Kate and Ashley, Thorne founded the company Dualstar Entertainment. [10]
As Executive Producer of So Little Time , Thorne had an office located on the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. [8]
In a 2001 interview, Thorne said, "Even though they're 14 years old, I work for them." Of the Dualstar success, he went on to say, "It started as a fiction, to be candid, that it was Mary-Kate and Ashley's deal, this brand, this whole thing. They were involved more like: 'Is this O.K.?' 'Sure.' Now they say we created a monster, but I don't think so. I think we created two professional executives." [8]
On March 6, 2002, Thorne filed the articles of incorporation for a new business venture entitled Thorne Enterprises, Inc. [11] A month later, on April 9, he filed an amendment updating the name to The Robert Thorne Company, and listing himself as its president and secretary. [12]
In 2004, when the Olsen twins decided to move to New York for college, Thorne as their manager and CEO followed them across the country. He signed a contract for a $3.35 million town house in the complex. In February, he also bought a three-bedroom apartment on the 14th floor, directly below the Olsens' penthouse, for $2.13 million. [13]
After Mary-Kate and Ashley turned 18-years old, they wanted to take on the full leadership position of their production company Dualstar Entertainment. [14] Thorne, who officially had a minority stake in the company, was bought out for an undisclosed amount. [15] "The decision was to respect their desire to take the helm perhaps a few years earlier than I had anticipated," Thorne told Reuters. "But I didn’t want to stand in their way provided that I was taken care of, as I was handsomely." [16] At the time of Thorne's departure from Dualstar, the company was generating a profit of $1.2 billion in sales a year. [17]
The following year, Thorne was secured by Hilary Duff to spearhead her new merchandising venture. [18] In 2007, Thorne was quoted, "I don’t really represent people, I build businesses." [19] Merchandising Hilary Duff happened much more quickly than with the Olsens, establishing the tween-targeted brand "Stuff by Hilary Duff", and the more adult oriented partnership with Elizabeth Arden producing the fragrance With Love... Hilary Duff . [20]
