ERIC PLESKOW, (producer), has the special distinction of having formed Orion Pictures, the film company that produced a string of "Best Picture" Oscar winners -- beginning with "Amadeus" in 1984 and "Platoon" in 1987 and concluding with "Dances With Wolves" in 1990 and "Silence Of The Lambs" in 1991.
He joined United Artists in 1951, where he then held various positions in the international division before becoming vice-president of international distribution for that company in 1962. By 1973, he was named executive vice president for the company, and nine months later, led United Artists as its president and C.E.O.
United Artists' market share of motion picture revenues, among the major film companies, then rose from last place (1951) to industry leader by 1977, the year in which it achieved the highest level of global revenues in motion picture history to that time.
During Eric Pleskow's leadership, the film company also earned ten "Best Picture" Oscars, more than any other film studio during the comparable period, for such memorable films as "Marty," "Around The World In Eighty Days," "The Apartment," "West Side Story," "Midnight Cowboy" and the consecutive winners "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," "Rocky" and "Annie Hall" (1975-1976-1977).
