Steven Haft is an American media executive, attorney and film producer.

Steven Haft
Born1949 (age 74–75)
NationalityAmerican
EducationJ.D. Hofstra University School of Law
Occupation(s)Media executive
Attorney
Film producer
SpouseLisa Birnbach (divorced)
Children3

Biography

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Haft was born in Manhattan and raised in Flushing, Queens,[1] the son of Helen (née Urdang) and Nathan "Nuddy" Haft.[2] He is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law[3] and is a member of the bar of the U. S. Supreme Court.[4] After studying, Haft produced films for over 20 years including Jakob the Liar and Dead Poets Society.[4]

In 2000, he accepted a position with AOL as vice president and chief strategy officer for its $1.2 billion in sales Interactive Marketing Group. He left AOL to found the media consultancy company Indyworks, which focuses on the impact of emerging technologies on media. His clients included Comcast Cable, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the College Television Network, AirMedia, Edelman and Burson-Marstellar. He is the senior vice president of innovation for the magazine publisher Time Inc.[4]

Philanthropy and civic service

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Haft has been involved in environmental issues, human rights and arts in education since the 1970s. He sat on the board of United States' variant of the TerraMar Project, which was a United Nations NGO that promoted the Clean Oceans provision of the Sustainable Development Goals program,[4] until TerraMar (US) announced that it had ended operations on July 12, 2019, after the sex trafficking charges against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, became public.[5]

Haft is an advisory board member of the Global Partnerships Forum, which acts as an intermediary linking business entities, government agencies and the United Nations to develop shared goals and efforts. He is an elected member of the Motion Picture Academy and a trustee emeritus of Robert Redford's Sundance Institute and was appointed by the New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, to the board of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Corporation. He is vice chair of the Presidential Scholars Foundation, is a STEM advisor to the Center for the Study of The Presidency & Congress and has done work for the John D. Rockefeller III Fund, the John Hay Whitney Foundation, the United Automobile Workers and the American Civil Liberties Union. He was a co-founder of the original Earth Day in 1970.[4]

Personal life

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He is divorced from the author Lisa Birnbach;[3][6] they have three children.[7] He attended the Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan.[8]

Filmography

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He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

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Year Film Credit
1987 Beyond Therapy
1988 Mr. North
1989 Dead Poets Society
1993 Hocus Pocus
1996 Last Dance
Emma
1999 The Third Miracle
Jakob the Liar
The Bumblebee Flies Anyway
2000 Beautiful Joe
Tigerland
2003 The Singing Detective
2004 Eulogy
2007 Intervention Executive producer
2017 Three Christs Executive producer
2022 Hocus Pocus 2
As writer
Year Film
1996 Last Dance

Television

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Year Title Credit Notes
1983 Nightcap
1985 The Recovery Room Executive producer Television pilot
1992 Stormy Weathers Executive producer Television film
American Playhouse Executive producer
1994 The Spider and the Fly Executive producer Television film
1995 The Courtyard Executive producer Television film
1996 The Ultimate Lie Executive producer Television film
1997 A Match Made in Heaven Executive producer Television film
1998 Rear Window Executive producer Television film
1999 Pirates of Silicon Valley Executive producer Television film
Strange Justice Executive producer Television film
2001 America Undercover Executive producer Documentary
No Ordinary Baby Executive producer Television film
2002 Warning: Parental Advisory Executive producer Television film
2005 Making Your Fortune Online with Marsha Collier Executive producer Documentary
1995−2008 Mad TV Co-executive producer

References

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  1. ^ Lynn, B. Horton (June 5, 1989). "Hollywood on the Hudson". New York. p. 24. Retrieved December 6, 2023 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Helen (Urdang) HAFT". The Record. Bergen County, New Jersey. December 24, 2009.
    - "HAFT Nathan "Nuddy", of Paterson, NJ, on Tuesday, June 5, 2001". The Record. Bergen County, New Jersey. June 6, 2001 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Lisa Birnbach, Author to Marry in September". The New York Times. July 19, 1987.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Steven Haft". Disrupter Awards. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  5. ^ Twohey, Megan; Bernstein, Jacob (July 15, 2019). "The 'Lady of the House' Who Was Long Entangled With Jeffrey Epstein". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
    - "About Us". The TerraMar Project. April 25, 2019. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  6. ^ Knutsen, Elise (November 29, 2011). "Preppy Handbook Author Sells Upper Crust UES Spread". The New York Observer.
  7. ^ Minzsheimer, Bob (September 2, 2010). "Lisa Birnbach and Chip Kidd". USA Today. Retrieved December 6, 2023 – via Pressreader.
  8. ^ "Don't Miss "Dead Poets Society"" (PDF). Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun Bulletin. Vol. LVII, no. 2. October 20, 1089. p. 6. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
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