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David Geffen Hall is a concert hall at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic.
The center's first three buildings, David Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher Hall, originally named Philharmonic Hall), David H. Koch Theater (formerly the New York State Theater), and the Metropolitan Opera House were opened in 1962, 1964, and 1966, respectively.
- Early Life
- Business Career
- Controversy
- Philanthropy
- Politics
- Awards and Honors
- Cultural References
- Personal Life
- External Links
David Geffen was born in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York, to Abraham Geffen and Batya Volovskaya (1909–1988). Geffen's mother owned a clothing store in Borough Park called Chic Corsets by Geffen. Both of his parents were Jewish immigrants who met in British Mandatory Palestine and then moved to the United States. Geffen graduated from Brooklyn's N...
After a brief appearance as an extra in the 1961 film The Explosive Generation, Geffen began his entertainment career in 1964 as a mailroom clerk at the William Morris Agency (WMA), where he quickly became a talent agent. He learned about showbiz politics while reading the memos he delivered between agents. In order to obtain the talent agent job, ...
Coastal access
Until 2017, Geffen owned a Malibu compound on Carbon Beach. In 1983 Geffen received permits from the California Coastal Commission to build a Cape Cod-style compound over multiple beachfront lots in exchange for creating a public pathway to the beach. He failed to build that pathway, and in 2002, filed a lawsuit to block public access altogether. After a protracted three-year legal battle, Geffen reached a settlement with the Coastal Commission, granting the public a nine-foot-wide easement t...
Accusations of insider trading
On March 9, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that Geffen, Barry Diller and Diller's stepson, Alex Von Furstenberg, were being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Department of Justice for insider trading of options on Activision Blizzardjust three days before Microsoft's announced acquisition. Diller denied the allegations and claimed it was "simply a lucky bet".
In 1995, he donated $5 million towards UCLA's Westwood Playhouse. The theater was renamed the Geffen Playhouse. According to Forbes ("The 400 Richest Americans of 2004") and other sources, Geffen has pledged to give whatever money he makes from now on to charity, although he has not specified which charities or the manner of his giving. In 2002, he...
Geffen is a donor to Democratic Party candidates and organizations, and was an early financial supporter of President Bill Clinton. In 2001, he had a quarrel with the former president over Clinton's decision not to pardon Leonard Peltier, on whose behalf he had lobbied the President. Geffen was an early supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential camp...
Geffen was named one of the 2010 recipients of Ahmet Ertegun Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Geffen was awarded with the President's Merit Award for "indelible contributions to the music industry" from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at the 53rd Grammy Awardsin February 2011.
While Geffen has produced music, he has also been the subject of several songs, documentaries and books. Joni Mitchell and Geffen were close friends and, in the early 1970s, made a trip to Paris with Robbie Robertson and Robertson's wife, Dominique. As a result of that trip, Mitchell wrote "Free Man in Paris" about Geffen. Geffen can be heard on Ba...
As of October 2023, Geffen has an estimated net worth of $9.1 billion, making him one of the richest people in the entertainment industry. Geffen was initially defensive about his sexuality. During the 1970s he dated Cher and spent 18 months in a relationship with her. Eventually, Cher left him for Gregg Allman. Geffen eventually came out as gay in...
David Geffen at IMDbDavid Geffen at the Internet Broadway DatabaseDavid Geffen at the Internet Off-Broadway DatabaseWelcome to David Geffen Hall, the home of the New York Philharmonic and a cultural home for New York. The design of the Hall is centered around a deep focus on welcoming visitors and audiences to Lincoln Center and expanding the possibilities of what a concert hall can be.
Oct 8, 2022 · The new David Geffen Hall is the home of the New York Philharmonic and a cultural hub for New York. Learn about the project, the design, the opening events, and the impact on the city.
Mar 13, 2023 · I n the warm, welcoming new David Geffen Hall beloved musical works by the old masters coexist harmoniously alongside newly minted pieces by 20th- and 21st–century giants.
Sep 29, 2022 · Now the hall, renamed David Geffen Hall after a $100 million gift from the entertainment mogul David Geffen, is reopening in early October after a $550 million overhaul that everyone...
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