Ned Tanen Biography

Fast Facts

• Graduated from the University of California in Los Angeles
• After graduating from college, he served in the United States Air Force, which helped him land a job in the MCA mailroom
• Quote: "There's nothing like a hit movie to make you think you're one of the chosen people․ It's amazing how smart we are the morning after a hit opens․"
• He is the former Chairman of both University Pictures and Paramount
• In 1954, he became a talent agent, packaged TV shows, and then founded MCA's UNI Records, helping launch several celebrity careers
• The character Biff Tannen from "Back to the Future" was named after him while the character Sloane Peterson in "Ferris Bueller's Day's Off" is named after his daughter