Roger Mayer Biography

Fast Facts

• Won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2005 for his film preservation work and for his support of the Motion Picture & Television Fund
• Served in the United States Air Force during World War II
• Earned both his bachelor's degree and his law degree from Yale University
• Started out as a lawyer for Columbia Pictures in 1952 and worked his way up to general studio executive before joining MGM
• Worked as an assistant general manager for MGM from 1961 to 1968, where he first became interested in film preservation after seeing the conditions in which the company's film vaults were kept
• Prior to becoming president and CEO of Turner Entertainment in 1986, he was the president of MGM Laboratories
• Founder and chairman of the San Francisco foundation, which saves and restores old films across the United States, and was also a member of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress
• Best known as a former executive at MGM and Turner Entertainment who became an advocate for film preservation