Donald Kushner

A strong argument could be made that Donald Kushner was a film producer ahead of his time. While still in his 30s, Kushner was one of the producers behind the pioneering computer-animated feature "TRON" (1982). It would be several decades before such movies became commonplace. By the time of that film's release, Kushner was already an experienced hand at producing animation. His first credit as a producer came on the '80 feature "Animalympics," in which a horde of creatures stage and compete in their own Olympic games. Following the success of "TRON," he shepherded another computer-assisted effort to the screen, this time the short-lived TV series "Automan" ('83), featuring Chuck Wagner as the holographic crime fighter of the title. After these early projects, Kushner concentrated mainly on live-action film and television. In the former sphere, over the years he executive-produced the hit teenage-flavored comedy "But I'm a Cheerleader" ('99) and the big-budget version of the classic story "The Adventures of Pinocchio" ('96), featuring Martin Landau as puppet master Geppetto. In TV, among other credits Kushner was an executive producer on the HBO pro football sitcom "1st & Ten: The Championship" ('84). He never lost his taste for animation, however. In '87, for example, he produced the adaptation of the children's book "The Brave Little Toaster," which received an Emmy nomination.