Livent-What Went Wrong?

1. Ego
2, Extravagence
3, Ego
4. Hiding income from the IRS
5, Ego.

7. Ragtime

Someone rode off on wheels with their dreams .

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Updated On: 3/9/07 at 04:50 PM

From Wikipedia:

In 1993 Live Entertainment Inc. went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company grew quickly, becoming best known for mega-productions of such musicals as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Show Boat (the highly successful 1993 revival which went to Broadway in 1994), Fosse, and Ragtime.

The company also built or refurbished several theatres (including the Oriental Theatre, Chicago) and entered into management deals with others (e.g.: Ford Centres, in Toronto, Vancouver and New York). It was such management deals as well as what one critic called "aggressive" accounting within the company that began to draw attention from investors.

By 1997, the company was haemorrhaging money (a loss of $44.1 million that year alone), and in June, 1998, shareholders approved a deal which saw American actors' agent and ex-Disney executive Michael Ovitz take charge. Things deteriorated quickly between the company and co-founders Drabinsky and Gottlieb. The two were dismissed and escorted, under security, out of Livent's Toronto offices on August 13, 1998. Livent subsequently filed a $225 million lawsuit against them

In November, 1998, Livent sought bankruptcy protection in the US. claiming a debt of $334 million. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched a criminal investigation and securities regulators in both Canada and the US began investigating the company's books.

In January, 1999, Livent's former chairman, Drabinsky, and president, Gottlieb. were indicted in a New York court on charges they personally misappropriated $4.6 million in company funds and "cooked the books" to hide massive losses from investors. Drabinsky and Gottlieb failed to appear for trial and are now under fugitive arrest warrants in the United States.

In August 1999, SFX Entertainment of New York, now a division of Live Nation (formerly known as Clear Channel Entertainment), acquired the bankrupt company, paying $98 million (US) for most of its assets, including the theatres and rights to all productions.

In October 2002, Canadian police charged four former Livent senior executives with fraud affecting the public market. These charges were laid under Section 380 (1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada and pertain to alleged accounting irregularities within Livent Inc. between December 14, 1989 and June 23, 1998.

Charged were: Garth H. Drabinsky, age 52, of Spadina Road in Toronto - charged with nineteen counts of Fraud over $5,000. Myron I. Gottlieb, age 59, of MacPherson Avenue in Toronto - charged with nineteen counts of fraud over $5,000. Gordon Eckstein, age 50, of Kimberdale Crescent in Scarborough - charged with eighteen counts of Fraud over $5,000. Robert Topol, age 47, of Newport Square in Thornhill - charged with thirteen counts of Fraud over $5,000.

Police allege that the accused defrauded creditors, and private and public investors of approximately one-half a billion dollars between December 14, 1989 and June 23, 1998. Police allege that the accused perpetrated this alleged fraud by falsifying the corporate financial statements of Livent Inc. and therefore misrepresenting the financial health of the company.

Michael Bennett - I heard that the producers couldn't decide whether or not to loan a song to a car company or to loan a song to Ellis Island...so neither happened.

While I never cared for Garth from what I saw I have to admit I was kinda proud that he was trying to put Canada on the map as a legit theatre testing and breeding ground and that such shows I love as Ragtime and the final version of Spiderwoman started here (even if of course he pulled most of his talent from the US and UK). He really wanted to be a creative producer in the David O Slesnick way and to his credit he had an eye for talent and quality IMHO even if, like Selsnick, he liked things always BIG.

(Parade was started there too, no?)

The thing is Wikipedia says Garth is still wanted in the US or something--but isn't he runing the new CBC stage reality show Triple Threat?

E

Yes he is still wanted in the US but that isn't stopping him from producing/creating the CBC show.

uhmmm...he's a crook who belongs in jail,eh?

I did like his idea though, creating a Broadway version of the 30s and 40s movie companies. Keeping a core group of actors/designers/directors and churning out shows...could have been amazing.

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As someone who actually worked for Garth - on a movie, not Broadway - I can assure you that the man is a nasty amoral sociopath with a massive chip on his shoulder who rode roughshod over everybody who ever got in his way. While he curried favor and fawned over the celebrities he loved so much to associate himself with, he was a monster to everyone else. He stole a fortune and, I'm sure, has no regrets.

When I worked for him he had a producer/partner who would accompany him to meetings and stay behind at the end to apologize for his behavior. That was the man's job. So maybe Garth had some inkling of the kind of person he was/is.

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Mr. Drabinsky was also one of the founders of Cineplex Odeon, the chain that helped destroy movie-going in New York City.

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Sounds like the plot of BOUNCE.