John A. Mirisch is an American politician and former film studio executive. He is currently a city council member of
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
. He also served as mayor from 2013 to 2014, from 2016 to 2017, and from 2019 to 2020.
Early life
John A. Mirisch was born to a wealthy family in Beverly Hills.Campaign website The City of Beverly Hills Mayor and Council Members /ref> He has a brother and a step-sister, the daughter of his mother's second husband Leonard Goldberg. His grandfather,
Harold Mirisch
Harold Mirisch (March 4, 1907 – December 5, 1968) was an American film production company executive.
Early life
He was born on May 4, 1907 to a Jewish family in New York, New York, one of two sons born to Flora (née Glasshut) and Max Mirisch ...
, alongside his great-uncles
Walter Mirisch
Walter Mortimer Mirisch (born November 8, 1921) is an American film producer. He is president and executive head of production of The Mirisch Corporation, an independent film production company, which he formed in 1957 with his brother Marvin ...
(1921–2023) and
Marvin Mirisch
Marvin Eliot Mirisch (March 19, 1918 – November 17, 2002) was an American film producer.
Biography
Mirisch was born to a Jewish familyMirisch Company in 1957. He attended Hawthorne Elementary and Beverly Hills High School. He graduated from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
magna cum laude in 1985.
Career
Mirisch began his career at
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. He later worked as managing director of the Austrian office of
United International Pictures
United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer an ...
, following by the Swedish office. He served on the boards of the Austrian and Swedish Film Distributors' Associations and the Swedish Academy Awards Selection Committee. He worked as an executive both at IMAX and at
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
.
Mirisch was elected to the Beverly Hills City Council in 2009. As councilor, he opposed plans to annex
Holmby Hills, Los Angeles
Holmby Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States.
The neighborhood was developed in the early twentieth century by the Janss Investment Company, which developed the rest of Westwood as well as other Los Ang ...
as part of the city of Beverly Hills.Martha Groves Holmby Hills seeks annexation by Beverly Hills over potholes ''The Los Angeles Times'', July 28, 2012 He served as vice mayor of Beverly Hills in 2012, and became mayor for the first time in 2013.
During his tenure as mayor, Mirisch established the Sunshine Task Force to improve local governmental transparency and public participation. He has also spearheaded the Beverly Hills Cultural Heritage Commission to honor the city's rich history and architectural legacy. His first term ended in March 2014, when
Lili Bosse
Lili Bosse ( Toren) is an American politician serving as the 82nd and current mayor of Beverly Hills, California.
The daughter of Holocaust survivors, she has supported many Jewish causes in the United States and Israel. Before her current ter ...
was sworn in as mayor.Laura Coleman Beverly Hills News – John Mirisch Reflects On His Term As City’s Mayor , ''The Beverly Hills Courier'', March 20, 2014
Mirisch is a vocal opponent of degrading local government authority to determine residential zoning, leading to conflict with YIMBY activists.
Mirisch served his second term as mayor from March 2016 to March 2017 and began his third term as mayor in March 2019.
Personal life
Mirisch has two sons. He is a member of the
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...
of the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
. He is a dual Swedish-American citizen and also a citizen of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
In 2016, the city of Beverly Hills was ordered to pay $9,357 in legal fees to a journalist who filed suit for release of police records related to alleged domestic abuse by Mirisch. The records included incident reports from police visits to Mirisch's home. An affidavit filed by Magdalena Mirisch for a restraining order during divorce proceedings in 2011 claimed that Mirisch emotionally abused her and was neglectful toward their son.
In the nex election for Beverly Hills City Council on March 5, 2017, Mirisch was re-elected, placing first in a field of eight candidates.