James G. Robinson, a producer and co-founder with Joe Roth of Morgan Creek Productions, the company behind hits including Major League and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, died February 15. He was 90.
His death was announced by his family. A cause of death was not disclosed, but the family said Robinson, of Lutherville, Maryland, passed away peacefully.
As a co-founder in 1988 of, and producer with, Morgan Creek, Robinson was instrumental in bringing a long string of hits to the screen. In addition to Major League and Ace Ventura, Morgan Creek’s credits include Dead Ringers, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and True Romance, among others.
A former Baltimore automobile executive, Robinson reportedly invested $80 million of his personal funds to help launch Morgan Creek. The production company scored big with one of its first projects, 1988’s Young Guns starring Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips and Dermot Mulroney.
“In 1979, Jim became involved in the film industry through bridge financing,” according to his family. “After selling Subaru Mid America in 1988, he cofounded Morgan Creek Productions. Under his leadership, the company grew to become one of the largest independent film production companies in the world, producing numerous successful and influential films. His passion for storytelling and bold approach to filmmaking and business left a lasting mark on the industry.”
Born December 16, 1935, in Baltimore, Robinson founded Maryland Undercoating in 1964, where he processed foreign cars entering the Port of Baltimore. His interest in Hollywood financing began taking shape by the mid-1980s when he joined Roth as an executive producer on 1984’s The Stone Boy starring Robert Duvall, Glenn Close and Frederic Forrest.
He’d soon be participating in other ’80s features including Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Where the River Runs Black.
After Roth left Morgan Creek in 1989 to become chairman of 20th Century Fox, Robinson remained, spearheading an impressive line-up of hits including Major League (1989), Dead Ringers (1988), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), True Romance (1993), and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).
Other Morgan Creek credits would include Enemies, A Love Story (1989), Skin Deep (1989), Pacific Heights (1990), Freejack (1992), White Sands (1992), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Diabolique (1996), Soldier (1998), American Outlaws (2001), The Good Shepherd (2006) and Georgia Rule (2007). More recent credits include The Exorcist: Believer (2023) and the 2023 Amazon Prime series Dead Ringers.
Robinson is survived by wife of 61 years, Barbara; children Michael, Patrick, Brian, David, Thomas and Beth; their spouses; and eight grandchildren.
