Jonathan T. Taplin

For more than three decades, Jonathan Taplin's career has been full and varied, spanning the worlds of music, film, high finance and technology. His introduction into the entertainment business began in 1965, when he was just 18 years old. The summer before his freshman year at Princeton University, Taplin ventured to The Newport Folk Festival, where he landed a job with The Jim Kweskin Jug Band. That experience led to a dream job, serving as road manager for Bob Dylan and The Band. He witnessed first hand the birth of folk rock with Dylan's performances, and for the next seven years, worked for the musical poet and The Band. Then in 1974 he moved to Hollywood to pursue his dream of producing films. He arrived in Los Angeles with just one referral to seek out, a young director named Martin Scorsese. Together they produced Mean Streets, starring Robert DeNiro and Harvey Keitel. The project became a critical and box office success, and went on to be selected for The Cannes Film Festival