Michael Gruskoff

Michael Gruskoff is an American film producer.
Born to a Jewish family, Gruskoff started his career in the New York mailroom of the William Morris Agency, and then took a job with Creative Management Associates, where he represented Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Robert Redford, Natalie Wood, Faye Dunaway, James Coburn, Steve McQueen, Peter Sellers, Al Ruddy, and Irwin Winkler. Although Ned Tanen of Universal Pictures asked him to set up and run an independent film division, he instead accepted a three picture production contract. Working with Douglas Trumbull, Michael Cimino, Sam Shepard, and Steven Bochco, he independently developed three low budget scripts: The Last Movie, Silent Running, and Conquering Horse, a Sioux language script which never made it to film but was the precursor to Dances with Wolves. In 1974, he produced Young Frankenstein, thanks to his earlier relationship with Me…