Chris Albrecht

Chris Albrecht (born July 24, 1952) is an American media executive. He is the head of television at Legendary Entertainment and was previously chief executive officer and President of Starz. Albrecht was also the former chairman and CEO of HBO. He spent 22 years at HBO and was credited for ushering in the Golden Age of Television with hit series such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, Entourage, Band of Brothers, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Wire. Early life and education Albrecht was born July 24, 1952, in Queens, where he was also raised. He graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in Dramatic Literature. (He has subsequently started the Chris Albrecht Endowed Scholarship for the School of Communications at his alma mater.) When he completed college, Albrecht set his sights on becoming a stage actor. He appeared in a few summer stock productions, but struggled to find work. Career Albrecht began performing at the Improv in New York city with his then-partner Bob Zmuda. He then became a manager at the club. He did so well that the Friedmans sold a portion of the business to him, which he ran from 1975 to 1980. He would later become an agent at International Creative Management (ICM), where he was instrumental in signing such talent as Jim Carrey, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg. Albrecht began working at HBO in June 1985 as senior vice president, original programming, West Coast. Before becoming chairman in 2002, he spent seven years as president of HBO Original Programming, where he directed day-to-day operations of West and East Coast original programming for HBO, Cinemax and HBO Independent Productions and also oversaw HBO Sports and HBO Films. From 1990 to 1995, Albrecht was President of HBO Independent Productions and oversaw development and production of comedy series for distribution on HBO and the networks, including Martin and Everybody Loves Raymond. Albrecht green-lit, and under his leadership, HBO became the leader in innovative entertainment and sports programming, due to, critically acclaimed series such as Oz (TV series), Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, Band of Brothers, The Wire and Entourage among many others.