Jerry Tokofsky
Producer · Died October 5, 2025, aged 91 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Jerry Herbert Tokofsky (April 14, 1934 – October 5, 2025) was an American agent, film producer, and studio executive. Tokofsky began his connection with the film business as an agent, and by the 1960s had become a studio executive at Columbia Pictures. In 1966, he was vice-president. He then produced films for the studio. By 1968, Tokofsky had become head of Columbia’s creative affairs department, which had the tasks of evaluating scripts and overseeing actors, directors, and producers. He took on Peter Guber as his assistant and later spoke warmly of Guber’s usefulness to him. By the early 1970s, Tokofsky was producing films for United Artists and others. Born to Win (1971) was the first film by a production company founded by Tokofsky and George Segal. In 1986, at the suggestion of Irvin Kershner, Tokofsky and Stanley Zupnik paid David Mamet $1 million for the film rights to his award-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross, but it took them several years to raise the money to make the film, as no major studio would touch it. On February 21, 1956, Tokofsky married Myrna Weinstein, and before divorcing, they had two sons; in 1970, he married secondly Fiammetta Bettuzzi, and they had a daughter, but this also ended in divorce; thirdly, on October 4, 1981, he married Karen Oliver. Tokofsky died from natural causes in New York City on October 5, 2025, at the age of 91.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- April 14, 1934
- October 5, 2025 (aged 91)
- Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
- Producer
- 8 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
What are Jerry Tokofsky's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 3
Grounded 5 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 3
Steady 3 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 4 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 4 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jerry Tokofsky's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Roku Channel (5).
Subscription and free streaming for Jerry Tokofsky's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
9 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page.
The Grass Harp(1995)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Glengarry Glen Ross(1992)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Wildfire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Dreamscape(1984)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
Fear City(1984)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Paternity(1981)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
Born to Win(1971)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Where's Poppa?(1970)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 9 titles from 1966 to 1996.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Jerry Tokofsky's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 45th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 55th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 8 titles divides audiences: 2 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed2
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Jerry Tokofsky's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Jerry Tokofsky work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jerry Tokofsky's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Stanley R. Zupnik shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Jack LemmonShared titles: The Grass Harp (1995), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)See all 2 shared titles with Jack Lemmon
- George SegalShared titles: Born to Win (1971), Where's Poppa? (1970)See all 2 shared titles with George Segal
Cinematographers
- Jack PriestleyShared titles: Born to Win (1971), Where's Poppa? (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Jack Priestley
Producers
- Stanley R. ZupnikShared titles: Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Dreamscape (1984), Fear City (1984)See all 3 shared titles with Stanley R. Zupnik
- Bruce Cohn CurtisShared titles: Dreamscape (1984), Fear City (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Bruce Cohn Curtis
- Tom CurtisShared titles: Dreamscape (1984), Fear City (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Tom Curtis