Inventing David Geffen

American Masters: Inventing David Geffen, premiers nationally on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 on PBS (check local listings). It’s an unflinching portrait of Geffen, who narrates his unorthodox rise from working class Brooklyn boy to billionaire entertainment power broker in extensive interviews.

David Geffen’s far-reaching influence — as agent, manager, record industry mogul, Hollywood and Broadway producer, and philanthropist — has helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades. Notoriously press and camera-shy, Geffen reveals himself for the first time in the new two-hour documentary. Inventing David Geffen, premiers nationally on Tuesday, November 20, 2012, on PBS.

Inventing David Geffen, premiers nationally on Tuesday, November 20, 2012, on PBS.

Like the title of the film says, David Geffen didn't just happen--he was his own invention. And, that took focus, focus, focus... Hear his friends and colleagues -- Tom Hanks, Jon Landau, and Tim Burton, among them -- talk about just what kind of focus Geffen has.

How many stories start out, a guy walks into a Tiffany lamp store? Jon Landeau, manager and producer for Bruce Springsteen, remembers how David Geffen -- in business and in all things -- always gets the deal he wants. Even when returning a Tiffany lamp.

How would you describe David Geffen? You have three words to do it.

David Geffen and Cher both recall meeting in 1973 at Geffen’s table at The Roxy on Sunset Blvd., as well as the unexpected romantic relationship that ensued.

There are many ways you could interpret Joni Mitchell's "Free Man In Paris." Robbie Robertson of The Band gives his take on the meaning.

The part David Geffen's mother played in his inventing of himself.