Random House Will Publish Eisner Autobiography

Random House said it will publish a long-anticipated autobiography by Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner, probably in October. The book, which Eisner, who has been collaborating with writer Tony Schwartz for about four years, is expected to cover his views of the entertainment business and his tenure at Disney since he was hired to turn the company around in 1984. Sources said Eisner will cover such sticky incidents as his falling-out with former Disney President Michael Ovitz and his break with former studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg. Random House President Harold Evans, who will edit the book, said he has read seven chapters and found it “candid and sympathetic.” No title has been selected. Random House said Eisner received no advance or guaranteed payments and that royalties will be donated to a fund to educate the children of Disney employees, based on merit and need. Sources said Eisner didn’t choose Disney’s own Hyperion Books division because he felt his book would have more credibility if independently published.

*

EMI Unit to Market Classics: EMI Music Group has launched a company called EMI-Capitol Entertainment to market the British conglomerate’s deep catalog of classic recordings by such acts as the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys. The company, headed by industry veteran Bruce Kirkland, will market and promote the catalog and compilations for Capitol and Virgin as well as EMI’s five other labels and imprints.