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Brian Robbins was born Brian Levine in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn. He dropped out of U.C.L.A. to follow in the footsteps of his father, Floyd Levine, a character actor. Floyd suggested Brian adopt the maiden name of Floyd's mother so casting directors would see Brian as his own man. Born around 1963, Robbins landed in "Head of the Class," the 1980's sitcom in which he played a smart student. When Brian Robbins needed a producer for the first show he created (sports stars against celebrities in a basketball tournament on Maui), he called Robbie Rowe, an Emmy award-winning producer. Robbie handed the phone to her husband Michael Tollin. The two men hit it off and have been in business together eversince. In 1995, Tollins and Robbins created "All That," a successful children's version of "Saturday Night Live," for Nickelodeon. Now, they program the channel's entire Saturday prime-time lineup. (NYT 12/1/02) Tollins-Robbins also make films, which earn better box office than reviews. Their first film appeared in 1997 when Paramount asked them to expand a sketch from Nickelodeon into the movie "Good Burger." It came out five months later grossed $24 million at the box office from a budget of $8.5 million. They next made Varsity Blues, which grossed $53 million box office from a $15 million budget. Warner Brothers, which started the teenager-oriented WB network, signed Tollin/Robbins to a development deal - giving the producers freedom and money to develop projects and shop them to any network. So far they've only made shows for WB, including Smallville. Brian and Michael have a good reputation for courtesy and honesty. Sources: Neal Koch, NY Times, 12/1/02, "Stepping Up in TV, Without Stepping on Toes" |