Steve Tisch

In 1991, fresh off their second Super Bowl victory, the New York Giants were split in half. Owned by the Mara family since 1925, a dispute between uncle and nephew led the latter to sell his portion to businessman and former US Postmaster General, Preston Robert Tisch (a rare Jewish Preston). Tisch died in 2005, so for the last two decades (started off great, but soon became futile), the Giants have been co-owned by his son Steve.

A nepo baby long before the term was coined, Steve had Hollywood dreams. Among the movies he produced were "Risky Business", which introduced the world to Tom Cruise, "Forest Gump", and, of course, "Soul Man". You remember "Soul Man", don't you? Perhaps you tried to expunge it from your memory? For good reason, that's for sure!

"Soul Man" is a timeless classic about a student who pretends to be Black so he can attend Harvard. We'll let that sink in. It was made in 1986. 1986!

Blackface? You better believe there was blackface! A scene where the main character is dressed like a pimp, eats watermelon and calls his girlfriend a "slut"? You bet! And Tisch wasn't exactly a hands-off producer; he was even involved in casting, offering the role to the likes of John Cusack, Val Kilmer, and Anthony Edwards. All declined... C. Thomas Howell didn't. (Note that you know who Cusack, Kilmer, and Edwards are, but probably not Howell.)

Tisch had tried to deflect the movie's obvious awfulness by claiming that it addressed important issues (interracial relations), was used to "explode racial stereotyping", and, most importantly, was a comedy! Few people laughed.

When Tisch eventually passes on, what will be his legacy, "Soul Man" or the Giants' ineptitude? At least he still has time to correct the latter...