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Who

Kaufman is the founder of Kaufman Realty, a real estate management company, as well as Kaufman Astoria Studios, the city's biggest film and TV production center.

Backstory

After finishing college at Ohio State University and serving in the Korean War, Kaufman started the property management/development firm Kaufman Realty in the early '60s. Over the next few years, he worked on a number of notable residential and commercial projects, executing renovations on the McGraw Building on West 42nd Street (in conjunction with frequent collaborator Aaron Gural); the New York Theological Seminary; and the Volney Hotel. But his most high-profile deal occurred in 1980, when he bought the dilapidated Astoria Studios in Queens. Originally home to productions by the likes of Charlie Chaplin back in the '20s, the studio had fallen into disrepair. Kaufman raised funds from industry heavyweights such as Johnny Carson, Neil Simon, Robert Sarnoff, Jimmy Nederlander, Alan King, Terry Allen Kramer, and Gregory Peck to renovate the space. It's now the biggest movie-making studio east of Hollywood, and has revitalized the once-forgotten Queens locale. Kaufman is still the owner (although the studio's day-to-day affairs are handled by Kaufman Astoria president Hal Rosenbluth) and continues to manage some 40 buildings throughout the city.

Of note

If you've seen a movie filmed in New York, chances are part of it was shot on one of Astoria Studios's six stages. The enormous complex has hosted scores of TV shows (Cosby Show, Sex and the City, Law & Order and longtime tenant Sesame Street) as well as a long list of movies (Stepford Wives, The Manchurian Candidate, HBO's Angels in America) and Kaufman's offices are home to a number of firms connected to the industry, from product-placement companies to production outfits. But while Kaufman Astoria previously had a de facto monopoly on the local studio market, these days it has competition to contend with: There's also Queens's Silvercup Studios (home/former home of 30 Rock and The Sopranos) and Brooklyn's Steiner Studios (Spider-Man 3, Inside Man), which was founded in 2005 by the father-son real estate team of David and Douglas Steiner.

Board game

Kaufman is on the board of the Whitney, along with Beth Rudin DeWoody, Chuck Close, Liz Swig, Steve Roth, Raymond McGuire, Eric Mindich, Leonard Lauder, and Victor Ganzi, among others.

Personal

Kaufman and his wife, the social Mariana Kaufman, live in a townhouse on East 78th Street. They have a weekend home in Southampton.

For the record

Be sure not to confuse him with the more famous George S. Kaufman, the early 20th century American playwright.