Self-made mogul David Geffen doesn't hold back

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Self-made mogul doesn't ho...

"WE are each a figment of our own imagination . . . but some people have a greater ability to imagine than others."

This two-hour program traces the extraordinary life of David Geffen, a Jewish boy raised in Brooklyn who went on to be the so-called King of Hollywood.

It is hard to encapsulate the breadth of his achievements. In the music industry, as agent, manager or label owner, he worked with artists including Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, John Lennon, Elton John, Cher, Aerosmith and Nirvana.

In 1994 he co-founded DreamWorks SKG, the studio behind celebrated films such as American Beauty and Saving Private Ryan.

"David defined these cultures, a showbiz culture, the motion picture culture," says Tom Hanks. "He defined it, he built it."

"There isn't anybody who has had the kind of career that he has had, that crosses so many parts of arts and entertainment," says media executive Barry Diller.

One frequently mentioned characteristic is Geffen's commitment to giving honest opinions. "You get to a certain point in your life and everybody is afraid to tell you the truth," says DreamWorks partner Steven Spielberg. "David is never afraid."

Another quality is a certain ruthlessness, the rule-bending behaviour that Americans seem to celebrate in those who "make it". Geffen blithely describes how he lied on the application for a job with talent agency William Morris, claiming to have graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Working in the mailroom, he came in early every day to sort the mail, determined to intercept the inevitable letter from UCLA saying it had never heard of him.

What really set Geffen apart was his extraordinary passion for creative people and their work. His devotion to the career of Laura Nyro is stunning. To fulfil a wish, he had the song lyrics inside one of her albums printed with lilac-scented ink.

David Crosby recounts how Crosby, Stills and Nash hired Geffen for his business acumen, but were amazed to discover how moved he was by music, "with the innocence of a child".

In many ways, Geffen's story is the quintessential American tale of the outsider who propelled himself to the apex of the entertainment industry.

This documentary encompasses a cross-section of American culture of the past 45 years. If you can, watch it twice.