Lurie was born in Boston to a Jewish family, the son of Nancy (née Smith) and Morris John Lurie. Philip Smith, his grandfather, founded the General Cinema movie theater chain, which was one of the largest operators of drive-in theaters in the United States. Richard A. Smith is his uncle. Peter and Cathy are his siblings. Jeffrey was nine years old when his father died on April 14, 1961, at the age of 44.
General Cinema began acquiring bottling franchises, including a Pepsi bottling operation, in the late 1960s. Over time, General Cinema evolved into Harcourt General Inc., a $3.7 billion conglomerate headquartered in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, with 23,700 employees worldwide.
It was once the nation’s fourth-largest movie theater chain, as well as the owner of several publishing houses, three insurance companies, and a leading global consulting firm. In 1984, a minority stake in Carter Hawley Hale, the tenth-largest clothing retailer in the United States at the time, was acquired, along with Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.
In 1983, he left academia to join General Cinema Corporation, a major film company founded by his grandfather, Philip Smith and led by his uncle, Richard A. Smith. He worked as an executive in the company as a liaison between General Cinema Corporation and the Hollywood production community. He was also an advisor in The General Cinema’s national film-buying office.
Jeffrey Lurie Children: Meet Julian Lurie And Milena Caitlin
Julian and Milena Lurie are Jeffrey Lurie’s children. His children adore their father so much.