User:610carson/sandbox

Early life and education
Offsay grew up in Parkchester, a neighborhood in the Bronx, NY. His father worked at a small display-design company, where his mother was the company bookkeeper. Offsay was the third of four children. He attended the Bronx High School of Science, and later Columbia Law School, where he earned his J.D. in 1977.

Career
After graduating from law school, Offsay began his career at the Los Angeles office of Loeb & Loeb. He worked in the firm’s entertainment law practice, finding his specialty in financing and producing independent films. He was made partner at age 28.

Looking for a change from the law, Offsay joined RKO Pictures as President of Production. At RKO, Offsay served as executive producer on films including Hamburger Hill and Eight Men Out, and co–produced Narrow Margin. In 1990 Offsay became Executive Vice President at ABC Productions, ABC’s newly launched programming company. During his four years at ABC, Offsay supervised the production of the network’s series, miniseries, and telepix.

In January 1994 Offsay began his new role as President of Programming at Showtime Networks. He saw an opportunity to bring theater-quality movies to premium television—such as Home Box Office (HBO), who at the time released new films monthly. Offsay embarked on a journey to put on an original movie every week. During Offsay's ten-year tenure, Showtime more than tripled its original programming, producing and/or commissioning over 300 hundred original films and 20 television series. Over 70 movies were nominated for Emmys; one was nominated for an Oscar. Notable series Offsay put on the air include Stargate, The Outer Limits, Soul Food, Queer As Folk, The L Word and Penn and Teller’s Bullshit!

In 2003 Offsay left Showtime to start Parkchester Pictures, his own production company where he continues to produce films and television.