ANTIC Interview 78 - Manny Gerard, The Man Who Fired Nolan

Published: Sept. 8, 2015, 7 a.m.

Manny Gerard, The Man Who Fired Nolan

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For this interview, we\u2019re getting a different perspective of the Atari/Warner relationship, this time from the Warner side. \xa0(Emanual) Manny Gerard was a member of the Office of the President for Warner during the Atari days from 1976, when they acquired Atari, to 1984 when it was sold to the Tramiels. \xa0He in fact was the key person in the decision for Warner to acquire Atari. \xa0As you will hear in the interview, he was also the man who ousted Nolan Bushnell from Atari. \xa0We get Manny\u2019s perspective on Atari from Warner\u2019s view, on the decision to bring out the computer line, and much more. \xa0I think you\u2019ll appreciate Manny\u2019s honesty and his sense of humor.

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This interview took place on August 9, 2015.

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Teaser Quotes

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\u201cI can remember saying this to Nolan, over and over again: You cannot run the company by divine right of kings, Nolan\u201d

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It feels to me like the computer\u2019s problem at Atari was that it was; it lived in the shadow of the game systems, because they were so bloody successful.\u201d

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\u201cI mean I think the early Apples were good computers but I don\u2019t think they were better than the Atari computers by any considerable margin and they may not even been as good, but we sure got out-marketed.\u201d

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\u201cManny Gerard, the guy who fired me at Atari! \xa0Everybody looks up; who is this guy? \xa0And I said, yeah, Nolan, and the guy who made you a millionaire.\u201d

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Links

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New York Times 1984 article on Manny leaving Warner

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HI-RES Vol. 1, No. 1 / November 1983 Article on Atari History

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Manny Gerard - Thoughts on E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - YouTube