Robert Thorne | BMG | business manager , and president | Dualstar Entertainment
Twin-engine Empire
by
Mark Henricks
Even more fulsome is Robert Thorne, the girls' longtime agent,
business manager, and president of Dualstar Entertainment, the
umbrella organization for their multitudinous business activities.
On June 13, shortly after their high school graduation, the girls
will turn 18, legally able to serve as officers in their own
company. And, says Thorne, "June 13 is going to be the biggest
media birthday in global experience."
That's a long way from the audition in 1987 when the 4-month-old
daughters of David and Janette Olsen were picked out of a lineup to
share the role of Michelle Tanner on Full House. The sitcom
would run for eight years and make the two child stars genuine
celebrities. But a lot of kid actors become popular before pulling
a Danny Bonaduce, destined to wind up as a guest on some reality
television series.
What made the difference for Mary-Kate and Ashley was a combination
of iron-fisted control of their careers by themselves and Thorne;
their still squeaky-clean, girls-next-door image, also jealously
guarded; and the inherent appeal of twins. And then there's luck. A
chance happening in 1991 may have influenced their success even
more than the rest, and it certainly built the foundation for their
future.
That year the girls recorded a disk of songs distributed by BMG
Kids, the children's label of German music and publishing
conglomerate BMG. The CD sold half a million units, a solid
showing. But what made the deal special was that Thorne, who had
just joined up with the two, granted BMG the right to make one
music video.
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