Alecia Dixon-Kurschner Dies: Longtime MGM TV Distribution Executive Was 60

Greg Evans
·2 min read
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Alecia Dixon-Kurschner, a TV distribution executive who held senior positions at MGM, Miramax and Starz before becoming an independent consultant several years ago, died of ovarian cancer at her home in the Minneapolis suburb of Excelsior, Minnesota, Nov. 23. She was 60.

Her death was announced by her husband Dale Kurschner, who noted that she passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones.

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“Everyone that had the pleasure of knowing or working with Alecia is heartbroken over her death,” said Simon Sutton, former President & CRO of HBO and to whom Dixon-Kurschner reported while both worked at MGM. “Alecia was much more than a valued executive, she was also an irreplaceable friend.”

Dixon-Kurschner was born May 10, 1963, in San Francisco and was raised in Troy, Michigan. After graduating from UCLA in 1987, she began her entertainment career at The Cannon Group, starting out as an Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer.

She was at Cannon when Pathe Communications took over the company and was later merged with MGM. Dixon-Kurschner continued at MGM through three different sales of the studio and advanced to Senior Vice President of Distribution in the Television Group, putting together several of the studio’s longterm output agreements with pay networks Showtime and HBO, among many other deals for the studio.

After leaving MGM in 2008, Dixon-Kurschner held senior leadership positions in television distribution at Starz and Miramax before moving into an independent consulting role in 2020.

In addition to her husband, Dixon-Kurschner is survived by their three children Claire, Ben and Will; brother Michael Donaldson and wife Heather; stepsister Sara Beasley and husband Bill; stepbrothers Mike, Brien, Bill and John Donaldson; and nieces, nephews and other extended family.

Funeral services will be held Dec. 11 in Chanhassen, Minnesota, with a Celebration of Life planned for Los Angeles at a date to be determined.

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