Don Simpson as head of production at Paramount/ Later with his makeover for his role in Days of Thunder

Don Simpson: The Broken King

The producer of the original Top Gun

Trigger Warning: abusive behavior, aggressive language

It was 1983. A blizzard had seized Anchorage, Alaska. Through the glass of the theater, I watched a limousine pull up into the night. In hurtling snow, the driver opened the door. Stepping out of the limo, in a knee-length camel hair coat, in mirrored shades, was the…