[1][2][3] Mancuso started as an usher in a theater in Buffalo, New York[3] and eventually ran the programming for the company's 50 theatres.
[4] In 1983, Mancuso was promoted to president of Paramount's motion picture division and in September 1984 he was chosen instead of COO Michael Eisner to take over from the departing Barry Diller as chairman and chief executive officer.
[1] After falling from first place in 1984 to fourth in 1985, Paramount became the number one studio again in 1986 and 1987 with hits including Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee (the top two grossing films of 1986), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Untouchables[1] and Fatal Attraction.
[5] In March 1991, Mancuso left Paramount soon after Stanley Jaffe had joined and filed a $45 million lawsuit for breach of contract.
In 2010, Mancuso received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.