[3] Prior to becoming a producer, Peters ran away from home at the age of 14 and moved to New York City, where he found work as a hairdresser, beginning with dyeing women's pubic hair.
[2] In the early 1970s, he learned about Jay Sebring's method of cutting hair from Sebring's protégé Jim Markham, whereupon he designed a short wig worn by Barbra Streisand in the 1974 comedy film For Pete's Sake;[4] Peters and Streisand then began a romantic relationship.
He produced both Streisand's studio album ButterFly (1974) and her remake of A Star Is Born (1976), after being introduced through and working with Mengers.
"[2] For years, he worked with the Jon Peters Organization, and attempted to work with friends Peter Guber and Neil Bogart at a film division of Boardwalk Records, but in exchange for getting his profits on Caddyshack, he was forced to join PolyGram Pictures in 1980 and fired two years later to form The Guber-Peters Company.
Smith went on to say Peters also wanted the third act of the film to include a fight between Superman and a giant spider,[11] to be unveiled in a homage to King Kong.
Smith met Peters after completing a script and said Peters suggested he include a robot sidekick for Brainiac, a fight scene between Brainiac and polar bears and a marketable "space dog" pet similar to the Star Wars character Chewbacca.
[12] Peters says that he was banned from the Man of Steel set by producer Christopher Nolan because "my reputation scares these guys".
[16] Peters submitted a book proposal for his autobiography, which was self-written alongside Los Angeles writer William Stadiem.
In the proposal, he described himself as someone who "came from the lower depths to become THE MAN in Hollywood, a master of seduction, production and psychology," and said he "has seen it all and knows it all, without ever being a know-it-all.
"[17] Peters also reportedly intended to write about his sexual activities with Barbra Streisand, Sharon Stone and many other actresses.
[17] In 2009, he subsequently withdrew from the HarperCollins book deal after adverse publicity triggered by the leaking of the proposal and potential lawsuits.
[citation needed] In August 2011, Los Angeles jurors ordered Peters to pay a former assistant $3.3 million after finding she was subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment during production of Superman Returns.
Executive Producer It has been said, partly by Peters himself, that he was the inspiration for Warren Beatty's character in the Hal Ashby film Shampoo.