Eric Goode

Eric V. Goode (born December 19, 1957) is an American entrepreneur whose career spans art, nightlife, hospitality, and wildlife conservation. Raised in New York City until age eight before moving to California, he is the second of five children of naturalist Marilyn Goode and painter‑teacher Fredrick Goode. He studied at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and Parsons School of Design, launching his first public exposure in a 1981 group show curated by Keith Haring. In 1983 he opened the legendary nightclub Area, a revolving canvas for artists such as Andy Warhol, Jean‑Michel Basquiat, David Hockney, and Keith Haring, blending avant‑garde visual art with club culture. Throughout the 1990s Goode directed music videos for Nine Inch Nails and Robbie Robertson, earning a production award for “Pinion”. He subsequently expanded into hospitality, co‑creating iconic venues like the Bowery Hotel, Waverly Inn, Ludlow Hotel, and the 2024‑opened Hotel El Roblar in Ojai, California. Each venture reflected his keen eye for design and his ability to merge commercial success with artistic expression.

During the early 2000s Goode turned his attention to environmental philanthropy, founding the Turtle Conservancy in 2005 after collaborating with John Behler of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The nonprofit has protected more than 60,000 acres across five continents, safeguarding species such as the Bolson, geometric, and Goode’s thornscrub tortoises—one of which bears his name (Gopherus evgoodei). He has donated over 30 million dollars to land preservation and supports research through the Turtle Conservation Fund and the Chelonian Research Institute. In 2020 Goode’s media profile surged when he wrote, directed, and produced the Netflix docuseries Tiger King, a cultural phenomenon that spotlighted big‑cat breeding controversies; the series spurred two sequels and led to the creation of Goode Films. In 2024 he followed up with the HBO documentary Chimp Crazy, further cementing his reputation as an Emmy‑nominated filmmaker who leverages storytelling to champion wildlife protection.