Larry Brezner
Lawrence Ira "Larry" Brezner (23 August 1942 – 5 October 2015) was an American film producer, most notable for producing films such as Good Morning, Vietnam, Throw Momma From the Train, and Ride Along.
Life and career
Born in the Bronx in New York City in 1942,[1] Brezner studied at the University of Bridgeport and St. John's University. He later studied at Johns Hopkins University from which he graduated with a Masters in Psychology. He then was a teacher at an elementary school in Spanish Harlem before he moved on to the entertainment industry. In 1974 he opened a night club in Manhattan, where he met the producer Jack Rollins.[2] In the same year he joined the company of Rollins, Charles H. Joffe and Buddy Morra and was their partner in the late 1970s. After Rollins, Joffe, and Morra withdrew from the company, he met David Steinberg and Stephen Tenenbaum within a new company, MBST Entertainment, Inc. (Morra Brezner Steinberg & Tenenbaum). His first wife was the singer Melissa Manchester; they met when she performed at his club, and Brezner managed her career during their seven-year marriage.[3] His second marriage to Bett Zimmerman also ended in divorce.[4]
From the mid-1980s, Brezner served as the executive producer for various comedy specials on US television. Brezner supported, inter alia, the careers of artists such as Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Martin Short, and Bette Midler.
In 1984 his first project as the main responsible film producer was Throw Momma From the Train. This was followed by productions such as Good Morning, Vietnam, The 'Burbs, and The Vanishing. In 2014 he produced the comedy Ride Along. His final project, Ride Along 2, was released in January 2016.[5]
He died in Duarte, California in October 2015 from leukemia, which was diagnosed a few months earlier. Brezner is survived by his third wife, Dominque Cohen-Brezner, and two daughters, Lauren Azbill and China Brezner.[6]
Selected filmography
- 1984: Billy Crystal: A Comic’s Line
- 1987: Throw Momma from the Train
- 1987: Good Morning, Vietnam
- 1989: The 'Burbs
- 1990: Wild Boys
- 1992: Passed Away
- 1993: The Vanishing
- 1994: Angie
- 1994: Clifford
- 1998: Krippendorf's Tribe
- 2000: The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave
- 2001: Freddy Got Fingered
- 2002: Sorority Boys
- 2004: The Last Shot
- 2005: The Greatest Game Ever Played
- 2011: Arthur
- 2014: Ride Along
References
- ^ Steve Chawkins: Larry Brezner dies at 73; movie producer and manager of top comic actors. In: Los Angeles Times, 10. October 2015
- ^ https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/containers/fix071/793044/000110465905034260/a05-13666_1ex99d1.htm
- ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/larry-brezner-dead-manager-producer-830109
- ^ Margalit Fox: Larry Brezner, Hollywood Manager of Star Comics, Is Dead at 73. In: The New York Times, 11 October 2015
- ^ Kroll, Justin (13 March 2014). "'Ride Along 2′ to Bow on Martin Luther King Weekend 2016". variety.com. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ https://variety.com/2015/film/news/larry-brezner-dead-robin-williams-billy-crystal-1201612119/