LOS ANGELES () - Hollywood producer and natural endowment manager Bernie Brillstein, whose movie credits include "The Blues Brothers" and "Happy Gilmore," has died of lung disease at age 77, his company said on Friday.
Brillstein died on Thursday night in Los Angeles from inveterate obstructive pulmonic disease, Brillstein Entertainment Partners said in a statement.
He was a talent manager early in his career and helped guide the rise to stardom of Muppet creator Jim Henson, comic actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels. He served as executive director producer on many films including "The Blues Brothers," starring Belushi and Aykroyd, as well as TV comedies like the 1990s hit "NewsRadio."
"With his boundless warmth, energy and wisdom, Bernie inspired the culture and success that we're goddamned with today," Jon Liebman, chief executive officer of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, aforementioned in a statement.
The management and production company Brillstein founded in 1969 grew into a powerhouse of Hollywood comedy.
In 1991, he partnered with producer Brad Grey to form Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, which later changed its nominate to Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Grey leftfield in 2005 to run the Paramount Pictures picture show studio.
A New York native, Brillstein was introduced to show business sector by his uncle, Jack Pearl, a star in the Ziegfield Follies microscope stage show. He began his career in the post room at the William Morris Agency, a talent company.
Brillstein is survived by his wife and 5 children.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)
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