Bernie Brillstein

Bernie Brillstein
Born	Bernard Jules Brillstein (1931-04-26)April 26, 1931 New York City, U.S.
Died	August 7, 2008(2008-08-07) (aged 77) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
Alma mater	New York University
Spouses	Laura Smith ​ (m. 1967)​ Deborah Ellen Koskoff ​ ​ (m. 1975)​ Carrie Winston ​ (m. 1998)​

Bernard Jules Brillstein (April 26, 1931 – August 7, 2008) was an American film and television producer, executive producer, and talent agent.

He began his career in the 1950s at the William Morris Agency before founding his own company in 1969 and later joining forces with Brad Grey to helm Brillstein-Grey Entertainment (now Brillstein Entertainment Partners), one of the most important and influential Hollywood talent management and production companies. He is remembered for producing successful TV programs like Hee Haw, The Muppet Show, and The Sopranos, and hit films including The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters and Happy Gilmore.

Early life

Bernie Brillstein was born to a Jewish family in Manhattan, to Moe Brillstein and Matilda "Tillie" Brillstein (née Perlman), who all shared the Manhattan home of his uncle, the vaudeville and radio performer Jack Pearl. Brillstein's father, a milliner, was the guiding force behind the building of the Millinery Center Synagogue, a synagogue located in the Garment District in Manhattan.

Career

Brillstein earned his way into show business in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency (WMA) in New York. He worked his way up to talent agent and by the 1960s, he was a manager-producer of television programming for the company. Still associated with WMA, he joined Management III in 1964 to continue talent management. In the 1960s, he also co-founded the vocal group The Doodletown Pipers.

The Brillstein Company

By now living in Los Angeles, Brillstein formed The Brillstein Company in 1969. There, he continued to manage stars and develop television programming. He produced such popular television hits as Hee Haw, The Muppet Show and Saturday Night Live.

Brillstein later became manager of SNL alumni Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Martin Short, and executive producer Lorne Michaels, as well as Jim Henson (of Muppets fame) and Paul Fusco (voice and operator of ALF). He produced such other television shows as ALF: The Animated Series, and Normal Life. He was also exclusive producer to the animation sequel The Real Ghostbusters (based on the hit movie).

Brillstein-Grey Entertainment

In the 1980s, he met Brad Grey at a television convention in San Francisco. In 1991, the two formed a production company, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, which packages programming and manages talent. They were responsible for such shows as NewsRadio, Just Shoot Me!, The Larry Sanders Show and The Sopranos. As executive producer, Brillstein was responsible for such successes as The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters, Dragnet, Ghostbusters II, Happy Gilmore and The Cable Guy. Brillstein sold his shares in the company to Grey, his one time protégé, in 1996. Grey sold his interest in the company in 2005. He also represented Nick Swardson for six years prior to his death.

Brillstein's 1999 memoir, Where Did I Go Right?: You're No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead, was co-written with David Rensin. Two years later, he received the honor as recipient of a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, on April 18, 2001. His second book The Little Stuff Matters Most, a humorous advice collection, was published in 2004.

Personal life

In 1967, Brillstein married Laura Smith. In 1975, he married Deborah Ellen Koskoff. In 1998, Brillstein married Carrie Winston Brillstein, a marriage that lasted until his 2008 death.

Brillstein died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at a Los Angeles hospital on August 7, 2008, at the age of 77.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1980	Up the Academy	Executive producer
	The Blues Brothers	Executive producer
1981	Continental Divide	Executive producer
	Neighbors	Executive producer
1983	Doctor Detroit	Executive producer
1984	Ghostbusters	Executive producer
1985	Summer Rental	Executive producer
	Spies Like Us	Executive producer
1987	Dragnet	Executive producer
1989	Ghostbusters II	Executive producer
1993	Hexed	Executive producer
1996	Happy Gilmore	Executive producer
	The Cable Guy	Executive producer
	Bulletproof	Executive producer
1998	The Replacement Killers
2000	What Planet Are You From?	Executive producer
2002	Run Ronnie Run!	Executive producer
2004	Jiminy Glick in Lalawood		Final film as a producer

Thanks

Year	Film	Role
2008	A Federal Case	Acknowledgment

Television

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
1973	The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour	Executive producer
1974	The Muppets Valentine Show	Executive producer	Television special
1981	Open All Night	Executive producer
1982	The Valentine's Day That Almost Wasn't	Executive producer	Television special
1983	Sitcom	Executive producer	Television film
1983−84	Buffalo Bill	Executive producer
1985	Big Shots in America	Executive producer	Television short
1986	Comedy Factory	Executive producer
1986−90	ALF	Executive producer
	It's Garry Shandling's Show	Executive producer
1987	CBS Summer Playhouse	Executive producer
1987−91	The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd	Executive producer
1988	ALF Tales	Executive producer
	The Boys	Executive producer
1989	The Wickedest Witch	Executive producer	Television film
1990	Normal Life	Executive producer
	Don't Try This at Home!	Executive producer	Television film
	A Very Retail Christmas	Executive producer	Television short
1991	Good Sports	Executive producer
	Space Cats	Executive producer
1992	The Please Watch the Jon Lovitz Special	Executive producer	Television special
1995−99	NewsRadio	Executive producer
1995−97	The Jeff Foxworthy Show	Executive producer
	Mr. Show with Bob and David	Executive producer
	The Naked Truth	Executive producer
1996	For Hope	Executive producer	Television film
	Mr. Show with Bob and David: Fantastic Newness	Executive producer	Television short
1996−2002	The Steve Harvey Show	Executive producer
	Politically Incorrect	Executive producer
1997−2003	Just Shoot Me!	Executive producer
1998	Mr. Show and the Incredible, Fantastical News Report	Executive producer	Television short
1999−2000	The Martin Short Show	Executive producer
2001−03	Primetime Glick	Executive producer
2001−04	The Wayne Brady Show	Executive producer
2002	Next!	Executive producer
2003	The Lyon's Den	Executive producer
2003−04	Comedy Inc.	Executive producer
2006	Heist	Executive producer

Miscellaneous crew

Year	Title	Role
1986−91	The Real Ghostbusters	Executive consultant

As an actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Other notes
1984	The Ratings Game	Man in Le Boeuf	Television film	Uncredited
2004	The Sopranos	Himself

Thanks

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	The Ratings Game	Special thanks	Television film
1986	The Garry Shandling Show: 25th Anniversary Special		Television special
2008	Saturday Night Live	Dedicatee

Publications

• Bernie Brillstein with David Rensin (1999). Where Did I Go Right?: You're No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead!. Little Brown Inc. ISBN 978-0-316-11885-9 (Chapter One online)
• The Little Stuff Matters Most (2004). Bernie Brillstein with David Rensin ISBN 1-59240-079-5

External links

• Bernie Brillstein at IMDb
• Bernie Brillstein at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• Obituary and memories – Nikki Finke
• The Man Who Loved Show Business by David Rensin.
• Bernie Brillstein at Find a Grave