Anecdotes

His last film project, a documentary about backup singers entitled "Twenty Feet from Stardom (2013)", is scheduled to open at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January 17th, 2013.

Was a founding partner in mid-1990s of the Classic Sports cable-TV channel, sold in 1997 to ESPN for $175 million.

Was one of the very first employees hired by A&M Records founders' Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Later it was he ho persuaded Alpert & Moss to launch a film division. In 1977 he was named president of A&M, which eventually grew into an international corporation with over 500 employees that was bought by PolyGram in 1990 for some $500 million.

While not a musician himself, he grew up in a musical family and attended UCLA. He began his career by working in the mail room of Capitol Records. Later at A&M he helped establish its reputation as a haven for young talent such as The Carpenters and The Police, as well as Janet Jackson, Carole King and Barry White.