R.I.P. Bernie Brillstein

Soon, Brillstein’s representation of Aykroyd ended. Then Adelson, without warning, agreed to sell Lorimar-Telepictures and all its holdings, including the movie company and Brillstein’s management company, to Warner Bros. The studio quickly folded Lorimar into Warners, and Bernie found himself out of a job. He was forced to start all over. Brillstein took his golden parachute and went back into the management business. He also took a very young Brad Grey under his wing.

Together, the two were able to sign back many of Bernie’s former clients and start the careers of many new hot young ones, as well as expand into A-list actors. Slowly, Grey took over running the company, named Brillstein-Grey Entertainment by 1991, until Brad left to become chairman/CEO of the Paramount Motion Picture Group in 2005.

It was an incredible testament to Brillstein’s legacy that, when Brillstein-Grey decided in June 2007 to rebrand itself, the talent management and movie/TV production entity paid homage to its founder and mentor by renaming itself Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Said Brillstein in the press release, “It’s been a pleasure seeing this company evolve over the past 38 years.”

And it was a pleasure to know you, Bernie.