Sandy Gallin, one of Hollywood’s most successful talent managers, has died aged 76.
His career included success as a agent, talent manager, movie and theatre producer and in his latter years, home designer. Gallin passed away on April 21 following a long battle with multiple myeloma.
He guided the careers of many stars including Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, Nicole Kidman, Joan Rivers, Mariah Carey, Neil Diamond, Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Lawrence, Roseanne and many others.
Sometimes he managed stars careers when they were facing their biggest challenges. He represented Michael Jackson when he was fist accused of molesting a teenage boy, and Milli Vanilli when they were stripped of their Grammy Award after it was revealed they didn’t actually sing on their best selling album.
Gallin was instrumental in the career success of Richard Pryor, signing the unknown comic in the early days of his career, he also was involved in the creation of the band The Mamas & the Papas.
He helped produce films including Steve Martin’s Father of the Pride, Sabrina, and I.Q. which starred Tim Robins. He produced the film version of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and the successful TV series.
In 1985, Gallin launched Sandollar Productions with Dolly Parton. The company was behind the 1989 Oscar-winning feature documentary Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt, which raised global awareness about AIDS.
Later in life, after retiring from being an agent and manager, Gallin redecorated and sold houses, something that he’d done through out his career, describing it as a way to relax.
Gallin, who was a prominent gay man in Hollywood throughout his decades long career, married actor Bryan Fox in 2011.
OIP Staff
