Eric Weissmann, the veteran entertainment lawyer who replaced Rita Hayworth, Robert Altman, Elizabeth Taylor And Gene Wilder during a career that spanned more than five decades, has died. He was 94 years old.
Weissmann died Dec. 15 in Denver of natural causes, his granddaughter Sara McCrea said. The Hollywood Reporter.
His clients also included David Carradine and Keith Carradine, Pierre BogdanovichRobert Aldrich, Paul Mazurski and Mark Rydell.
In 2012, Weissmann founded his own firm after spending many years as a senior partner at the Beverly Hills firm of Weissmann Wolff Bergman Coleman Grodin. “I look forward to enjoying the freedom of being alone and devoting myself full time to my clients. » he said then.
The move follows Weissmann Wolff’s merger with Sacramento-based Weintraub Genshlea Chediak Tobin & Tobin, ending an entertainment law firm with a presence in Hollywood since the early 1980s.
Born in Zurich in 1930, Weissmann and his family fled Europe in 1940 via Mexico before settling in Los Angeles.
Weissmann also served as head of worldwide business affairs at Warner Bros. and partner at Kaplan Livingston Goodwin Berkowitz & Selvin before launching Weissmann Wolff.
He was selected Entertainment Lawyer of the Year by the Beverly Hills Bar Association in 2010 and received the Distinguished Entertainment Leadership Award from the Anti-Defamation League, among many other honors.
Weissmann also lectured at Harvard, Yale, and AFI and taught at USC and Sherwood Oaks Experimental College.
In addition to his granddaughter, survivors include his wife, Mary Louise Weissmann, and his daughters, Jessica McCrea and Tiffany Wind.