By Mike Barnes, Hollywood Reporter | Brian Avnet, the respected personal manager and music executive who discovered Josh Groban, collaborated with David Foster and helped The Manhattan Transfer to great success, has died. He was 82.
Avnet died May 14 at his home in Los Angeles after a years-long battle with Parkinson’s disease, a publicist announced.
The Baltimore native also worked closely with the likes of Johnny Mandel, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Cyndi Lauper, Take 6, Jean-Luc Ponty, Eric Benét and Joshua Ledet.
Avnet began working with The Manhattan Transfer in 1979, and two years later the vocal group became the first to win Grammys in the pop and jazz categories in the same year, earning trophies for “The Boy From New York City” and “Until I Met You (Corner Pocket).”
“Brian was an excellent manager and like a brother to me,” Manhattan Transfer founding member Alan Paul said in a statement. “He was savvy, honest, funny and gifted with a heart of gold. I never met anyone personally or in business who didn’t like him.”
> > > > > > > > > Read more about Mr. Avent’s life here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/brian-avnet-longtime-artist-manager-and-music-executive-dies-at-82/
A private memorial service will be held in L.A. in September. Donations in his memory can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.