Lawrence Ira "Larry" Brezner (August 23, 1942 – October 5, 2015) was an American film producer, most notable for producing films such as ''

Good Morning, Vietnam ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' is a 1987 American war comedy film written by Mitch Markowitz and directed by Barry Levinson. Set in Saigon in 1965, during the Vietnam War, the film stars Robin Williams as a radio DJ on Armed Forces Radio Service, wh ...

'', ''

Throw Momma from the Train ''Throw Momma from the Train'' is a 1987 American crime comedy film starring and directed by Danny DeVito in his theatrical directorial debut. The film co-stars Billy Crystal, Anne Ramsey, Rob Reiner, Branford Marsalis, Kim Greist, and Kate Mulg ...

'', and ''

Ride Along A ride-along is an arrangement for a civilian to spend a shift in the passenger seat of an emergency vehicle, observing the work day of a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic. Ride-alongs are offered by many police departments around the wor ...

''.

Life and career

Born in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1942, Brezner studied at the

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own ...

and St. John's University from which he graduated with a Masters in Psychology. He then was a teacher at an elementary school in

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fi ...

before he moved on to the entertainment industry. In 1974 he opened a night club in Manhattan, where he met the producer Jack Rollins. In the same year he joined the company of Rollins & Charles H. Joffe with Buddy Morra and was their partner in the late 1970s. After Rollins and Joffe withdrew from the company, he, Buddy Morra, David Steinberg and

Stephen Tenenbaum Stephen Tenenbaum is an American film producer. In 2012, he was nominated for an Academy Award for the 2011 movie ''Midnight in Paris''. Filmography * '' The Curse of the Jade Scorpion'' (2001) (executive producer) * '' Hollywood Ending'' (20 ...

formed a new company, MBST Entertainment, Inc. (Morra Brezner Steinberg & Tenenbaum). His first wife was the singer

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

; they met when she performed at his club, and Brezner managed her career during their seven-year marriage. His second marriage to Bett Zimmerman also ended in divorce. From the mid-1980s, Brezner served as the executive producer for various comedy specials on US television. Brezner also managed the careers of artists such as

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

and many other comedic talents. In 1981 his first film project was the original Arthur, his first project as film producer in 1984 was ''

''. This was followed by ''

'', ''

The 'Burbs ''The 'Burbs'' is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Joe Dante, and starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, and Gale Gordon. The film was written by Dana Olsen, who ...

'', and '' The Vanishing'' "Krippendorf's Tribe", "The Greatest Game". In 2014 he produced the comedy ''

''. His final project, ''

Ride Along 2 ''Ride Along 2'' is a 2016 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Tim Story and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It is the sequel to the 2014 film '' Ride Along''. The film stars Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Brat ...

'', was released in January 2016. He died in

Duarte, California Duarte () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 21,727. It is bounded to the north by the San Gabriel Mountains, to the north and west by the cities of Bradbury and Monrovia, ...

in October 2015 from leukemia, which was diagnosed a few months earlier. Brezner is survived by his third wife, Dominique Cohen-Brezner, and two daughters, Lauren Azbill and China Brezner.

Selected filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;Thanks

Television

;Thanks

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brezner, Larry 1942 births 2015 deaths People from the Bronx Film producers from New York (state) Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in California