Jay Ira Kanter (December 12, 1926 – August 6, 2024) was an American film producer and talent agent, best known for his long association with Alan Ladd Jr. He was an agent at MCA for a number of years. He is also known for his biographical works such as ''Grace Kelly: The American Princess'' (1987), ''Brando'' (2007), and ''Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire'' (2014).

Personal life

Kanter was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He was married to Judy Balaban (daughter of

Barney Balaban Barney Balaban (June 8, 1887 – March 7, 1971) was an American film executive and innovator in the film industry who was president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964, and honorary chairman until his death. Life and career Barney Balaban w ...

) from 1953 until they divorced in 1961. Then he was married to Kit Bennett from 1965 until her death in 2014. He had two daughters with Balaban, Amy and Victoria. Kanter died at his home in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

, on August 6, 2024, at the age of 97.

Selected credits

* ''

Villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

'' (1971) - producer * '' Fear Is the Key'' (1972) - producer

References

External links

*
Jay Kanter
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

1926 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Balaban family Film people from Chicago Film producers from Illinois Jewish American film people Film people from Beverly Hills, California {{US-film-producer-stub