Martin Leon "Marty" Bregman (May 18, 1926 – June 16, 2018) was an American film producer and personal manager. He produced many films, including '' Scarface'', '' Sea of Love'', ''

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

'', '' Serpico'', '' Dog Day Afternoon'', '' The Four Seasons'', '' Betsy's Wedding'', '' Carlito's Way'', '' Carlito's Way: Rise to Power'', '' The Bone Collector'', and '' The Adventures of Pluto Nash''.

Early life

Bregman was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Leon and Ida (Granowski) Bregman. He was

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 ...

and grew up in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. As a child, he suffered from

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. He began his career selling insurance and first got into the entertainment business as a night club agent.

Career

Building relationships with investors such as New York real estate magnate Lewis Rudin, Bregman moved successfully into personal management, eventually representing such stars as Al Pacino,

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

, Faye Dunaway, Alan Alda and Bette Midler. Bregman discovered Pacino in an Off Broadway play, and helped to support the actor as he built his stage and then film career, among other things working to land Pacino his first film role in 1971's '' Panic in Needle Park'', winning out over then unknown actor Robert De Niro. Bregman ventured into film producing in 1973, building projects around Pacino, initially with the

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

directed '' Serpico.'' The film's acclaim set the path for many more highly acclaimed collaborations with Pacino, including 1975's '' Dog Day Afternoon'', 1983's '' Scarface'', 1989's '' Sea of Love'' and 1993's '' Carlito's Way.'' In the 1970s Bregman nearly directed David Rabe's screenplay for '' First Blood'' with Pacino starring as

John Rambo John James Rambo is a fictional character in the Rambo (franchise), ''Rambo'' franchise. He first appeared in the 1972 novel ''First Blood (novel), First Blood'' by David Morrell, but later became more famous as the protagonist of the film serie ...

, but Pacino declined to appear because he found the story too dark. Beginning in 1979 with '' The Seduction of Joe Tynan'', and for most of the 1980s, Bregman enjoyed a successful run of films with writer/director Alan Alda. Their creative and business partnership yielded such well received films as '' The Four Seasons'' in 1981, '' Sweet Liberty'' in 1986, '' A New Life'' in 1988 and '' Betsy's Wedding,'' in 1990. Other films include 1999's '' The Bone Collector'' with

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

and 2002's '' The Adventures of Pluto Nash'', starring

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

, one of the producer's rare box-office failures. While in 1983, both Alda and Bregman signed deals with

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, he was moved off to movie production studio Lorimar Motion Pictures in 1986. Bregman also produced two short-lived television shows, 1980's '' S*H*E'' and 1984's '' The Four Seasons'', with Alda, based on the films.

Personal life

Bregman lived in New York City and had two sons with former wife Elizabeth Driscoll, Christopher Bregman (Real Estate Entrepreneur), film producer Michael (''Sea of Love'', '' Carlito's Way''), and a daughter, singer Marissa Bregman, with another wife, actress Cornelia Bregman () (''Serpico,'' '' Open Season,'' '' The Reincarnation of Peter Proud,'' '' The Next Man,'' '' S*H*E,'' ''

''). He died from a cerebral hemorrhage, aged 92, on June 16, 2018.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;As an actor

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bregman, Martin 1926 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American Jews Film producers from New York City Burials at Kensico Cemetery Businesspeople from the Bronx Jews from New York (state) 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews