Steve Blauner managed the career of singer Bobby Darin and was a partner in the production company BBS, alongside Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson.
After serving in the Air Force, Blauner began working as a music agent at GAC during the 1950s. There he met Darin, after which he left the agency and became the singer’s manager through 1965. The two men stayed friends throughout the years; Blauner even served as a consultant on Kevin Spacey’s 2004 Darin biopic Beyond the Sea, in which Blauner was played by John Goodman.
In the mid-1960s, Blauner worked at Screen Gems on several now-classic shows, which were hits of their day, including Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Hazel and The Monkees. Blauner, Schneider and Rafelson decided at that time to create BBS Productions (which stood for their first-name initials). The company was a significant force in the motion picture industry from the late ’60s through the mid ’70s — its releases included such films as Easy Rider, The Last Picture Show, Five Easy Pieces, Head, The King of Marvin Gardens, A Safe Place and the 1974 Oscar-winning documentary Hearts and Minds.
Steve Blauner managed the career of singer Bobby Darin and was a partner in the production company BBS, alongside Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson.
After serving in the Air Force, Blauner began working as a music agent at GAC during the 1950s. There he met Darin, after which he left the agency and became the singer’s manager through 1965. The two men stayed friends throughout the years; Blauner even served as a consultant on Kevin Spacey’s 2004 Darin biopic Beyond the Sea, in which Blauner was played by John Goodman.
In the mid-1960s, Blauner worked at Screen Gems on several now-classic shows, which were hits of their day, including Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Hazel and The Monkees. Blauner, Schneider and Rafelson decided at that time to create BBS Productions (which stood for their first-name initials). The company was a significant force in the motion picture industry from the late ’60s through the mid ’70s — its releases included such films as Easy Rider, The Last Picture Show, Five Easy Pieces, Head, The King of Marvin Gardens, A Safe Place and the 1974 Oscar-winning documentary Hearts and Minds.
His other production credits included Jack Nicholson’s 1971 directorial debut, Drive, He Said, and the 1979 stand-up special Richard Pryor: Live in Concert.
Blauner died June 16, 2015, in Marina del Rey, California. He was 81.
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