Edgar Rosenberg
Edgar Rosenberg (September 21, 1925[1] – August 14, 1987) was a German-born British[2] film and television producer based in the U.S.
Early life
Edgar Rosenberg was born to Jewish parents in Bremerhaven in 1925.[1][3] When he was a small boy, his family emigrated from Germany to Denmark and then South Africa to escape the National Socialists.[4] He was educated in England at Rugby School and Cambridge University.[4][5]
Career
Rosenberg moved to the United States as a young man and rose to become an assistant to Emanuel Sacks, vice president of entertainment at NBC, but was fired during a year of recovery from a traffic accident and had to work as a night clerk in a bookstore.[4] In the 1960s, he worked for the public relations firm run by Anna M. Rosenberg (to whom he was not related) and was a valued news source for journalists.[5]
As a co-founder of the nonprofit Telsun Foundation production company affiliated with the United Nations, he helped to develop a series of television films promoting the United Nations, one of which, The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966), was also released to theaters as a feature film.[4][6][7] His other television credits included the 1950s U.S. educational TV series Omnibus[5] and the short-lived 1970s sitcom Husbands, Wives & Lovers, which was created by his wife, Joan Rivers.
In the 1970s, he produced the feature film Rabbit Test (1978), written and directed by Rivers.[8] He served as Rivers' manager for most of their marriage and was a producer on The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, on the newly formed Fox Television Network.[4][5][9]
Personal life and death
Rosenberg married actress, comedian and commentator Joan Rivers in July 1965, five days after hiring her to work with him in Jamaica rewriting a screenplay for a joint movie deal with his friend Peter Sellers.[4][5] The couple had one daughter, Melissa Rivers.
In August 1987, several months after Fox fired him and Rivers, Rosenberg died by suicide, overdosing on prescription drugs in a Philadelphia hotel room. He had been clinically depressed, which Rivers believed was brought on by medication he had been taking since a heart attack in 1984.[10][11] Nancy Reagan was the first person to telephone Rivers upon Rosenberg's death, and arranged for his body to be moved from Philadelphia.[12][13]
References
- ^ a b c Ron Avery, "Rivers' Edgar Takes Life: Depressed By Illness, Rosenberg Downs Valium Overdose" Archived April 11, 2013, at archive.today, Philadelphia Daily News, August 15, 1987.
- ^ Associated Press, "Comedian Joan Rivers dead at 81", The Citizens' Voice, September 4, 2014.
- ^ Josh Meyer, United Press International, "Joan Rivers' Husband said Suicide,", Schenectady Gazette, August 14, 1987.
- ^ a b c d e f Richard Meryman, "Joan Mourns Edgar," People, August 31, 1987.
- ^ a b c d e Nikki Finke, "Edgar Rosenberg: The Public Ending of a Private Life : Suicide of Rivers' Husband Came Without a Warning", Los Angeles Times, August 20, 1987. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
- ^ Hadley, Mitchell. "The UN Goes to the Movies". TVparty.com. TVparty!. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ Lowry, Cynthia (April 22, 1966). "Based on Ian Fleming Outline: Spy Story On Narcotics Traffic Ready To Show". The Reporter. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Associated Press (AP). p. 10. Retrieved January 1, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Verswijver, Leo (2003). 'Movies Were Always Magical': Interviews With 19 Actors, Directors and Producers From the Hollywood of the 1930s Through the 1950s. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 130. ISBN 0-7864-1129-5.
- ^ Associated Press, "Edgar Rosenberg, 62; Producer, Husband of Comedian Joan Rivers," The Boston Globe, August 15, 1987 Online at Highbeam.
- ^ Joan Rivers, Bouncing Back: I've Survived Everything... and I Mean Everything... and You Can Too!, New York: Harper Collins, 1997, ISBN 0-06-017821-3, pp. 11–19.
- ^ "The Night the Laughter Stopped: Joan Rivers Talks About the Hope and Despair of Husband Edgar's Brush With Death", People, December 10, 1984.
- ^ Marylouise Oates, "Fawn Hall Signs with Superagent", Los Angeles Times, August 19, 1987, retrieved October 19, 2014.
- ^ Tim Teeman, "Joan Rivers: Our Last Interview", The Daily Beast, September 4, 2014, retrieved October 19, 2014.
External links
- Edgar Rosenberg at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- An Audience with... (1984)
- Abroad in London (1992)
- Live at the Apollo (2004)
- Another Audience with... (2006)
- Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers (2009)
- Don't Start with Me (2012)
- The Girl Most Likely To... (screenplay, co-writer 1973)
- Rabbit Test (screenplay, director 1978)
- Why We Laugh: Funny Women (producer, 2013)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (guest host, 1969–86)
- The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers (host, 1986–87)
- The Joan Rivers Show (host, 1989–1993)
- Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? (producer, 2011–2014)
- In Bed with Joan (writer/producer, 2013–14)
- Filmography
- Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
- Nip/Tuck: Joan Rivers
- Louie: Joan
- Edgar Rosenberg (husband)
- Melissa Rivers (daughter)
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