Photo: Gary Gershoff/Getty
Hollywood producer and managerGeorge Shapirohas died at 91.
Shapiro’s publicist confirmed the news toThe Hollywood Reporter, saying he died on Thursday of natural causes. He was in his Beverly Hills home at the time of his passing.
Shapiro was a co-founder and partner at Shapiro/West Associates. He was best known for managingJerry Seinfeld, though he also worked with numerous other comics likeCarl Reiner, Gabe Kaplan andAndy Kaufman.
Gary Gershoff/Getty
Through his work as a producer, Shapiro brought shows likeSeinfeld,Comedians in Cars Getting CoffeeandThe Dick Van Dyke Show: Now Living In Color!to the small screen.
“One of the dearest people I have ever known, George Shapiro, just passed,” he captioned the post. “I bless our friendship and, at 99, I’m sure I’ll see him relatively soon.”
Danny Devito, who played Shapiro in the filmMan on the Moon, also issued a statement in response to Shapiro’s death.
“George was one of the sweetest guys on the planet,” DeVito said, perThe Hollywood Reporter. “We got to see that smiling face every Friday night during theTaxidays. He never missed a show.”
In 2020, one of Shapiro’s closest friends, Reiner, died of natural causes at 98. In honoring Reiner, Shapiro said his pal lived a full life.
Shapiro added of the comedian’s death, “He didn’t fall too hard. It was a gentle buckling of the knees. He went out within three minutes. He didn’t suffer. Everybody wants to go that way.”
Shapiro leaves behind partner Melody Shapiro and their three children: Danny, Carrie and Stefanie.
source: people.com
