Richard Perry – the music producer who collaborated with the biggest stars of the 1970s and ’80s has died … TMZ has confirmed.
Ben McCarthy – Perry’s personal assistant for nearly three decades – tells TMZ… Richard died around 1:30 this morning.
We’re told Richard has been battling Parkinson’s disease… Ben said he saw him for a few hours about a month ago, and Richard was unable to communicate verbally.That said, Richard was in good spirits during their visit, he adds is Ben.
Perry entered the music industry after graduating college in 1964… leaving Michigan for Los Angeles, where he released the first couple of albums for avant-rock cult legend Captain Beefheart.
During the 1970s, Perry began working with legendary artists Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel, Diana Ross, Ringo Starr and much more Rod Stewart Formed a particularly close relationship with … Perry assisting Stewart on three recordings of his Great American Songbook.
In 1978, Perry started Planet Records, his own label, which he ran until it was sold to RCA Records in 1983.
Perry has released multiple platinum and gold records over the years…and in 2015 he received a Grammy Trustees Award for his contributions to the recording industry.
From 2009 to 2017, Perry was in a relationship with the actress Jane Fonda … falling in love with each other while he helped her recover from knee surgery.
Perry confirmed the split in 2017 … stating that rumors of their split were true, though adding that “they continue to maintain a close friendship and care deeply for each other.”
Perry was 82 years old.
R.I.P
