Robert Stigwood

A multi-media mogul before the term ever truly existed, Robert Stigwood was a record, film and theatrical producer, a music promoter and a manager who oversaw some of the biggest successes in 20th century pop culture - from rock groups Cream and the Bee Gees to the features "Saturday Night Fever" (1977) and "Grease" (1978) to the stage hits "Hair," "Pippin" and "Sweeney Todd." Stigwood was among the first entrepreneurs to understand that by maintaining a hand in as many aspects of his clients' careers as possible, from management to songwriting and record production/distribution, he could not only maintain direct control on their images, but reap maximum financial gain from their efforts. From the late 1960s through the mid-1970s, Stigwood's clients were at the top of the entertainment business, from Eric Clapton's 461 Ocean Boulevard album to "Saturday Night Fever," which helped to reinvent the Bee Gees as the kings of disco. Stigwood's unerring touch began to run dry in the late 1970s following a string of movie flops, including the ghastly "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1978), though he continued to oversee some of the biggest stage hits of the 1980s, including "Evita" (1980). Though occasionally pilloried for his excesses, there was no question about Stigwood's track record, which remained incredibly accomplished in not one but four different art forms. His death in January 2015 at the age of 81 closed the books on a remarkable career in music, movies and theatre.