Richard Shepherd obit

Producer Richard Shepherd, Founder of Artists Agency, Dies at 86

He headed production at MGM and Warner Bros. in the '70s and '80s 

He was not on the list.

Studio exec and producer Richard Shepherd died Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home, his wife Patricia told Variety. He was 86.

Shepherd, who was suffering from a long-time illness, produced “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and headed production at MGM and Warner Bros. before founding the Artists Agency during his 60-plus-year career.

Shepherd also produced 1959’s “The Hanging Tree,” starring Gary Cooper; 1960’s “The Fugitive Kind” with Marlon Brando and 1976’s “Robin and Marian,” starring Audrey Hepburn, whom he convinced to return to acting after a decade-long absence. He worked with longtime partner Martin Jurow on most of his projects, including “Love in a Goldfish Bowl” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

He was hired by MCA owner Lew Wasserman right after graduating from Stanford in the 1940s. Shepherd would later found his own agency, The Artists Agency, and rep the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Richard Harris. He spent two decades there, where he worked until his 70s.

After producing a slew of films, Shepherd returned to the agency world in the ’60s as one of the first partners at CMA (later ICM).

As head of production at Warner Bros., he oversaw “The Exorcist” in the 1970s. He took over at MGM in 1976, developing 1979’s “The Champ,” 1979’s “Clash of the Titans” and 1982’s “Shoot the Moon.”

He is survived by his wife and son, Scott Shepherd, a TV writer and producer. Donations may be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

Writer

What Price Victory (1988)

What Price Victory

4.2

TV Movie

story

1988

 

Producer

Tom Hanks, John Candy, and Rita Wilson in Volunteers (1985)

Volunteers

5.5

producer (produced by)

1985

 

Susan Sarandon, David Bowie, and Catherine Deneuve in The Hunger (1983)

The Hunger

6.6

producer (as Richard A. Shepherd)

1983

 

Alex & the Gypsy (1976)

Alex & the Gypsy

5.1

producer

1976

 

Audrey Hepburn, Sean Connery, Ian Holm, Richard Harris, Robert Shaw, and Nicol Williamson in Robin and Marian (1976)

Robin and Marian

6.5

executive producer

1976

 

Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Breakfast at Tiffany's

7.6

producer

1961

 

Fabian, Toby Michaels, and Tommy Sands in Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961)

Love in a Goldfish Bowl

5.1

producer

1961

 

Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, and Joanne Woodward in The Fugitive Kind (1960)

The Fugitive Kind

7.1

producer (as Richard A. Shepherd)

1960

 

Gary Cooper, Karl Malden, and Maria Schell in The Hanging Tree (1959)

The Hanging Tree

7.1

producer

1959

 

Production Manager

Fred Astaire, William Holden, Paul Newman, Richard Chamberlain, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Blakely, and Jennifer Jones in The Towering Inferno (1974)

The Towering Inferno

7.0

production supervisor: Warner Bros.

1974

 

Additional Crew

Leonardo DiCaprio, Gabriel Byrne, Gérard Depardieu, Jeremy Irons, and John Malkovich in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

The Man in the Iron Mask

6.5

production assistant

1998

 

Thanks

Disarmed

Short

special thanks

2008

 

It's So Audrey! A Style Icon (2006)

It's So Audrey! A Style Icon

6.7

Video

special thanks

2006

 

Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic (2006)

Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic

7.1

Video

special thanks

2006

 

Self

It's So Audrey! A Style Icon (2006)

It's So Audrey! A Style Icon

6.7

Video

Self

2006

 

Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic (2006)

Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic

7.1

Video

Self

2006

 

Archive Footage

Ellen DeGeneres in The Oscars (2014)

The Oscars

7.7

TV Special

Self - Producer

Executive (In Memoriam) (archive footage)

2014