Jim Tauber obit

Jim Tauber Dies: Longtime Film Exec & Former Sidney Kimmel Entertainment President Was 74

 

He was not on the list.

Jim Tauber, a longtime film executive who was president of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment for a decade after working at Fox, Propaganda Films, Columbia TriStar and elsewhere, has died of multiple myeloma complications. He was 74. His family confirmed the news but did not provide a date of death.

Tauber served as president and COO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment from 2005-15, overseeing some 30 films for the company. His SKE credits include Best Picture nominee Hell or High Water, The Place Beyond the Pines, Death at a Funeral, Lars and the Real Girl and The Kite Runner, Talk to Me, Breach, Age of Adaline and Synecdoche, New York.

“I was Art and Jim was Commerce, and I like to think we complimented each other,” his friend and collaborator Bill Horberg, Chairman Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America, East, told Deadline. Horberg, who made 13 films with Tauber. “He had a wonderful, droll sense of humor — a godsend in an endeavor with so much absurdity baked in.”

Tauber retired from SKE in 2015.

“I have truly enjoyed working with Jim,” Sydney Kimmel said when Tauber retired. “He’s successfully overseen all of our productions for a decade and has been key to our success and growth.”

Tauber said upon his retirement: “Working with Sidney has been a highlight of my career. This change has been a dream of mine for a long time, and Sidney has been supportive beyond all hopes as I pursued this new chapter in my professional life.”

Prior to joining Kimmel, Tauber held high-level posts at several showbiz companies. He served as worldwide EVP Acquisitions & Co-Productions at 20th Century Fox, president and COO of Propaganda Films and later held the same post at Anonymous Content after Propaganda was sold.

Earlier in his career, Tauber was EVP Acquisitions and Business/Legal Affairs at Columbia TriStar Pictures, overseeing acquisitions and sales agreements and the production of more than 50 features, including Cannes Palme d’Or winner sex, lies and videotape and Sundance hits The Waterdance and Gas Food Lodging.

While at Propaganda, Tauber produced 30 films, including Being John Malkovich and Wild at Heart and helped launch distribution company Gramercy Pictures.

After retiring from the industry, Tauber, a licensed psychotherapist, segued into a practice with his wife, Laura Newman. In 2022, the couple launched Lefty’s Coffee, a Los Olivos coffee shop built around ethical sourcing and sustainability.

Raised in the Chicago suburb of Glencoe, Tauber went to the Woodstock festival in 1969. While there — according to a post he wrote for StoriedStuff.com — he “shared joints with the Grateful Dead” and, while trying to hitchhike home on that Monday morning, watched Jimi Hendrix play his medley that was punctuated by “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Along with his wife, Tauber is survived by their daughters J. Lucy, Dixie and Zazu and his sister Joanie. A private funeral is planned, with a celebration of life to occur at a later date.

Producer

Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster, and Chris Pine in Hell or High Water (2016)

Hell or High Water

7.6

executive producer (uncredited)

2016

 

Michiel Huisman and Blake Lively in The Age of Adaline (2015)

The Age of Adaline

7.2

executive producer

2015

 

Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie in Sleeping with Other People (2015)

Sleeping with Other People

6.5

executive producer

2015

 

Aaron Eckhart in I, Frankenstein (2014)

I, Frankenstein

5.1

executive producer

2014

 

Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, and Christopher Walken in Stand Up Guys (2012)

Stand Up Guys

6.4

producer

2012

 

Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, and Eva Mendes in The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

The Place Beyond the Pines

7.3

executive producer

2012

 

Amanda Seyfried in Gone (2012)

Gone

5.9

executive producer

2012

 

Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, James Marsden, Luke Wilson, Peter Dinklage, Tracy Morgan, and Zoe Saldana in Death at a Funeral (2010)

Death at a Funeral

5.7

executive producer

2010

 

Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn in Management (2008)

Management

5.8

executive producer

2008

 

Additional Crew

Paul Giamatti and Paul Rudd in All Is Bright (2013)

All Is Bright

5.6

president: Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

2013

 

Cloudburst (2011)

Cloudburst

7.2

executive: Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (as James Tauber)

2011

 

Canadian Bacon (1995)

Canadian Bacon

5.9

president: Propaganda Films

1995

 

Thanks

Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster, and Chris Pine in Hell or High Water (2016)

Hell or High Water

7.6

special thanks

2016

 

Jake Gyllenhaal in Demolition (2015)

Demolition

7.0

special thanks

2015

 

Promo Poster

The Little Vampire

5.8

the producers would like to thank

2000

 

Being John Malkovich (1999)

Being John Malkovich

7.7

thanks

1999

 

Monkey Drummer (2000)

Amarillo by Morning

6.5

Short

special thanks

1998

 

Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Michelle Forbes, and Juliette Lewis in Kalifornia (1993)

Kalifornia

6.7

special thanks

1993

 

Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, and Lara Flynn Boyle in Red Rock West (1993)

Red Rock West

7.0

special thanks

1993

 

Stephen Baldwin, Josh Charles, Jason Gedrick, David Schwimmer, and Cheryl Pollak in Crossing the Bridge (1992)

Crossing the Bridge

6.3

special thanks

1992

 

Tony Todd in Candyman (1992)

Candyman

6.7

special thanks

1992

 

David Paul and Peter Paul in Double Trouble (1992)

Double Trouble

4.2

special thanks (as James Tauber)

1992

 

Colin Firth and Hart Bochner in Apartment Zero (1988)

Apartment Zero

6.8

thanks

1988