Aaron Russo, 64, film producer
LOS ANGELES -- Aaron Russo, who managed Bette Midler and produced such films as "Trading Places," died Friday from cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was 64.
Mr. Russo had been battling the disease for nearly six years, said Heidi Gregg, his girlfriend.
"He was my best friend for 27 years," said Gregg. "Aaron was a freedom fighter, a filmmaker, and a lover of life."
Mr. Russo was born in Brooklyn in 1943 and grew up on Long Island. He began promoting rock 'n' roll shows at a local theater while still in high school, according to a biography he wrote and posted on his website. After he opened his own nightclub in Chicago, Mr. Russo promoted some of the most successful rock acts of the 1960s, including Janis Joplin and The Grateful Dead, he wrote.
In the 1970s, Mr. Russo managed Bette Midler, producing the Tony Award-winning "Clams on the Half-Shell Revue" starring the singer. During that time he also managed The Manhattan Transfer.
Mr. Russo eventually turned to producing feature films, including "The Rose," which starred Midler in 1979 as a self-destructive rock star, and "Trading Places" in 1983, which starred Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.
Mr. Russo was also a longtime political activist, making an unsuccessful run for Nevada governor as a Republican in 1998. In January 2004, he declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination but lost.
In 2006, Mr. Russo finished work on a documentary titled "America: Freedom to Fascism," which was billed as an expose of the Internal Revenue Service.
In addition to Gregg, Mr. Russo leaves their children, Sam and Max. 