August
8Bernie a True Original
What was wonderful about doing business with Bernie Brillstein was that he enjoyed a good laugh as much as a good deal. In a business of grabbers, Bernie was a collector: He collected great stories and relished sharing them. He understood all the nuances and subtexts of dealmaking and found humor both in success and failure.Bernie has left us now and there are many who feel the loss. That’s because there was only one Bernie.
Over the years, Bernie and I kept intersecting at different times in different ways. In the days when Saturday Night Live first exploded, everyone was tossing offers at Bernie for the Gildas and Belushis. He handled the pressure gracefully, but he also was bemused by Hollywood’s true-to-form behavior: Everybody’s always chasing the same people at the same time.
Bernie seemed not so much a manager as a guru-at-large. He was ready with advice – provided you asked for it. He also was ready to tell you exactly what he thought about any given situation. We did a number of television shows together, and the tube did not inhibit him: He kept on calling them as he saw them.
I am sure I will keep hearing his voice in my head. And that I welcome.
(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)
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