George Shapiro, Jerry Seinfeld's Producer and Manager, Dead at 91: 'One of the Dearest People'

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Hollywood producer and manager George Shapiro has died at 91.

Shapiro's publicist confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter, saying he died on Thursday of natural causes. He was in his Beverly Hills home at the time of his passing.

Shapiro was a co-founder and partner at Shapiro/West Associates. He was best known for managing Jerry Seinfeld, though he also worked with numerous other comics like Carl Reiner, Gabe Kaplan and Andy Kaufman.

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Through his work as a producer, Shapiro brought shows like Seinfeld, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and The Dick Van Dyke Show: Now Living In Color! to the small screen.

Some Hollywood icons expressed their grief over Shapiro's passing. TV producer Norman Lear, who is best known for producing shows like The Jeffersons and The Facts of Life, shared a heartfelt message beside a photo of the pair and their friends.

"One of the dearest people I have ever known, George Shapiro, just passed," he captioned the post. "I bless our friendship and, at 99, I'm sure I'll see him relatively soon."

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Danny Devito, who played Shapiro in the film Man on the Moon, also issued a statement in response to Shapiro's death.

"George was one of the sweetest guys on the planet," DeVito said, per The Hollywood Reporter. "We got to see that smiling face every Friday night during the Taxi days. He never missed a show."

In 2020, one of Shapiro's closest friends, Reiner, died of natural causes at 98. In honoring Reiner, Shapiro said his pal lived a full life.

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"He was able to tell [his son] Rob [Reiner] just a few days ago how he'd accomplished everything he ever wanted to by having a great family and the great creativity that he'd been part of in his career," Shapiro told Variety at the time. "He was a happy man."

Shapiro added of the comedian's death, "He didn't fall too hard. It was a gentle buckling of the knees. He went out within three minutes. He didn't suffer. Everybody wants to go that way."

Shapiro leaves behind partner Melody Shapiro and their three children: Danny, Carrie and Stefanie.