George Shapiro, revered talent manager and Seinfeld producer, dies at 91

Revered producer and talent manager George Shapiro, who represented comedy stars Jerry Seinfeld, uncle Carl Reiner, and Andy Kaufman, among others, died May 26 of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 91.

A co-founder of entertainment firm Shapiro/West & Associates alongside partner and childhood friend Howard West, Shapiro helped assemble juggernauts such as NBC's award-winning Seinfeld, in which he also executive produced. More recently, Shapiro served as executive producer on Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, reuniting him once again with his longtime client.

Born in the Bronx, Shapiro began his career in the mailroom at Reiner's (his uncle by marriage) talent firm William Morris Agency in New York, where he was ultimately promoted to junior agent in the packaging department. Shapiro recruited longtime pal West to join him, and it wasn't long until they were transferred to the Los Angeles office. There, Shapiro assembled talent for TV programs such as The Steve Allen Show, That Girl, Gomer Pile, U.S.M.C. and specials headlined by Dick Van Dike, Mary Tyler Moore, and Carol Channing.

Michael Schwartz/WireImage George Shapiro

By the 1970s, Shapiro launched Shapiro/West & Associates with West and executive produced several Kaufman projects, including 1979's Andy's Funhouse, 1980's Andy Kaufman at Carnegie Hall, and 1995's A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman. His TV special credits also include 1987's Elayne Boosler: Broadway Baby and Jerry Seinfeld: Stand-Up Confidential, while film credits include 1985's Summer Rental and 1999's Man on the Moon, in which he also starred.

Shapiro also produced a number of documentaries, including 2001's Comedian, 2003's The Bronx Boys, 2017's  If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast, and more recently, 2021's The Super Bob Einstein Movie. Shapiro was the subject of director Danny Gold's 2019 documentary The Bronx, USA, which followed the revered manager and producer as he returned to his hometown and revisited memories from his youth.

On Saturday, the veteran sitcom producer Norman Lear remembered his friend in a post. "One of the dearest people I have ever known, George Shapiro, just passed," Lear wrote. "I bless our friendship and, at 99, I'm sure I'll see him relatively soon."

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