Jake Bloom, Veteran Hollywood Lawyer, Dies at 81
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Jake Bloom, the veteran entertainment talent lawyer who represented the likes of Martin Scorsese, George Lucas and Arnold Schwarzenegger, has died. He was 81.
Bloom died Thursday of natural causes at his home in Sun Valley, Idaho, his family announced.
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One of The Hollywood Reporter’s inaugural class of Legal Legends, the co-founder of the iconic firm Bloom Hergott represented the upper echelon of Hollywood talent in front of and behind the camera for more than 50 years. His clients also included Jerry Bruckheimer, John Hughes and Ron Howard, plus stars such as Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Jackie Chan.
The Brooklyn-born Jacob Bloom, a graduate of Columbia College and Cornell Law School, began practicing law in 1968 and started his career in entertainment law with Tom Pollack and Andy Rigrod, whom he met by chance at a poker game.
As THR‘s Matthew Belloni wrote in 2019, “Jake Bloom was a movie star lawyer for the movie star era. Yes, he negotiated deals, some of the biggest Hollywood has ever seen. Bloom made Johnny Depp very rich thanks to the profit definition he crafted for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He helped Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone become global action stars. For George Lucas, Bloom, with his partners, carved out the Star Wars merchandise rights that turned an indie filmmaker into a billionaire.”
Added Belloni: “Bloom was a swashbuckling negotiator with a larger-than-life persona and jet-set relationships whose appearance (part disheveled rabbi, part classic movie mogul; casual yet draped in Armani) belied his ability to fully exploit the leverage that stars enjoyed over studios in the ’80s and ’90s. In short, he couldn’t be more old school.”
Bloom retired in 2019 amid a dispute with Depp, and his colleagues eventually split up to form two new boutiques, Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher and Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver & Thompson.
A committed philanthropist, Bloom supported causes including the Hunger Coalition, local Idaho Hunger Relief efforts and many Jewish organizations. He was also a founding member of the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and the Venice Art Walk.
Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Ruth; children Jason and Rebecca; and grandchildren Naomi, Alex, Caleb and Theo. He will be laid to rest in Ketchum, Idaho — where, his family noted, he loved to spend time with them and fly fish.
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