Martin Bregman, Scarface and Dog Day Afternoon producer, dies at 92
Martin Bregman, the Hollywood producer known for his collaborations with actor Al Pacino, including Scarface, Dog Day Afternoon, and Serpico, died Saturday at age 92. His widow, Cornelia Sharpe, confirmed the news to NBC 4 New York and said the cause was a cerebral hemorrhage.
Born May 18, 1926, in New York City, Bregman got his start in the entertainment industry as a business and personal manager for a wide range of stars, including Pacino, Barbra Streisand, Faye Dunaway, Michael Douglas, Bette Midler, Woody Allen, and Alan Alda.
Pacino credited Bregman with discovering him in an Off Broadway play and helping him land his first film role, in 1971’s Panic in Needle Park. Transitioning to producing, Bregman went on to earn a Best Picture Oscar nomination for Dog Day Afternoon, and his other films with Pacino included Sea of Love and Carlito’s Way.
Bregman also enjoyed a long-standing professional partnership with Alda, beginning with 1979’s The Seduction of Joe Tynan (which costarred Meryl Streep) and also including The Four Seasons, Sweet Liberty, A New Life, and Betsy’s Wedding.
Among Bregman’s other producing credits were Denzel Washington’s The Bone Collector, the Roald Dahl adaptation Matilda, and the Eddie Murphy comedy The Adventures of Pluto Nash.
Bregman was also active in his community, co-founding organizations like the Association for a Better New York and the New York Advisory Council for Motion Pictures, Radio and TV.
His survivors include Sharpe, whom he met on Serpico, and their daughter, Marissa, as well as two sons from a previous marriage, Christopher and Michael.
