Edgar Rosenberg
BornSeptember 21, 1925[1]
Bremerhaven, Weimar Republic
DiedAugust 14, 1987(1987-08-14) (aged 61)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Cause of deathSuicide by drug overdose
NationalityGerman[2]
Alma materRugby School
Cambridge University
Occupation(s)Film producer, television producer
Years active1964–1987
Spouse
​
(m. 1965)​
ChildrenMelissa Rivers

Edgar Rosenberg (September 21, 1925[1] – August 14, 1987) was a German-born British[2] film and television producer based in the U.S.

Early life

Edgar Rosenberg was born to Jewish parents in Bremerhaven in 1925.[1][3] When he was a small boy, his family emigrated from Germany to Denmark and then South Africa to escape the Nazis.[4] He was educated in England at Rugby School and Cambridge University.[4][5]

Career

Rosenberg moved to the United States as a young man and rose to become an assistant to Emanuel Sacks, vice president of entertainment at NBC, but was fired during a year of recovery from a traffic accident and had to work as a night clerk in a bookstore.[4] In the 1960s, he worked for the public relations firm run by Anna M. Rosenberg (to whom he was not related) and was a valued news source for journalists.[5]

As a co-founder of the nonprofit Telsun Foundation production company affiliated with the United Nations, he helped to develop a series of television films promoting the United Nations, one of which, The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966), was also released to theaters as a feature film.[4][6][7] His other television credits included the 1950s U.S. educational TV series Omnibus[5] and the short-lived 1970s sitcom Husbands, Wives & Lovers, which was created by his wife, Joan Rivers.

In the 1970s, he produced the feature film Rabbit Test (1978), written and directed by Rivers.[8] He served as Rivers' manager for most of their marriage and was a producer on The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, on the newly formed Fox Television Network.[4][5][9]

Personal life and death

Rosenberg married actress, comedian and commentator Joan Rivers in July 1965, five days after hiring her to work with him in Jamaica rewriting a screenplay for a joint movie deal with his friend Peter Sellers.[4][5] The couple had one daughter, Melissa Rivers.

In August 1987, several months after Fox fired him and Rivers, Rosenberg died by suicide, overdosing on prescription drugs in a Philadelphia hotel room. He had been clinically depressed, which Rivers believed was brought on by medication he had been taking since a heart attack in 1984.[10][11] Nancy Reagan was the first person to telephone Rivers upon Rosenberg's death, and arranged for his body to be moved from Philadelphia.[12][13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ron Avery, "Rivers' Edgar Takes Life: Depressed By Illness, Rosenberg Downs Valium Overdose" Archived 2013-04-11 at archive.today, Philadelphia Daily News, August 15, 1987.
  2. 1 2 Associated Press, "Comedian Joan Rivers dead at 81", The Citizens' Voice, September 4, 2014.
  3. ↑ Josh Meyer, United Press International, "Joan Rivers' Husband said Suicide,", Schenectady Gazette, August 14, 1987.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Richard Meryman, "Joan Mourns Edgar," People, August 31, 1987.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Nikki Finke, "Edgar Rosenberg: The Public Ending of a Private Life : Suicide of Rivers' Husband Came Without a Warning", Los Angeles Times, August 20, 1987. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ Hadley, Mitchell. "The UN Goes to the Movies". TVparty.com. TVparty!. Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  7. ↑ Lowry, Cynthia (1966-04-22). "Based on Ian Fleming Outline: Spy Story On Narcotics Traffic Ready To Show". The Reporter. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Associated Press (AP). p. 10. Retrieved 2016-01-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Verswijver, Leo (2003). 'Movies Were Always Magical': Interviews With 19 Actors, Directors and Producers From the Hollywood of the 1930s Through the 1950s. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 130. ISBN 0-7864-1129-5.
  9. ↑ Associated Press, "Edgar Rosenberg, 62; Producer, Husband of Comedian Joan Rivers," The Boston Globe, August 15, 1987 Online at Highbeam.
  10. ↑ Joan Rivers, Bouncing Back: I've Survived Everything... and I Mean Everything... and You Can Too!, New York: Harper Collins, 1997, ISBN 0-06-017821-3, pp. 11–19.
  11. ↑ "The Night the Laughter Stopped: Joan Rivers Talks About the Hope and Despair of Husband Edgar's Brush With Death", People, December 10, 1984.
  12. ↑ Marylouise Oates, "Fawn Hall Signs with Superagent", Los Angeles Times, August 19, 1987, retrieved October 19, 2014.
  13. ↑ Tim Teeman, "Joan Rivers: Our Last Interview", The Daily Beast, September 4, 2014, retrieved October 19, 2014.
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