Martin Bregman, producer of Al Pacino films “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Scarface” and “Sea of Love,” died Saturday. He was 92.
His wife Cornelia told NBC 4 he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
As producer of “Dog Day Afternoon,” he shared a best picture nomination in 1976.
Bregman, who discovered Pacino in an Off Broadway play, was the personal and business manager not only for Pacino and Alan Alda but also at various times for Barbra Streisand, Woody Allen, Faye Dunaway, Candice Bergen and Bette Midler.
Bregman nurtured Pacino as the actor built his stage and then his film career, helping Pacino land his first starring role in a feature, 1971’s “Panic in Needle Park,” for which the actor beat out Robert De Niro.
Building film projects around the young Pacino, Bergman produced his first films in 1973’s “Serpico” and 1975’s “Dog Day Afternoon,” both memorably starring the actor. The two would later reteam for 1983’s “Scarface,” 1989’s “Sea of Love” and 1993’s “Carlito’s Way.”
Bregman had a similar relationship with his client Alda, producing the Alda-starring films “The Seduction of Joe Tynan” (1979), 1981’s “The Four Seasons,” 1986’s “Sweet Liberty , 1988’s “A New Life,” 1990’s “Betsy’s Wedding” and 1992’s “Whispers in the Dark.” Alda wrote and/or directed many of these films. Alda and Bregman also exec produced the brief TV series based on “The Four Seasons.”
In 1992 Bregman formed M&M Productions with Michael Caine, producing the Caine-starring film “Blue Ice.”
Other notable films Bregman produced include 1999 thriller “The Bone Collector,” starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, and the disastrous 2002 sci-fi comedy “The Adventures of Pluto Nash,” starring Eddie Murphy.
Martin Bregman was born in New York City and was educated at Indiana University and NYU.
Bregman initially had a job selling insurance; he first got into show business as a night club agent before he transitioned into a career in personal management.
Bregman is survived by his second wife, actress Cornelia Sharpe, whom he married in 1981, and children Michael, Chris, and Marissa.