Jay Ira Kanter, veteran film producer and agent to a long list of Hollywood luminaries including Marlon Brandon, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, among others has died. He was 97.
Kanter died peacefully and surrounded by his family in his Beverly Hills home on the morning of August 6.
The agent and executive got his start in the business after his stint in the US Navy, which he joined during World War II. Kanter applied for a job at MCA and rose up quickly through the ranks. He was mentored by Lew Wasserman.
At age 22, Kanter sought an offer for a young actor named Marlon Brando. Brando then traveled to Los Angeles via train, and Kanter picked him up at the station. Upon arrival, the two became fast lifelong friends, with Brando becoming Jay’s longtime client.
Kanter went on to represent stars such as Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Gene Kelly, Warren Beatty, and Ronald Reagan.
When MCA bought Universal Pictures, Kanter relocated to London with his family to oversee production for the European studio. The studio later shut down its European operations, and Kanter formed a production company with Elliott Kastner and Alan Ladd, Jr. (Laddie).
Ladd returned to Los Angeles for a high-ranking production executive job at 20th Century Fox and invited Kanter to join him. This began a filmmaking partnership with Laddie that included leadership of 20th Century Fox, The Ladd Co., and MGM/UA.
Credits of the films he worked on include classics and Academy Award winners such as Chariots of Fire, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Alien, Thelma and Louise, Julia, Blade Runner, Body Heat, Norma Rae, Turning Point, The Right Stuff, Star 80 and the Police Academy franchise. With longtime friend and collaborator Mel Brooks, he worked on such Brooks classics as Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, Spaceballs, and Life Stinks.
Kanter was born on December 12, 1926, in Chicago, IL, to parents Muriel and Harry Kanter. He was married three times, the first to actress Roberta Haynes for less than a year, followed by a marriage to Judy Balaban, the daughter of former President and honorary Chairman of Paramount Pictures Barney Balaban.
Kanter was later married to his wife of 49 years, Kit Bennett Kanter with whom he shared his life until her death in 2014. During his life, he also lost a daughter, Victoria Kanter Colombetti
He is survived by his children Dustin (and Debra) Bernard, Tom Bernard, Cydney Bernard, Amy Kanter (and Bob Thiele), Adam (and Brooke) Kanter and Michael (and Erica) Kanter along with his grandchildren Jason (and Andie) Colombetti, Matthew Colombetti, Owen Thiele (Jared Ellner), Sophie Bernard, Charlie Foster, Hannah Kanter, Kit Foster, Cleo Kanter, Grayson Kanter and Ryan Kanter.
Private services will be held on Friday, August 9th, 2024. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to either the Motion Picture Television Fund or the Jules Stein Eye Institute.
