Marty Erlichman, who managed Barbra Streisand for six decades after meeting her backstage when she was 19, has died. He was 97.
Publicist Jason Lee confirmed Erlichman's Oct. 31 death in Los Angeles to USA TODAY. He died of age-related causes.
Streisand, 84, paid tribute to her longtime manager and shared a touching tribute to him on an Instagram featuring a throwback image of the pair.
"Although Marty lived a long and full life, nothing can prepare you for the reality of losing someone so dear," Streisand wrote in her statement. "I truly thought he would live forever. In my eyes, he was simply indestructible – always by my side, through everything. And we never even had a contract. Marty can never be replaced, and I will be forever grateful for his
friendship, loyalty, and unwavering support."
"To the world, he was a giant of Hollywood; to us, he was a deeply devoted and loving father, husband, grandfather, and rock," Erlichman's family wrote in a statement shared with USA TODAY. "We feel his loss deeply but are endlessly proud of the life he lived and the indelible mark he left on the world."
How did Marty Erlichman meet Barbra Streisand?
On May 7, 1961, Erlichman went to the Bon Soir in New York's Greenwich Village to see his friend Phil Leeds, a comedian. After hearing the 19-year-old Streisand sing, he headed backstage to meet her and missed the act he'd come to see, he recalled in a 1991 Vanity Fair spread.
"I went to check out his material, but out walked this eighteen-year-old singer as his opening act. She sang five songs and I had chills through all of them," Erlichman told the publication. "She already had representation, so I sort of kept my distance at first. But three months later I was out in San Francisco and I got a call. She was playing some club in Detroit and was only making $150 a week. She wanted $200 a week plus dinners."
When the Detroit nightclub wouldn't raise Streisand's pay, Erlichman quietly put up the extra $50 a week himself. She later lent him $750 to buy out her contract with her previous manager, Streisand wrote in her 2023 memoir, "My Name Is Barbra."
Erlichman stepped away as Streisand's manager in 1976. Over the next decade, he produced movies "Coma," starring Michael Douglas, and "Breathless," starring Richard Gere.
A ski trip to Utah brought the two back in touch after a couple of years without speaking. When a mutual friend told Streisand that Erlichman was also on the trip, she called him and the two rekindled their friendship. Shortly after, he returned as her manager in 1986 Erlichman told Billboard.
Erlichman also represented boxerGeorge Foreman and comedian Chevy Chase. He won a 1995 Emmy as an executive producer of Streisand's HBO special "Barbra: The Concert."
Last month, Streisand wished Erlichman for his 97th birthday on her social media and wrote, "Since I was 19 years old he's been the greatest manager ever! Happy Birthday Marty – lots of love, Barbra."
Erlichman and his wife, Miko Mayama Erlichman, had been married for 52 years. Their son, J.J., and four grandchildren also survive him.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Barbra Streisand mourns 'indestructible' longtime manager Marty Erlichman
