Marty Erlichman, the manager who discovered Barbra Streisand and guided her career for more than six decades, died Saturday of age-related causes. He was 97. Family representatives announced his death Sunday. Born in Brooklyn on Sept. 13, 1929, Erlichman first saw Streisand when she was 19 and performing as an opening act. He has said he felt chills at the sound of her voice. She has described him as a man who validated her dreams and reminded her of the neighborhood she came from. The partnership lasted for the rest of his working life, and he was the only manager she ever had.
Streisand, 84, paid tribute on Instagram. She said she “truly thought he would live forever” and called him irreplaceable, adding that the two never signed a contract. In a rare feat for show business, she wrote, she always felt protected with him beside her. His family called him “a giant of Hollywood” to the world and a devoted husband, father and grandfather to them.
Erlichman negotiated Streisand’s contracts across recording, theater, film, television and live performance. He also produced her 2000 Millennium Concert and her 2006-2007 world tour, and served as executive producer on her television specials. He earned an Emmy and a Peabody Award for “Barbra: The Concert,” her 1994 special. Films were part of his portfolio too, among them Streisand’s 1974 comedy “For Pete’s Sake.”
His client list reached beyond her. He worked with the Irish folk acts The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, the pop group Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, comedian Chevy Chase, heavyweight champion George Foreman and the songwriter and producer Bob Crewe. Later he backed a $30 million stage musical, “Buzz!!,” according to published biographies. Industry observers have noted that he stepped back from daily management last March, when he was 96, as Cannes was preparing a tribute to Streisand.
Colleagues who knew him described a blunt, tenacious negotiator. Streisand’s own account points to a different strength: trust that lasted without paperwork across a business known for short loyalties. Erlichman is survived by his wife, Miko Mayama Erlichman, their son and four grandchildren. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
