Edgar Rosenberg
Edgar Rosenberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1925[1] |
| Died | August 14, 1987 (aged 62) |
| Cause of death | Suicide by prescription drug overdose |
| Nationality | German[citation needed] |
| Occupation(s) | Film and TV producer |
| Spouse | Joan Rivers (1933-2014) |
Edgar Rosenberg (1924/1925[1] – August 14, 1987) was a German-born American film and television producer. He was married to American comedian Joan Rivers.
Early life
Edgar Rosenberg was born to Jewish parents in Bremerhaven in 1924-1925.[2] When he was a small boy, his family emigrated from Germany to Denmark and then South Africa in order to escape the Nazis.[3] He was educated in England at Rugby School and Cambridge University.[3][4]
Career
He 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.[3] 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.[4] His production company, Telsun Foundations, affiliated with the United Nations, was responsible for five feature films, including The Poppy is Also a Flower,[3] and his television credits included the 1950s US series Omnibus[4] and Husbands, Wives & Lovers.
He served as his wife's manager for most of their marriage and was a producer on The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, on the newly formed Fox Television Network.[3][4][5]
Personal life
He married comedian and commentator Joan Rivers in July 1965 four days after hiring her to work with him rewriting a screenplay.[3][4] They had one daughter, Melissa Rivers.
In August 1987, several months after Fox fired Rivers, and shortly after Rivers and he separated,[6] Rosenberg committed suicide by overdosing on prescription drugs in a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania hotel room. He had been suffering from clinical depression, which Joan Rivers believed was brought on by medication he had been taking since suffering a heart attack in 1984.[7][8]
References
- ^ a b Ron Avery, "Rivers' Edgar Takes Life: Depressed By Illness, Rosenberg Downs Valium Overdose", Philadelphia Daily News, August 15, 1987.
- ^ Josh Meyer, United Press International, "Joan Rivers' Husband said Suicide,", Schenectady Gazette, August 14, 1987.
- ^ a b c d e f Richard Meryman, "Joan Mourns Edgar," People, August 31, 1987.
- ^ a b c d e 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.
- ^ Associated Press, "Edgar Rosenberg, 62; Producer, Husband of Comedian Joan Rivers," The Boston Globe, August 15, 1987 Online at Highbeam; subscription required.
- ^ "http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20110665,00.html". People Magazine, June 21, 1993, Vol. 39, No. 24, Marjorie Rosen.
"The way I see it," explains Joan, "Melissa blamed me." After all, Joan and Edgar had only recently separated when he killed himself.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ Rivers, Joan (1997). Bouncing Back: I've Survived Everything... and I Mean Everything... and You Can Too!. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 11–19. ISBN 0-06-017821-3.
- ^ "The Night the Laughter Stopped: Joan Rivers Talks About the Hope and Despair of Husband Edgar's Brush With Death". People magazine, December 10, 1984.
External links
- 1920s births
- 1987 deaths
- People from Bremerhaven
- German Jews who emigrated to the United States to escape Nazism
- Alumni of the University of Cambridge
- American film producers
- American television producers
- Drug-related suicides in Pennsylvania
- Producers who committed suicide
- Television producers from New York
- American Jews
- Joan Rivers
- Male suicides