Richard Perry, a music producer behind hits like Carly Simon‘s “You’re So Vain,” has died. He was 82.
The record producer died on Tuesday in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest.
Daphna Kastner, a friend of Perry, told AP she referred to him as a “father friend, adding, “He maximized his time here. He was generous, fun, sweet and made the world a better place. The world is a little less sweeter without him here. But it’s a little bit sweeter in heaven.”
Perry made a big name in the 1970s, producing for the likes of Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Art Garfunkel, Carly Simon, and Ringo Starr. In the late 1970s, he started his own Planet Records label and signed acts like The Cretones, Pointer Sisters, and Billy Thermal, among many others. He sold the label to RCA Records in 1983.
TMZ reports that according to Perry’s personal assistant, Ben McCarthy, the producer had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and wasn’t able to communicate anymore verbally.
Perry is credited as a producer of Rod Stewart’s It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook. The producer also worked with acts like Donna Summer, Julio Iglesias, Neil Diamond, and Randy Travis.
Perry received the Grammy Trustees Award in 2015 for his contributions to the field of recording music.
The producer was in a relationship with Jane Fonda between 2009 and 2017.
Listen to Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” in the video below.
