Quick Facts
Biography
Jerry Brandt is an entrepreneur, impresario, agent, manager, promoter, and club owner active since the 1960s. He is known for discovering Carly Simon and serving as her first manager, as well as for his work with Lori Petty. Brandt was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
Career
After serving in the army Brandt worked first as a messenger in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency but within a few years he moved up the ranks and became head of the pop music division. While working at William Morris, he discovered Chubby Checker, booked acts like The Beach Boys and Sonny & Cher, and brought The Rolling Stones to the USA. He also handled Sam Cooke, Dick Clark, and Muhammad Ali for theatrical events. In the 1970s, he managed glam rock artist Jobriath Boone.
Contemporaneous with his management work, Brandt also opened, owned, and managed major music venues such as The Electric Circus (1967), The Ritz, The Palladium and Spo-Dee-O-Dee, a Blues Club. In 1970 he left the Electric Circus and moved to Los Angeles where he opened the Paradise Ballroom with legendary financier Bernie Cornfeld.
In 1992, along with Ron Delsener, Robin Leach, and Bob Krasnow, Brandt opened the Italian restaurant "Italica" at 220 East 46th St. which introduced "pizza by the meter."