Richard Perry — a music producer who worked with some of the biggest stars of the 1970s and 1980s — has died… TMZ has confirmed.
Ben McCarthy – Perry's personal assistant for almost three decades – tells TMZ … Richard passed away around 1:30 this morning.
We're told Richard has been battling Parkinson's disease… Ben said he saw him for a few hours about a month ago – and Richard wasn't able to communicate verbally. Nevertheless, Richard was in a good mood during their visit, Ben adds.
Perry entered the music industry after graduating from college in 1964…he left Michigan for Los Angeles, where he produced the first few albums for avant-rock cult legend Captain Beefheart.
In the 1970s, Perry began collaborating with legendary artists Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel, Diana Ross, Ringo Starr and many more. He and Rod Stewart formed a particularly close relationship… with Perry, who helped Stewart on three of his Great American Songbook records.
In 1978, Perry founded Planet Records – his own company, which he ran until it was sold to RCA Records in 1983.
Perry has produced numerous platinum and gold records over the years… and received a Grammy Trustees Award in 2015 for his contributions to the field of music recording.
From 2009 to 2017, Perry was in a relationship with an actress Jane Fonda … fell in love while he helped her recover from knee surgery.
Perry confirmed the split in 2017 … and revealed that the rumors of their split were true – but added: “They continue to maintain a close friendship and care deeply for each other.”
Perry was 82.
REST IN PEACE