Ex-CBS Records boss Walter Yetnikoff has died at age 87. The R-rated executive, who oversaw blockbuster releases by Michael Jackson, Billy Joel and others, had a sharp mind, a foul mouth, a big heart, a tin ear, a roving eye and an extraordinary temper.
Yetnikoff’s death was confirmed Tuesday by David Ritz, who collaborated with Yetnikoff on his memoir “Howling at the Moon.” Further details were not immediately available.
His reign peaked with such mega-sellers as Jackson’s “Thriller,” Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” and Joel’s “52nd Street.” CBS’ revenues more than quadrupled under his watch, from $485 million to over $2 billion, but he also blew a fortune by arranging costly deals for Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and others past their commercial prime.
“To Walter — The wildest man north of Asbury Park,” Springsteen once wrote to him. “Thanks for your friendship.” In recent years, he volunteered at addiction recovery centers in New York City and helped run Commotion Records. Yetnikoff was married three times and had enough affairs to make friends doubt he could ever commit to one woman. He would remember telling Streisand in 1985 that he was marrying Slamar, only to have the singer laugh and respond, “I don’t know anyone less suited to marriage. The chances of you being faithful are absolutely zero.” His third marriage, to Lynda Kady, did endure.
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