Jack Rollins (producer)

Born Jacob Rabinowitz in Brooklyn, Rollins was the son of Yiddish-speaking immigrants from Russia. In 1933, he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, and in 1937 earned a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York. He spent two years working for an orphanage in Chicago before being drafted into the United States Army during World War II.[3]

Rollins worked as a decoder of communications in India during the war where one of his commanding officers was actor Melvyn Douglas. Rollins assisted Douglas in staging shows at the China–Burma–India theater and developed a friendship with him. After the war, Douglas assisted Rollins in developing the professional contacts he needed to begin working as a producer on Broadway.[3]

Rollins' work as a Broadway producer during the late 1940s and early 1950s proved to be difficult and ultimately unfruitful. He abandoned this pursuit in 1951 when he established a one-man talent agency in Midtown Manhattan. He worked with the then-unknown Harry Belafonte.[4] He later became partners with Charles H. Joffe and they successfully managed the careers of several artists, most of whom were comedians, among them Woody Allen, Dick Cavett, Billy Crystal, Robert Klein, David Letterman, Robin Williams, and the comedy duo Nichols and May. Joffe focused more on Allen, with Rollins focusing on others.[5] He was approached in the early 1960s by legendary comedian Lenny Bruce concerning management and possible representation. According to Rollins' wife, Jane, Rollins declined due to Bruce's personal issues.[3][6]

In his 2005 Cecil B. DeMille Award acceptance speech, Robin Williams referred to Jack Rollins as 'the most ethical man in show business'.

Rollins was producer for The David Letterman Show (1980) and Late Night with David Letterman from its inception in 1982 until 1992.

Rollins was a close friend of jazz pianist Bill Evans, with whom he owned a racehorse named 'Annie Hall'.[7] Rollins died on June 18, 2015.[8][9]

• Jack Rollins at IMDb