Peter Rawley, ICM Partners Talent Agent and Former MGM Executive, Dies at 85

His clients included Richard Dreyfuss, Richard Gere and Faye Dunaway 

peter-rawley
Peter Rawley, a longtime talent agent for ICM Partners and former MGM executive, has died at the age of 85.

Peter Rawley, a longtime talent agent for ICM Partners and former MGM executive, has died at the age of 85, according to his wife.

Rawley died Tuesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, his wife Betty Kaplan said Thursday.

Rawley was born in London in 1938 and earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Oxford University. After a career producing theater, he joined ICM predecessor CMA in 1966, where he would serve as managing director of the London office and head of European operations.

In 1972, Rawley became head of production for MGM Europe, where he produced “Ransom,” the first film about an airline hijacking starring Sean Connery. The film would later be released as “The Terrorist” by 20th Century Fox.

In 1978, he returned to ICM as executive vice president and head of international operations.

During his 21 years at ICM, Rawley played a key role in expanding the agency’s global operations by building businesses directly or through affiliates in China, Latin America, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and elsewhere in Europe. His clients included Richard Dreyfuss, Richard Gere, and
Faye Dunaway.

Rawley, who was known for innovative financing, packaging and distribution of motion pictures internationally, became one of the first to tap independent money from Europe, Southeast Asia and Japan for both Hollywood and independent studios. At the same time, he began to finance and produce movies and TV with Kaplan, to whom he was married for the past 33 years.

The couple, which has lived in Puerto Rico since 2013, has produced TV and film projects through Cine Condado Films, including “Dona Barbara” and “Of Love and Shadows,” distributed by RAI. Their most recent collaboration is “Simone,” based on a book by award winning Puerto Rican writer Eduardo Lalo, which is currently being distributed by the Samuel Goldwyn Company.

Additionally, Rawley and Kaplan have been developing a television series called “Against the Tide,” which follows a Puerto Rican detective and his team in San Juan.

Beyond his work with Kaplan, Rawley participated in many seminars, most recently in Australia and at the Bombay Film Festival, and taught film production at the University of Puerto Rico, where he developed a scholarship program that allowed young Puerto Rican filmmakers to attend a major film school for a year.

He was also a board member of the San Juan Teatro Del Opera and Ojai Music Festival and an advisor to the Moscow International Film Festival and on the U.S. Committee of the British Film Office. In 1992, he was honored by King Juan Carlos of Spain and is an Officer of the Civil Order of Merit.

In addition to Kaplan, Rawley is survived by his three children – Pascale, Fabienne, Rufus – and grandchildren, Cooper, Tarka, Merlin, Rowan, and Ivo.

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