Martin Bregman, Producer of ‘Serpico’ and ‘Scarface,’ Dies at 92

Bregman was also a talent manager who discovered Al Pacino and produced several of the actor’s best-known films

martin bregman
Getty Images

Martin Bregman, a talent manager and film producer whose credits include classic like “Scarface,” “Serpico,” and “Dog Day Afternoon”, died Saturday of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 92. NBC 4 first reported the news.

Born in New York City in 1926, Bregman entered the entertainment industry first as a nightclub agent before moving into personal management. As a manager, his clients would eventually include at various times luminaries like Alan Alda, Woody Allen, and Barbra Streisand among others.

Bregman’s greatest impact on Hollywood was the result of his relationship with Al Pacino. Bregman discovered Pacino performing in an Off Broadway play in the 1960s, and became his manager. He helped Pacino land his first starring film role in the 1971 drama “The Panic in Needle Park.” It was that role which brought Pacino to the attention of Francis Ford Coppola, leading to Pacino’s breakthrough as Michael Corleone in “The Godfather.”

Bregman moved into film production with projects built around Pacino, beginning in 1973 with the Sidney Lumet-directed biopic “Serpico.” Bregman would go on to produce Pacino’s films “Dog Day Afternoon,” (1975) “Scarface,” (1983) “Sea of Love,” (1989) and “Carlito’s Way” (1993).

Later in life, Pacino credited Bregman for his success, saying in a 2011 panel discussion for the “Scarface” Blu-ray release that “Martin Bregman discovered me off Broadway… And that’s why I’m here. I owe it to Marty, I really do.”

Bregman also had a long relationship with Alda, producing Alda’s films “The Seduction of Joe Tynan” (1979), “The Four Seasons” (1981), “Sweet Liberty” (1986), “A New Life” (1988), and “Betsy’s Wedding.”

Other Bregman productions include “The Bone Collector” (1999) and “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” (2002).

According to NBC, Bregman’s family will hold a private funeral. He is survived by his wife, Cornelia.

Comments