Biography
Stephen J. Friedman was an American film producer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School. He began his career as an entertainment attorney for studios including Columbia Pictures and Paramount before moving into production.
Friedman acquired the rights to Larry McMurtry's novel and produced The Last Picture Show (1971), which received eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. He went on to produce films such as Slap Shot (1977), All of Me (1984), Enemy Mine (1985) and The Big Easy (1986). In 1980 he founded Kings Road Entertainment, one of the first independent production companies to raise substantial funding through a publicly traded entity.
Friedman died in Brentwood, California, in 1996.
