Don Buchwald, Howard Stern’s ‘superagent’ and founder of namesake agency, dies at 88
Don Buchwald, who founded bicoastal talent agency Buchwald and notably represented Howard Stern in industry-altering negotiations with Sirius XM, died July 22 in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, an agency publicist confirmed. He was 88.
Buchwald died peacefully at home surrounded by his immediate family.
“Don was a true industry trailblazer,” daughter Julia Buchwald, president of the agency’s West Coast office, told The Times in an email Wednesday. “When asked about his negotiating style, he often said, ‘I aim to leave the negotiating table better friends than when we first sat down.’
“Don fostered this positivity within the agency walls and his incredible loyalty rang true with employees, clients and business colleagues,” she continued. “There will never be another Don Buchwald, and our team will proudly uphold his legacy and his generous approach to business.”
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Donald Henry Buchwald was born May 13, 1936, in Brooklyn to Solomon and Nellie Buchwald. The youngest of five siblings, he would go on to graduate from the theater program at Brooklyn College, an institution he continued to support throughout his life.
In 1977, he founded the New York-based talent agency Don Buchwald and Associates, which originally focused on theater and broadcast representation. Since then, the agency — rebranded simply Buchwald — has turned into a full-service operation with offices on both coasts and more than 130 employees.
One of Buchwald’s most notable clients was Howard Stern, whom he helped sign a $500-million, five-year deal with Sirius Satellite Radio (now Sirius XM) in 2004. The deejay’s move from terrestrial radio to satellite, freeing himself from the Federal Communications Commission’s oversight, set a standard for the monster podcast deals that would follow years later.
A year after Stern’s show launched, the shock jock and Buchwald were given $82.9 million in Sirius shares as a bonus related to subscriber growth that far outpaced predictions. Stern often referred to Buchwald as his “superagent.”
“Howard Stern is getting paid a stupendous, phenomenal, astronomical amount of money,” a securities analyst told the Los Angeles Times in 2007. “But at the end of the day, Sirius will make money on the Howard Stern deal, and so will the shareholders.”
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Other notable Buchwald clients included Kathleen Turner, Ralph Macchio, Djimon Hounsou, Adam Goldberg, Billy Ray Cyrus, Simon Rex and Gina Yashere.
Buchwald continued to support his alma mater by serving on the Brooklyn College board. During his long tenure, he implemented a sponsored internship program to provide students with opportunities in the entertainment industry, and the stage where he first performed is part of a theater that bears his name. With the college’s business school, Buchwald helped develop and supported an entrepreneurship program, and he was one of the original supporters of its graduate film school.
Don and Maggie Buchwald, his wife of 59 years, were proud supporters and audience members of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in the Berkshires. He was a collector and brought home art from his extensive travels, which included jaunts to a home in Paris. In his later years, the ardent storyteller and “enthusiastic” singer began writing poetry, which he shared with friends and family.
Buchwald is survived by his wife; daughters Julia and Laura, a novelist; grandchildren Sebastian and Scarlett Gatta; son-in-law Bryan Smith; many nieces and nephews; sisters-in-law Virginia Buchwald, Marian Michel and Barbara Haldeman; and brother-in-law Ed Haldeman. He is predeceased by siblings Nathaniel Buchwald, Alex Buchwald, Greta Hogan and Charles Buchwald.
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