Aaron Russo
Born February 14, 1943
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died August 24, 2007 (aged 64)
Los Angeles
Known for Music manager, film producer, libertarian politician and activist
Aaron Russo (February 14, 1943 – August 24, 2007) was an American entertainment businessman, film producer and director, and political activist. He was best known for producing movies including Trading Places, Wise Guys, and The Rose. Later in life, he created various libertarian-leaning political documentaries including Mad as Hell and America: Freedom to Fascism.
After a six-year period with cancer, Russo died on August 24, 2007.
Early life
Russo was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family. Growing up on Long Island, Russo worked for his family's undergarment business.
In 2004, he declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination. Although he received the first and second ballot, Russo ultimately lost the nomination to Michael Badnarik.
Entertainment career
In April 1968, Russo opened the nightclub Kinetic Playground in Chicago, Illinois, originally naming it the Electric Theater. He booked numerous prominent rock groups and musicians at the club such as The Grateful Dead, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Vanilla Fudge, Rotary Connection, and The Who.
In addition to owning his own nightclub, Russo managed several musical acts throughout the 1970s including The Manhattan Transfer and Bette Midler.
Russo then moved into producing and directing movies, six of them receiving Academy Award nominations and two receiving Golden Globe Award nominations.[5] His first producing credit was for Midler's Clams on the Half-Shell Revue. Other notable feature films he produced include The Rose (1979), starring Midler, and also Trading Places (1983), starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.[1] His final film would be America: Freedom to Fascism, a political documentary critical of the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve System and warning about the coming of the New World Order.
Political career
Russo became involved in political issues in the early-1990s when he produced and starred in the documentary entitled Mad As Hell in which he criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the federal government's War on Drugs, the concept of a National Identity Card, and government regulation of alternative medicine.
In 1998, Russo took his political interests to a higher level, running for governor of the state of Nevada as a Republican. Placing second in the Republican primary with 26% of the vote to candidate Kenny Guinn, Russo later endorsed the Democratic nominee,
