Paul Rosenfeld, who headed distribution at Gramercy Pictures and served as a producer’s rep and film buyer, died Tuesday of natural causes at his home in Portland, Ore., his family announced. He was 71.
“Despite his seemingly gruff personality, Paul was one of the kindest, most sensitive people I have ever met,” former Fox film executive Bruce Snyder said in a statement.
Born in Philadelphia on Sept. 26, 1948, Rosenfeld began his career in New York as a film booker at the Walter Reade theater chain, then was hired as head film buyer for Mann Theaters.
Following four years at Mann, Rosenfeld focused more on individual film representation as a producer’s rep and worked on movies including The Big Chill (1983), Superman III (1983), The Cotton Club (1984) and Silverado (1985).
He returned to Mann in 1986 in his head film buyer post before joining the fledgling Gramercy Pictures — a joint venture between PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures — as head of distribution in 1992.
Rosenfeld moved to Portland when he was hired as head film buyer at Wallace Theaters in 2003. He retired after that 43-theater chain was sold to Regal Entertainment Group in 2013.
Survivors include his mother, Hope; ex-wife, Marcella; daughter, Jennifer; and sisters, Jaclin and Beth.
