(CelebrityAccess) — Arnold “Arnie” Pustilnik, a concert promoter and artist manager who worked with the concert legend Bill Graham, died on August 20th. He was 75.
A statement from Pustilnik’s family to Billboard, who first reported his passing, said he died after a battle with cancer.
A native of New York who relocated to San Francisco in the early 1970s, Pustilnik joined promoter Bill Graham’s organization at the bottom, working the door at one of Graham’s venues in the Bay Area.
Pustilnik soon graduated to working backstage, including handling setup for George Harrison’s 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar.
Pustilnik was soon overseeing day-to-day management for clients such as the rock band Train and Carlos Santana. He also handled major tours, including the Rolling Stones stadium tour of Europe in 1982.
After Graham’s death in 1991, Pustilnik was one of 13 employees who acquired a majority stake in Graham’s ventures and continued to run Bill Graham Management with Mick Bridgen, including after the company was acquired for $65 million by SFX Entertainment in 1997.
In 1999, Pustilnik and Brigden repurchased a controlling interest in the management venture from SFX and continued to operate it for several years before selling the company in 2002 as Pustilnik’s health began to decline.
According to Billboard, Pustilnik is survived by wife Susan Pustilnik; daughter Sarah and son Samuel Pustilnik; and sisters Iris Kozac and Lynne Tauber.
