Martin Lee “Marty” Erlichman, who managed Barbra Streisand for more than six decades, died on October 31, 2026. He was 97. A press release issued on Sunday, November 1, said his death was due to age-related causes.
Erlichman is credited with discovering Streisand and helping to shape her career from the early 1960s. He first encountered her when she was 19 and performing as the opening act for comedian Phil Leeds at the Bon Soir nightclub in Greenwich Village. He later helped her secure her first recording contract, with Columbia Records. Streisand has said she is thankful he negotiated creative control over her repertoire and album covers, which Billboard described as an unprecedented contract for a first-timer.
Erlichman also managed The Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, comedian and actor Chevy Chase, heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, and record producer and songwriter Bob Crewe. He worked as a film producer on Streisand’s 1974 comedy For Pete’s Sake, the 1978 psychological thriller Coma, starring Michael Douglas, and the 1983 romantic thriller Breathless, starring Richard Gere. He received an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for his work as executive producer of the 1994 HBO television special Barbra: The Concert.
Streisand said in a statement, “I truly thought he would live forever.” She also said, “He trusted me, and I trusted him.”
Erlichman was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 13, 1929, and attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Miko Mayama Erlichman; son J.J. Erlichman, a tour and production manager; daughter-in-law Talia; and four grandchildren. The family plans a private service and has asked that donations be made in his honor to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the National Kidney Foundation in lieu of flowers.
Source: Billboard
