Film producer, film financier, real estate heir and top Democratic political donor Steve Bing has died. He was 55 years old.
The Los Angeles County coroner said Bing died Monday at his residence in the Century City section of Los Angeles. The coroner did not cite a cause and said an autopsy is pending. Without giving a name, the city’s Fire Department said it responded to a report of a 55-year-old man jumping from a building at the same time and place.
Bing produced the 2000 film Sylvester Stallone Get Carter and was a great investor in Tom Hanks’ 2004 animated film The polar Express. He co-wrote the 2003 comedy Jack Kangaroo, a movie starring Anthony Anderson and Jerry O’Connell that was criticized by critics but grossed nearly $ 90 million at the box office.
He was also a producer in 2008 for director Martin Scorsese Rolling rocks documentary film, Shine a lightand a co-producer with Mick jagger in an upcoming documentary about Jerry lee lewis.
“It is very sad to hear about Steve Bing’s death,” Jagger said on social media. “He was such a kind and generous friend and supported so many good and just causes. I’m going to miss him a lot. “
Bing was the son of Peter Bing, a public health physician and philanthropist, and the grandson of Leo Bing, a New York real estate developer who left him hundreds of millions of dollars that he inherited when he turned 18.
In the 1980s, Steve Bing left his father’s alma mater, Stanford University, where Elder Bing had donated $ 50 million for a career in Hollywood. He earned opening credits as a co-writer on the 1984 veterinary film Chuck Norris Vietnam “Missing in Action” and its two sequels. He wrote an episode of the comedy “Married … with Children” and in 1994 wrote and directed his own little film starring Judd Nelson, “Every Breath”.
Bing donated millions to the Democratic Party and its candidates, including Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi, to various charities and to campaigns for liberal-leaning voting initiatives in California.
“I loved Steve Bing,” President Bill Clinton tweeted. “He had a great heart and was willing to do everything possible for the people and causes he believed in. I will miss him and his enthusiasm more than I can say, and I hope he has finally found peace.”
Bing was a member of Los Angeles high society who frequently dated famous women and was often seen on red carpets, with big dollar benefits and on the field at Lakers games.
In his 30s, he was involved in a pair of high-profile lawsuits focused on his possible parenting as children that drew media attention to both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. A 2002 DNA test required by a British court showed that he was the father of model and actress Elizabeth Hurley’s young son, with whom he had dated.
The same year, he sued movie tycoon Kirk Krekorian, alleging that Krekorian had hired a private detective to check Bing’s trash for DNA for another paternity test, this one to determine if Bing was the father of the daughter born to Krekorian’s then wife, tennis. player Lisa Bonder. That lawsuit was settled out of court.
The two children, Damian Hurley and Kira Kerkorian, have been named in recent court fights over whether they will inherit the trust established by Bing’s father.
Steve Bing’s family members could not be reached.
