Neil E. Bogart (born Neil Scott Bogatz, February 3, 1943 – May 8, 1982) was an American record executive. He was the founder of Casablanca Records, which later became Casablanca Record and Filmworks.

Life and career

Born Neil Scott Bogatz in the

Brooklyn Jewish Hospital The Brooklyn Jewish Hospital and Medical Center was an academic, sectarian hospital in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, Prospect Heights in Central Brooklyn. It merged with St. John's Episcopal Hospital to for ...

, central Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Ruth (Markoff) and Al M. Bogatz. His family was Jewish. He grew up in the Glenwood Houses, a housing project in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. He was a singer in the 1960s, using the name Neil Scott, prior to running the Michigan offices of

Cameo-Parkway Records Cameo-Parkway Records was the parent company of Cameo Records and Parkway Records, which were major American Philadelphia-based record labels from 1956 (for Cameo) and 1958 (for Parkway) to 1967. Among the types of music released were doo-wop, ...

. After Cameo-Parkway was shut down by the government for stock fraud in 1968, Bogart became an executive at Buddah Records. He is credited with being a key player in the rise of

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...

music during his time working at Cameo-Parkway and Buddah. He started Casablanca in 1973 when he first signed Kiss and later became identified with the rise of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

by promoting the careers of acts such as

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

and the Village People. The Casablanca roster also contained rock acts such as The Godz,

T.Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

Fanny Fanny may refer to: Given name * Fanny (name), a feminine given name or a nickname, often for Frances In slang * A term for the vulva, in Britain and many other parts of the English-speaking world * A term for the buttocks, in the United States ...

, and

The Hudson Brothers The Hudson Brothers were an American musical group formed in Portland, Oregon, consisting of brothers Bill Hudson, Brett Hudson and Mark Hudson. They were discovered by a record producer while recording music at a local studio, and offered a rec ...

, but the label became best known for its disco product. The label was also known for tapping into the

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

market with the signing of George Clinton's Parliament in 1974. Shortly before his death, he founded Boardwalk Records and jumped on the new wave bandwagon, as disco was in decline. Joan Jett and Harry Chapin were among his last signings.

Death

Bogart died of cancer and lymphoma at age 39. He was interred at Hillside Memorial Park in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

Legacy

Bogart's widow, Joyce Bogart-Trabulus, teamed with songwriter Carole Bayer Sager to found the Neil Bogart Memorial Fund (now the Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Program) in 1984. That same year, the fund established its laboratories at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The fund was a division of The T.J. Martell Foundation until the mid 2000s.

In art, entertainment, and media

;Music *The Kiss album '' Creatures of the Night'' is dedicated to Bogart's memory (the dedication is found on the back cover of the original vinyl release of the album, near the bottom asablanca Records NBLP-7270 The dedication is also found on the CD release on the inside of the insert, where the credits are located asablanca Records/Mercury 314-532-391-2 The dedication simply states: "Neil Bogart 1943-1982"). *Donna Summer's self-titled album from 1982 is also dedicated to Bogart's memory, and the liner notes contain one of his favorite sayings, "Why head for the mountaintop when you're reaching for the sky?" *Village People's 1982 album '' Fox on the Box'' was also dedicated to Bogart's memory. ;Films *In the 1980 film '' Can't Stop the Music'', actor

Paul Sand Paul Sand (born March 5, 1932) is an American actor and comedian. Background Sand was born Pablo Sanchez in Santa Monica, California, in 1932, the son of Ernest Rivera Sanchez, an aerospace tool designer, and Sonia Borodiansky (aka Sonia Stone) ...

plays a record executive loosely based on Bogart. *In 2013,

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

signed to star in the feature film ''

Spinning Gold ''Spinning Gold'' is an upcoming American biographical drama film written and directed by Timothy Scott Bogart. It is based on the life of his father, Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart. The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on Mar ...

'', a biopic of Bogart written by his son, Tim Bogart. On June 20, 2019, it was reported that

Jeremy Jordan Jeremy Jordan may refer to: * Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984), American actor and singer, notable for being an actor and Broadway performer * Jeremy Jordan (singer, born 1973) Don Henson (born September 19, 1973), known professionally as Jerem ...

had taken over the role. ;Literature *''Going Platinum'', a book about Bogart, was published in 2014. It was written by his nephew Brett Ermilio and Josh Levine and published by Globe Pequot Press.

References

External links

MP3.com biography pageThe Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Program
*
Justin Timberlake To Portray Neil Bogart In Feature Biopic Of Late Record Executive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogart, Neil 1943 births 1982 deaths American music industry executives Donna Summer Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from lymphoma Musicians from Brooklyn Casablanca Records Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery 20th-century American musicians People from Flatlands, Brooklyn