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 Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label current ...

, 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 and Prospect Heights in Central Brooklyn. It merged with St. John's Episcopal Hospital to form Interfaith Medical Center in 1983. History E ...

, central

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of Ruth (Markoff) and Al M. Bogatz. His family was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. 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 Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

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 Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foun ...

. 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 ...

music during his time working at Cameo-Parkway and Buddah. He started Casablanca in 1973 when he first signed

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

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 p ...

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 musi ...

and the

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the releas ...

. 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'' ...

, Fanny, and The Hudson Brothers, 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 mi ...

market with the signing of George Clinton's

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in 1974. Shortly before his death, he founded Boardwalk Records and jumped on the new wave bandwagon, as disco was in decline.

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

and

Harry Chapin Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy A ...

were among his last signings.

Death

Bogart died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include en ...

at age 39. He was interred at

Hillside Memorial Park The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried here. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb (desi ...

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 ...

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 Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children's hospital in the East Hollywood district of Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Vermont Avenue. The hospital has been academically affi ...

. 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 ''Creatures of the Night'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1982. It was the band's last for Casablanca Records, the only label for which Kiss had recorded up to that point. The album was dedicated to the memo ...

'' 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 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 Ma ...

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