Neil Bogart
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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He was born Neil E. Bogatz in Brooklyn, New York. He was a singer in the 1960s, using the name "Neil Scott", prior to running the Michigan offices of Cameo-Parkway Records. After Cameo-Parkway was shut down by the government for stock fraud in 1968, Bogart became an executive at Buddah Records. Bogart is credited with being a key player in the rise of bubblegum pop music during his time working at Cameo-Parkway and Buddah.
He started Casablanca in 1973, and became identified with the rise of disco, by promoting the career of Donna Summer and others. (The Casablanca roster also contained rock acts such as Kiss and T. Rex, but the label became best known for its disco product).
He died of cancer and lymphoma at age 39. Shortly before his death, he founded the Boardwalk Records label and jumped on the New Wave bandwagon as disco was in decline. Joan Jett was among his last signings.
He was interred at Hillside Memorial Park, in Culver City, California. His death inspired the foundation of the T.J. Martell Foundation for the assistance of cancer stricken children. His wife, Joyce Bogart-Trabulus, teamed up with songwriter Carole Bayer Sager and founded the Neil Bogart Memorial Fund in 1983. In 1984, the fund established its laboratories at the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles.
The Kiss album Creatures of the Night was dedicated to the memory of Neil Bogart.
In the 1980 film Can't Stop the Music, which starred The Village People, actor Paul Sand plays a record executive loosely based on Bogart.
