Remembering George Shapiro

My friend, George Shapiro, was one-half of Shapiro/West Talent Managers & Producers. He opened the company in 1973 with Howard West; they were partners for 42 years, until Howard’s death in 2015. George’s associate and producing partner, Aimee Hyatt, was with him for 35 years. He managed Jerry Seinfeld for decades.  In a business where talent moves around like roulette balls, George kept friends and business associates forever.  Amongst their dozens of other successes, George and Howard were executive producers of arguably the most successful show ever on television, “Seinfeld.” As Hillel said, “That is the whole law. The rest is commentary.”  

If you were a comic, you wanted them to manage you. George both understood and cared about comedians. George never signed me, but he was there to help me if I needed it. He would read my scripts and spend time talking with me about how to improve them. If I needed a door opened, he would make a call on my behalf.  He was always there for me. 

George died on May 26 at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 91 years old. George had the spirit of a teenager. Well into his 80s, he would jog two miles a day, stretch, and lift weights.  Though small in stature, George was big in heart. Like most people, I felt better every time I saw George. He was a happy man. If he wasn’t smiling, then he was jotting down some notes — by hand — in a little pad he always carried. When George wanted his notepad, he could get at it faster than Wyatt Earp could draw his Colt .45.  

I became friends with George through Jerry Seinfeld, with whom I have traveled for over 20 years. When we performed at certain casinos, George, along with Seinfeld’s stage show producer, Kevin Dochtermann, and Seinfeld’s agent, Rob Prinz, would join us.   Kevin, George and Rob would generally fly in the day before to make sure everything was in order with the venue and hotel. When our jet (or occasionally the helicopter) would land, an SUV would pull right up to the plane.  Always there, standing next to the SUV would be Kevin, Rob, and George to welcome us. 

Once Seinfeld was in the car, off we went. Before getting to the hotel, George had pre-checked us in and then would distribute our room keys. He would then tell us what time to meet at Jerry’s suite to leave for the show. Everyone was always on time. Even though we could each have our own dressing room, we would all share one room. We liked being together. 

As a young man, George was a waiter and was proud of how good a waiter he was.  Sometime during the day, when we were together, he would come to each one of us, whip out his pad and take our breakfast order for the next morning. We would always meet at Jerry’s room at 9:00 am where breakfast was perfectly laid out. “Jerry, you sit here, Rob here, and Mark, there’s your oatmeal and almond milk.”  George always told me how healthy I ate and how proud he was of me that I kept my weight off. 

After my show ended and as I exited the stage, Rob, George and Jerry would be there in the wings. Once Jerry was on stage, George would then grab my shoulder and say, “You killed them Marky. Do you know you were very funny?” Coming from George, who worked with the luminaires, this was a very high compliment. 

It was not uncommon to see George standing alone and watching Jerry perform. George loved Jerry and Jerry loved him. After a show, George would tell us, “Good show, boys. You did it.  They loved you”

George was a father figure to many of us. He would never brag about his successes. What you might get from him was how much he loved show business. 

George was a father figure to many of us. He would never brag about his successes. What you might get from him was how much he loved show business. He thought showbiz was the greatest business in the world. His love of it was contagious. Even though George was one of the most successful people I ever met, I never felt like I was speaking to anyone but a kid from the Bronx.  Thanks for your friendship.

Mark Schiff is a comedian, actor and writer, and host of the ‘You Don’t Know Schiff’ podcast.