LOS ANGELES – Andrew Jerrold Perenchio, the man behind the curtain who deftly pulled the levers of power to create cultural defining media events, propel political candidates, collect masterpiece artworks and become one of the richest men in Los Angeles, has died. He was 86.
The enigmatic Bel Air billionaire, known to his friends as “Jerry,” lived in a mansion that was familiar to millions of television viewers as the home of the fictional Clampett clan of the 1960s television sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies.” He died Tuesday at his home after a five-month battle with lung cancer, according to a spokesperson for the family.
Perenchio in late 2014 announced that he would leave much of his collection – at least 47 works valued at more than $500 million – to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. His holdings include paintings by Claude Monet, Edouard Manet and Pablo Picasso.
“L.A. is my home, and I wanted to leave it to a museum here,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 2014. The bequest was scheduled to go into effect after his death – but with a major string attached: The museum must complete construction of a new building and, in 2016, he promised $25 million to that effort.
In his more than 50 years in the entertainment business, Perenchio developed a shrewd sophistication that made him a giant in the industry. His vision and unerring gut instincts, once described as an ability to “see around corners,” was legendary in an industry that now relies on marketing, research and digital data. He inspired a generation of top executives in Hollywood by placing big bets that almost always paid off.