Helen Kushnick
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Helen Gorman Kushnick (born c. 1945 and died August 28, 1996) was the agent of comedian Jay Leno for much of his early career. Leno had been performing stand-up comedy in a variety of venues when she found him, and afterwards, Kushnick was with him all the way to his role hosting The Tonight Show. Her strong-arm tactics in her role as executive producer created a great deal of conflict with NBC and summarily led to her dismissal only three months into her tenure in that position.
Filmography
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) TV Series (executive producer)
- Jay Leno and the American Dream (1986) (TV) (executive producer)
The Late Shift
A 1996 HBO TV movie called The Late Shift was about the Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Arsenio Hall late night TV shows. The movie portrayed the network politics that occurred after the retirement of Johnny Carson from the Tonight Show on NBC. The movie starred Kathy Bates portraying Helen Kushnick.
Family
Kushnick's son, Samuel, died of AIDS due to an infected blood transfusion.
She became an AIDS advocate soon afterward and testified before Congress about changing blood supply rules.
Her husband, Jerrold Kushnick, died of cancer in 1989, and Helen died of breast cancer in Los Angeles, California, aged 51.
External links
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