LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Eric Gardner, industry veteran, talent manager and founder/CEO of Panacea Entertainment, passed away on July 19 at his home near Los Angeles. He is 74 years old.
His long-time client and bandleader Paul Shaffer commented on his death, sharing on social media: “I lost a dear friend. My long-time manager Eric Gardner outside of Los Angeles passed away at home. He had represented me since 1990 and was everything one could wish for in a manager – intelligent, well-spoken, able to represent me in any area I wanted to venture into, and always had his advice. Wise and true.
Gardner founded Panacea Entertainment in 1970 while a graduate student at Columbia University, coordinating tours for clients such as Jefferson Airplane and Kiss.
“There was no personal management back then,” Gardner said. “In rock music, that person is your next-door neighbor, your friend’s brother, or the drug dealer. That works in my favor. When I’m involved, no one can argue that I’m doing something wrong,” Gardner told NCOPM in 2018 Clinton Billups said in an interview.
In 1974, the company transitioned to artist management and developed a client list that included Bill Wyman, Timothy Leary, Todd Rundgren, The Stray Cats, Jefferson Starship, Blue Oyster Cult and Bettie LaVette, among others.
In the 1980s, Panacea moved from New York to Los Angeles and expanded into film and television after signing a contract with television personality Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
Gardner was inducted into the Individual Managers Hall of Fame in 2017.
