Kanter represented some of the most famous movie stars of all time, including Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando, with whom she became lifelong friends.
After serving in the United States Navy, he became a junior agent for the media management company MCA in the 1940s. There, he lured Brando away from a competing agent, igniting a strong relationship that lasted until the actor’s death in 2004.
Kanter had represented Grace Kelly, Ronald Reagan, Warren Beatty, Paul Newman, and Laurence Olivier before transitioning to film production.
He also helped develop hit films like Chariots of Fire, Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, and movies in the Star movie.
He worked with his old friend and collaborator Mel Brooks on Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, and High Anxiety.
Kanter is survived by six children and several grandchildren. He was married three times: first to actress Roberta Haynes, then to Judy Balaban.
