Entertainment industry legend Clarence Avant, a manager, producer and mentor who became known as the 'Black Godfather' in the worlds of music, politics, and sports, died Sunday at his Los Angeles home, his family says.
He was 92.
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"It is with a heavy heart that the Avant/Sarandos family announce the passing of Clarence Alexander Avant," the family said in a statement issued by his children, Nicole and Alex, and son-in-law Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO. "Through his revolutionary business leadership, Clarence became affectionately known as 'The Black Godfather' in the worlds of music, entertainment, politics, and sports. Clarence leaves behind a loving family and a sea of friends and associates that have changed the world and will continue to change the world for generations to come. The joy of his legacy eases the sorrow of our loss. Clarence passed away gently at home in Los Angeles on Sunday, August 13, 2023."
Born in North Carolina, Avant rose to prominence in the entertainment industry after starting out as a talent manager in the 1950s. His clients included singers Sarah Vaughan and Little Willie John and composer Lalo Schifrin, who wrote the theme to “Mission: Impossible.”
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He married wife Jacqueline in 1967 and moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, working at Venture Records in Southern California and founded L.A.-based Sussex Records and Avant Garde Broadcasting.
He would go on to work with some of the biggest names in the world of music, providing management services, guidance and inspiration to the likes of Jay-Z, Diddy, L.A. Reid and Babyface. He founded two record labels, and helped guide the careers of Bill Withers, Sixto Rodriguez, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.
Avant, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, became the chairman of the board of Motown Records in the 1990s and was the first African-American board member of PolyGram. He launched the first fully Black-owned radio stations in Los Angeles and was a consultant to MGM and ABC in the 1970s.
“Everyone in this business has been by Clarence’s desk, if they’re smart,” Quincy Jones once said of Avant.
Avant’s achievements were both public and behind the scenes, as a name in the credits, or a name behind the names. Born in a segregated hospital in North Carolina, he became a man of lasting and wide-ranging influence, in part by minding two pieces of advice from an early mentor, the music manager Joe Glaser: Never let on how much you know, and ask for as much money as possible, “without stuttering.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame described the 2021 inductee as "cool, savvy, confident, and fearless — someone who made the seemingly impossible possible."
Avant's influence extended to the sports worlds and some of history's most consequential athletes. He is credited with persuading Jim Brown to launch an acting career after a successful NFL career. Avant also produced a TV special for boxing great Muhammad Ali.
When baseball great Henry Aaron was on the verge of surpassing Babe Ruth as the game’s home run champion, in 1974, Avant made sure that Aaron received the kind of lucrative commercial deals often elusive for Black athletes, starting with a personal demand to the president of Coca-Cola.
Aaron would later tell The Undefeated that everything he had become was “because of Clarence Avant.”
In a tweet, Lakers great Magic Johnson called Avant a game-changing legend.
"He knew how to touch every individual he met and meet them where they were in order to get them where they needed to be," Johnson said.
As he rose in the entertainment industry, Avant became more active politically. He was an early supporter of Tom Bradley, the first Black mayor of Los Angeles, and served as executive producer of “Save the Children,” a 1973 documentary about a concert fundraiser for the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s “Operation PUSH.”
"Clarence Avant leaves a legacy that will inspire music and culture forever," LA Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. "Mr. Avant gave so much to Los Angeles — producing a sound that influenced generations while ceaselessly fighting for civil rights and equal treatment under the law. I had the great fortune to have been able to engage Mr. Avant in insightful and valuable conversations about the top issues that our city and nation were facing and I will always be grateful for the time we shared. Mr. and Mrs. Avant changed Los Angeles with their vision, their spirit and their philanthropy. My thoughts are with the Avant family and all who mourn this massive loss."
Bill and Hillary Clinton issued a joint statement saying Avant brought artists and their music to millions of people.
"He also used his success to open doors of opportunity to new generations of entrepreneurs and promoters,'' they said. "He was skillful, savvy, warm and wise. It was impossible to spend time with him and not come away feeling more positive and wanting to follow his example. We just loved him.''
In 2021, Jacqueline Avant was shot and killed during a robbery at the couple's Trousdale Estates home in Beverly Hills. Clarence Avant was not injured.
Jacqueline Avant served as president of the Neighbors of Watts, a support group that focused on child care. She was also on the board of directors of UCLA's International Student Center. She was also a member of the board for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
