Jim Tauber, Longtime Film Executive, Dies at 74
Jim Tauber, the distinguished film executive whose decades-long career included stints with Columbia TriStar, Gramercy Pictures, Propaganda Films, 20th Century Fox, Anonymous Content and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, has died. He was 74.
Tauber died Wednesday of complications from multiple myeloma, his family announced.
While most recently at SKE, Tauber oversaw such acclaimed films as Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Death at a Funeral (2010), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) and the Oscar best picture nominee Hell or High Water (2016).
Before that, he helped launch Anonymous Content, which he eventually led as president and COO, and then served as worldwide executive vp acquisitions & co-productions for 20th Century Fox.
Tauber arrived at Anonymous from Propaganda Films, where he also was president and COO. While there, he produced 30 films, including Wild at Heart (1990) and Being John Malkovich (1999) and helped launch the distribution company Gramercy Pictures.
Earlier, Tauber was executive vp acquisitions and business/legal affairs at Columbia TriStar Pictures. In this role, he oversaw acquisitions and sales agreements and the production of more than 50 features, including sex, lies and videotape (1989) and the 1992 Sundance hits The Waterdance and Gas Food Lodging.
After a decade with SKE, during which time he oversaw 30-plus features and served as president, Tauber retired from the film industry in 2015 and became a licensed psychotherapist, operating a practice alongside his wife, Laura Newman.
In 2022, the couple launched Lefty’s Coffee, a Los Olivos coffeeshop built around ethical sourcing and sustainability. They lived on a farm and vineyard in town alongside two dogs, two donkeys, two goats and 10 chickens.
“Tauber’s generous spirit and warmth were a deep comfort to his friends and family. He was always ready with a laugh, a listen and counsel if requested, with no subject out of bounds,” his family said. “He was that reliable friend who showed up and was eager to participate in the intimacies that define friendship and connection.”
He was raised in the Chicago suburb of Glencoe and was a longtime member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
In addition to his wife, survivors include his sister, Joanie, and his daughters, J. Lucy, Dixie and Zazu. A private funeral has been planned, with a celebration of life to occur at a later date.
