Helen Kushnick

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Helen Kushnick (born Helen Gorman born August 18, 1946 in NYC and died August 28, 1996) was the agent of comedians, Jimmie Walker, Elayne Boosler, David Letterman and 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. (For example, she reportedly banned stars from appearing on the program if they appeared on any other talk show.) These practices led to her dismissal only three months into her tenure in that position.^{[citation needed]}

1 Filmography
2 The Late Shift
3 Family
4 External links

[edit] Filmography

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) TV Series (executive producer)
Jay Leno and the American Dream (1986) (TV) (executive producer)

[edit] The Late Shift

A 1996 HBO TV movie called The Late Shift was about the network politics that occurred after the retirement of Johnny Carson from the Tonight Show on NBC. The movie starred Kathy Bates, who received an Emmy Award nomination for portraying Helen Kushnick.

[edit] Family

Kushnick's son, Samuel, died of AIDS due to an infected blood transfusion. His twin sister, Sarah, was not infected.

She became an AIDS advocate soon afterward, founding AmFar with Elizabeth Taylor, and testified before Congress about changing blood supply rules. The Surgeon General dedicated his book to the memory of Samuel Kushnick.

Her husband, Jerrold Kushnick, died of cancer in 1989, and Helen died of breast cancer in Los Angeles, California, aged 50.