Jim Tauber, a longtime film executive who was president of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment for a decade after working at Fox, Propaganda Films, Columbia TriStar and elsewhere, has died of multiple myeloma complications. He was 74. His family confirmed the news but did not provide a date of death.
Tauber served as president and COO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment from 2005-15, overseeing some 30 films for the company. His SKE credits include Best Picture nominee Hell or High Water, The Place Beyond the Pines, Death at a Funeral, Lars and the Real Girl and The Kite Runner, Talk to Me, Breach, Age of Adaline and Synecdoche, New York.
“I was Art and Jim was Commerce, and I like to think we complimented each other,” his friend and collaborator Bill Horberg, Chairman Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America, East, told Deadline. Horberg, who made 13 films with Tauber. “He had a wonderful, droll sense of humor — a godsend in an endeavor with so much absurdity baked in.”
“I have truly enjoyed working with Jim,” Sydney Kimmel said when Tauber retired. “He’s successfully overseen all of our productions for a decade and has been key to our success and growth.”
Tauber said upon his retirement: “Working with Sidney has been a highlight of my career. This change has been a dream of mine for a long time, and Sidney has been supportive beyond all hopes as I pursued this new chapter in my professional life.”
Prior to joining Kimmel, Tauber held high-level posts at several showbiz companies. He served as worldwide EVP Acquisitions & Co-Productions at 20th Century Fox, president and COO of Propaganda Films and later held the same post at Anonymous Content after Propaganda was sold.
Earlier in his career, Tauber was EVP Acquisitions and Business/Legal Affairs at Columbia TriStar Pictures, overseeing acquisitions and sales agreements and the production of more than 50 features, including Cannes Palme d’Or winner sex, lies and videotape and Sundance hits The Waterdance and Gas Food Lodging.
