Aaron Russo

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aaron Russo in Cannes in July 2006

Aaron Russo (born February 14, 1943 in Brooklyn , New York , † August 24, 2007 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American businessman, filmmaker, a political figure of the American Libertarian Party and a tax reform activist.

Careers in the entertainment industry

During his career in the entertainment industry Russo was from 1972 to 1979 Manager of Bette Midler and The Manhattan Transfer of films and producer The Rose and Trading Places ( Trading Places ) . Russo was the first person to book Led Zeppelin for a performance in the USA (1968 at the “Electric Theater” in Chicago).

He received an Emmy award for a Bette Midler TV special and a gold record for producing the soundtrack for The Rose, and was the director of Rude Awakening in 1989 .

Russo's films, e.g. B. The Soldiers of Fortune (with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd ) and The Rose (with Bette Midler) have received six Academy Award nominations. Russo himself has received both Emmy and Tony Awards, and his films have also won a number of Golden Globe awards.

His latest film, America: Freedom to Fascism , is a documentary that calls for personal engagement; he directs his criticism against what he believes to be fraudulent institutions of the Federal Reserve System and the supreme US tax authority, the IRS .

Political career

Russo got political in the early 1990s when he made a film called Mad As Hell , in which he criticized NAFTA , the War on Drugs , the concept of a national ID card, and the state's power to regulate alternative medicine . He sees these measures as a step-by-step curtailment of civil rights that would ultimately turn the US from a free country into a police state (see America: Freedom to Fascism ).

Russo ran in 1998 in the primary ( Primary ) for governor in Nevada and finished with 26% of the vote in second place. Russo then planned again in 2002 as a candidate for the governorship as an independent or "Libertarian" in the election campaign, but was prevented by cancer. In January 2004 he declared his candidacy for president as an independent, then opted for nomination by the Libertarian Party. At the “Libertarian National Convention” in May 2004 Russo received 258 votes, while his competitor Michael Badnarik received 256 and 246 votes to Gary Nolan. However, Russo was defeated in the third round by Badnarik with 423 to 344 votes.

Russo died of cancer on August 24, 2007 at the age of 64.

Filmography (selection)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Remembering Aaron Russo - 3 Years After His Death. In: www.betteontheboards.com. Bette on the Boards, archived from the original on May 6, 2014 ; accessed on June 19, 2016 (English).
  2. ↑ Miles Fowler: AARON RUSSO'S PARTIAL BIOGRAPHY. In: defendindependence.org. Archived from the original on January 22, 2010 ; accessed on August 4, 2013 .
  3. ↑ "America: Freedom To Fascism" dubbed in German . Video.google.de. Archived from the original on May 7, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2010. As of April 2019, only the video description is available.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Russo, Aaron
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American businessman, filmmaker, Libertarian Party political figure
DATE OF BIRTH February 14, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 2007
Place of death Los Angeles , California