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Allen Klein (born December 18, 1931 in Newark , New Jersey , † July 4, 2009 in New York City , New York ) was an American businessman and head of various record companies.

Allen Klein was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Hungary . His father worked as a butcher , his mother died before his first birthday. As a teenager he worked in various jobs and attended evening school on the side. He graduated in 1956 and then worked as an accountant in show business.

In the 1960s, Klein was successively manager of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles . He was tough on record companies and exploited the artists he supervised. His work as manager of the Rolling Stones ended in a series of legal battles and ultimately led to the Rolling Stones losing some of the copyrights to the most important albums they recorded in the 1960s. These albums are still distributed today by Klein's company, ABKCO .

Allen Klein's engagement as manager of the Beatles was carried out by John Lennon , on the recommendation of Mick Jagger . George Harrison and Ringo Starr were in favor of Klein, Paul McCartney was against. The dispute over Klein's engagement was one of the reasons that helped break up the Beatles. This collaboration also ended in legal disputes in the 1970s.

Klein also produced a number of films, including the spaghetti westerns popular at the time , in which the actor Tony Anthony played the leading role. In the 1971 production called Blindman, the Executor , in which Anthony played a blind gunslinger, ex-Beatle Ringo Starr took on a leading role on Klein's recommendation.

Allen Klein died on July 4, 2009 in New York at the age of 77 from complications from Alzheimer's disease .

Filmography (selection)

• 1968: The horror of Kung Fu (Lo straniero di silenzio)

Web links

• Obituary in the New York Times (English)
• Allen Klein in the Internet Movie Database (English)