Harold Sanford Kant

Harold Sanford "Hal" Kant (born July 29, 1931 in Bronx , New York City , † October 19, 2008 in Reno , Nevada ) was an American show business lawyer for music bands and a professional poker player who, through his 35 years of work became known in the band Grateful Dead .

education

Hal Kant studied at Harvard Law School , where he received his law degree. He then worked as an employee of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) In San Francisco , California .

Show business

During his tenure at 9th Cir. he came to the realization:

"... the only attorneys in the music business were the attorneys for the record companies, and their job was to get as much money as they could for their company and leave as little as possible for the artists. I decided maybe the other guys should have an attorney, too. "

Freely translated:

“The only lawyers in the music business were the lawyers for the record companies, and their job was to make as much money as possible for the companies and give as little as possible to the artists. I decided that the other people (artists) should also have a lawyer. "

He then worked for a number of bands and musicians such as Janis Joplin , Sonny and Cher , The Association , Stevie Ray Vaughan , The New Riders of the Purple Sage , Hot Tuna and Captain Beefheart . He turned down a job offer from the Doors because they demanded that he only work for them and only represent them.

Kant planned to donate his files and data pertaining to the music business to a "Grateful Dead Museum" so that interested parties could learn from his experience.

While he mostly had shorter arrangements with the other artists, Kant was the first lawyer and general counsel of the band Grateful Dead for over 35 years. During this time he helped the band to earn several million dollars. Kant preserved the intellectual property and musical legacy of the band. In addition, he regulated the ownership of the music rights and the publishing rights in favor of the band, so that the band was one of the pioneers who owned the rights. This includes the rights and legacy after the band was founded. After the death of Jerry García , the band continued to make millions in album sales, concerts, merchandising, etc. that added to Garcia's legacy. The ice cream Cherry Garcia from Ben & Jerry’s , of whose sale shares in Garcia’s legacy and the Save the Rainforest fund, will continue to be managed.

The influence of Kant on the band was so dominant that Garcia had the title "Tsar" printed on Kant's business card.

Poker career

Harold Sanford Kant
Live Poker Tournament Achievements
Highest prize money	$ 1,156,409
Total prize money	0.$ 174,000
World Series of Poker
Bracelets	1
Cashes	12
Best main event	21st ( 1999 )

In addition to his legal profession, Kant was an avid poker player who participated and won major tournaments. He won at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas in 1987 , a tournament in the variant PLO and received a bracelet and a prize money of 174,000 US dollars . He also took second place in 1990 (against Berry Johnston ) and 1994 (against John Heaney). He got into the paid ranks in a total of twelve WSOP tournaments. His last WSOP tournament was in 2001 , when he finished eleventh in Pot Limit Hold'em . In total, he earned around $ 525,000 in prize money at the WSOP. Along with other tournaments, he won more than $ 1.1 million playing tournament poker. His last cash placement was in November 2005.

Kant was known for Deadheads accompanying him on his tournaments.

death

Kant died of pancreatic cancer in Reno at the age of 77 . His family asked for donations to be made in his memory to the Tower Cancer Research Foundation, Los Angeles .

further reading

McNally, Dennis. A long strange trip. The inside history of the Grateful Dead. New York 2002

Web links

• Harold Sanford Kant in the Hendon Mob Poker Database (English)
• Harold Sanford Kant in the database of the World Series of Poker (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} "Grateful Dead lawyer Hal Kant this" , billboard
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Barnes, Mike. "Grateful Dead lawyer Hal Kant dies"  ( No longer available , web archive search ), The Hollywood Reporter , October 22, 2008
3. ^ "Disneyland for Deadheads: Ultimate Nostalgia Trip; Rock Group Lives in Memory and Master Plan," The New York Times . January 6, 1998.
4. ↑ Harold Sanford Kant in the World Series of Poker database, accessed June 7, 2020.
5. ↑ Harold Sanford Kant in the Hendon Mob Poker Database, accessed June 7, 2020.