'Rocky,' 'Raging Bull' Producer Robert Chartoff Dies At 81
SANTA MONICA (AP) — Robert Chartoff, the Oscar-winning movie producer behind the boxing classics "Rocky" and "Raging Bull," has died. He was 81.
Lynn Hendee, the president of his company Chartoff Productions, says Chartoff died Wednesday at his home in Santa Monica, California. He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Chartoff had been a movie producer for nearly a decade when he found his career-defining hit in 1976's "Rocky," the small-budget Sylvester Stallone movie that became a blockbuster and won three Academy Awards including best picture.
Chartoff would go on to produce all seven movies in the "Rocky" series, including the forthcoming "Creed," which is in post-production and due for release later this year.
He also produced a different, darker take on boxing in the Martin Scorcese-directed "Raging Bull" in 1980.
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