Entertainment attorney Frederick Brown passed away on Monday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer at age 56, according to an announcement from his family.
Brown was a key member of the Warner Bros. Records business affairs department for more than 10 years, departing in 1999 to become Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for Music at MGM. He was most recently in private practice.
Fred was born in San Francisco and served in the U.S. Army after graduating from high school. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He received his law degree from Yale University and started his legal career at the law firm of Irell and Manella. He was active in many music industry charitable and legal organizations, including serving as President of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA).
He is survived by his wife Liz McNicoll and son Nico Brown. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 10th, 12:30 p.m. at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Church Of The Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, Calif. 90068 . In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made in honor of Fred to Tipitina’s Foundation, which provides New Orleans public schools with musical instruments and preserves the musical cultures of Louisiana, www.tipitinasfoundation.org, 504-309-7934.