Ken Kragen was a music manager and TV producer who organized the famous “We Are the World” and Hands Across America charity events in the 1980s.
- Died: December 14, 2021 (Who else died on December 14?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes at the age of 85.
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Wide-ranging career
One of Kragen’s earliest jobs in the entertainment world was as a production coordinator, and later executive producer, of “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” There, he met Kenny Rogers (1938–2020), later becoming his manager. Kragen also managed other artists including Lionel Richie, the Bee Gees, Trisha Yearwood, and Burt Reynolds (1936–2018). In 1985, Harry Belafonte inspired Kragen to assemble dozens of musicians to record “We Are the World,” the hit single that raised more than $50 million for African famine relief. Kragen was honored with the United Nations Peace Medal for his efforts. The next year, he organized Hands Across America, another charity event in which millions of people held hands in an attempt to form a human chain across the U.S. The event raised $15 million to fight hunger and homelessness.
Kragen also served as president of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. He produced the film “12 Dogs of Christmas” and the TV show “Rollin on the River” featuring Rogers and First Edition, as well as producing a portion of President Bill Clinton’s 1992 inauguration. Kragen wrote the best-selling book “Life Is a Contact Sport: Ten Great Career Strategies That Work” and played himself in the movie “Late Shift.”
Notable quote
“After I did ‘We Are the World,’ my mom sent me a picture of me handing a $64 check – which in 1950, the mid-‘50s, was a lot of money – $64 that we had raised from a dance that we had done. To the Red Cross. So I was doing it way back then.” —from a 2017 interview on “Making It with Terry Wollman”
Tributes to Ken Kragen
Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter
