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| Gerry Tolman Killed in Car Crash Gerry Tolman, a veteran and versatile music business manager who worked with the legendary rock 'n roll group Crosby, Stills & Nash for over twenty years, has died. Tolman was killed instantly in a motor vehicle accident near his Los Angeles area home the morning of December 31, reported a Tolman family spokesperson. He was 52 years old. Tolman had managed artists under the aegis of his personal management entertainment firm Management Network, Inc. since 1985. In addition to collectively managing Crosby, Stills & Nash (whom he first started working with when he was with their previous management company), Mr. Tolman also managed the solo careers of group members Stephen Stills -- since '85 -- and, since 1989, Graham Nash. Nash, reached at his home in Hawaii, said, "My heart is broken about the untimely death of my dear friend. I am so sad. He was a great, sensitive, caring and funny man. I will miss him for the rest of my life." Speaking from his home in central California, David Crosby commented, "Gerry was a good friend and he worked diligently and did a great job at managing Crosby, Stills & Nash. He was a part of this family for many years. We'll miss him. My heart goes out to his family." Stephen Stills added, "Gerry was my rock, my protector and my best friend. He helped me do my art without being distracted by the slings and arrows of our crazy and wonderful business. I doubt I will meet his like again. I offer my condolences to his family and his friends, who number in the hundreds. I believe that ultimately, this will pull us all together." A lifelong southern Californian born in Santa Monica, Tolman caught the music bug playing guitar in bands while attending Los Angeles' Loyola High School. Film was another interest, and by the time he graduated from University of Southern California with a degree in Telecommunications, Tolman had already started his own film production company, creating industrial and educational shorts -- work that led to his music management success. As a senior at USC, Tolman was invited to Colorado's Caribou Ranch Recording Studios, where CBS Records tapped him to make a promotional film on Stephen Stills and his band. Soon afterwards he became their tour manager, a role he also undertook for the Stills/Young band, Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Chris Hillman Band. Gerry Tolman's involvement with the music artists he worked with extended beyond the realm of the typical manager. Tolman played guitar with Stephen Stills' band, and over the years wrote, performed and produced with Crosby, Stills & Nash, who recorded his song "Too Much Love To Hide" for their 1982 album "Daylight Again." Tolman's production credits include "Daylight Again, " Atlantic's 1991 4-CD box set retrospective "CSN, " the band's 2005 Greatest Hits disc (Atlantic/Rhino), the video compilation "Long Time Coming" (produced for CSN's 1997 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) and the television specials "Daylight Again: Crosby, Stills & Nash at the Universal Amphitheater" and, for PBS, "Crosby, Stills & Nash at the Warfield." In recent years, Tolman put together the extensive national touringpackage for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's historic 2000 reunion tour, one of the highest grossing of that year. He also negotiated and produced similar packages for subsequent CSN tours and CSNY's 2002 encore tour. Tolman's diverse projects also included the launch of the extreme sports management entity Motorsports Management International (which he later sold), which developed and managed the careers of many athletes including Winston Cup Champion Tony Stewart. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |