Breakfast at Tiffany's producer Richard Shepherd dies

Richard Shepherd, the producer of classic
Hollywood movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, has died
aged 86 at his home in Los Angeles.
Shepherd spent six decades in the film business,
producing a run of films including the 1961
feature starring Audrey Hepburn and George
Peppard.

His later work included Robin and Marian (1976)
also with Hepburn and Sean Connery.
Shepherd also set up the Artists Agency
representing the interests of stars.
Marilyn Monroe, Rex Harrison, Peter Sellers and
Richard Harris were among the famous faces on his
books.

Shepherd is credited with rescuing one of the most
memorable facets of Breakfast at Tiffany's - the
theme song of Moon River, gently performed by
Hepburn.

Studio executive Marty Rackin wanted to remove
the song completely, but Shepherd said "over my
dead body".
Henry Macini's composition went on to win the
Academy Award for best song and also picked up a
Grammy.

In a 2010 book about Breakfast at Tiffany's by
author Sam Wasson, Shepherd was said to be a
gentle and quiet force in a business that had
neither of those traits.
The other films he worked on included The Fugitive
Kind, starring Marlon Brando and Joanne
Woodward, and 1959's The Hanging Tree, with Gary
Cooper in one of his final screen appearances.

Shepherd is survived by his wife and four children
from his two marriages, including Scott Shepherd,
a television producer and writer whose credits
include Miami Vice and The Dead Zone.