Peter Rawley is dead: The longtime ICM agent, producer and former MGM executive was 85

Peter Rawley, a longtime ICM talent agent who represented Richard Dreyfuss, Richard Gere and Faye Dunaway and was also head of European production for MGM and a successful indie producer, died on January 3. He was 85.

His death was confirmed by his 33-year-old wife, filmmaker Betty Kaplan, who did not provide a cause of death.

Working in Los Angeles and London, Rawley played a key role in the global expansion of ICM’s business by establishing businesses directly and through subsidiaries in China, Latin America, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and elsewhere in Europe.

Rawley was known for his innovative financing, packaging and international distribution of films. When he started, most films came from big studios or small India, but that changed in the 1970s. Rawley was one of the first to raise money for Hollywood majors and independents, largely independent from Europe, Southeast Asia and Japan.

Born in London in 1938, Rawley received his BA and MA degrees from the University of Oxford. After producing theatre, he joined CMA (a predecessor of ICM) in 1966 and became Managing Director of the London office and then Head of European Operations.

In 1972 he became production manager at MGM Europe. He later produced hostage, with Sean Connery. The first film about a hijacking was later released by 20th Century Fox as The Terrorist.

Then Hollywood called. In 1978 he returned to ICM as EVP and Head of International Operations.

Fluent in Spanish, French and Italian, Rawley and Kaplan have lived in Puerto Rico for the past decade producing TV and films through Cine Condado Films, including Don Barbara and Of love and shadows, distributed by RAI. Rawley also taught film production at the University of Puerto Rico, where he developed a scholarship program for young Puerto Rican filmmakers to attend a major film school for a year.

Rawley has attended many seminars, most recently in Australia and at the Bombay Film Festival, and has been an advisor to the Moscow International Film Festival and a member of the American Committee of the British Film Office. In 1992 he was honored by King Juan Carlos of Spain and is an officer of the Order of Civil Merit.

He was also a board member of the San Juan Teatro del Opera and a longtime board member of the Ojai Music Festival.

Rawley and his wife are survived by children Pascale, Fabienne and Rufus and grandsons Cooper, Tarka, Merlin, Rowan and Ivo.