Eddie Rosenblatt is a retired music business executive who’s viewed as an icon in the music world. He served as President/ COO for Geffen Records, which he co-founded with David Geffen in 1980. He became Chairman of the Board in 1995 when Geffen left the company to start DreamWorks. Eddie stayed in that position until he retired in 1999. He was known in the industry as an engaging, perseverant, affable and highly ethical person.
Eddie received a degree in Applied Arts from Brooklyn College in 1952. “I then did a stint in the army for two years. My first job in the record industry was in Cleveland in the distributing end of the business. Bobbie and I lived in Cleveland for nine years. We then moved to Los Angeles and I began working with A&M Records. Then I went to Warner Brothers Records as Director of Sales, and then Vice President. The music itself was a draw for me but I also liked the business end of things. It was challenging to sign new artists and it was rewarding to be part of music history.”
Eddie got into the business when rock and roll was becoming popular. “Pop culture was taking over the music world and I found I had a talent for marketing” he says. He did indeed! “I was able to hire a team of outstanding talent scouts who brought to our label incredible artists, giving Geffen Records a very strong roster of talent.”
“Over the many years of my career at Geffen Records I was fortunate to work with many talented and fascinating artists… superstars like Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Don Henley, Aerosmith, John Lennon, Guns & Roses, Nirvana, Neil Young, Weezer, Counting Crows, Beck and Donna Summer. Now, my ‘superstars’ are the doctors at Sansum Clinic…like Kurt Ransohoff, Jason Boyatt, Alex Koper, Mark Silverberg and Tom Weisenburger (a Cancer Center doctor). They are just a few of the outstanding physicians that cared for me. Because of this team of wonderful doctors, I am now in the best of health,”
Eddie added.
Bobbie and Eddie are the personification of a couple with an enduring love for each other. “We were childhood sweethearts,” says Eddie proudly as he glanced affectionately at Bobbie when I met with them in their home. “He was the cabana boy at the beach club we went to on Long Island. We both grew up there. I noticed him right away!” says Bobbie, laughing. “Some people are amazed that we’ve been together so long (61 years), since lengthy marriages in the entertainment business are, shall we say, a bit unusual,” says Eddie. “We met when I was 16 and Bobbie was 15 and we’ve been going steady ever since! We now have four children and six grandchildren. They are our pride and joy!”
“We were thinking about moving to Santa Barbara when I retired from Geffen Records in 1999,” says Eddie. “We’d always lived in (or near) a big city—with all their advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages with a big city was the access we had to great medical care, whether it was in New York, Cleveland or Los Angeles. We were getting older, so we knew we’d have an increasing need for great healthcare.”
Eddie said, “when we learned about Sansum Clinic from our doctor in LA, we were elated—it was everything we could have hoped for. We’ve been amazed at the quality of Sansum’s services. The doctors, nurses and support staff are absolutely top notch. Our daughter Gretchen, Scott, our son-in-law and our two grandchildren live here and they all go to Sansum. Three generations of our family are Sansum Clinic patients. They have the highest quality doctors and state-of-the-art equipment. It’s perfect for all of us, and I am privileged to serve on Sansum’s Board of Trustees! With Sansum, we truly have ‘big city technology and small town care!’ In other words, we have the best of both—personalized medical attention coupled with the newest equipment.”
Bobbie was an educational therapist in LA working with students with learning challenges and was also a location scout for advertising agencies. In Santa Barbara she has been actively involved in many nonprofits. She is on the board of Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care, an Ambassador of the Arts & Lectures Series at UCSB and Bobbie and Julie Nadel founded the Women’s Council of Sansum Clinic. The Women’s Council presents town hall lectures on current health care issues, and were instrumental in bringing the first digital mammography equipment to Sansum Clinic!
“We love Santa Barbara for all it has to offer,” said Bobbie and Eddie. “It’s a great place for us, with its emphasis on the arts and music, along with its wonderful weather, great restaurants and most importantly, Sansum Clinic and its team of physicians and medical staff. We deeply appreciate living here and it’s important to both of us to ‘give back’ to our community.”