Seymour Manuel Lazar (June 14, 1927 – March 30, 2016) was an American lawyer known for his flamboyant personal life, prominent celebrity clients, and high-stakes investments, and his part in an illegal kickback scheme.
Personal life
editLazar was born in Brooklyn to Orthodox Jewish parents. His family moved to a ranch in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles when Lazar was young.[1] By the time he was 12, Lazar was keeping the books for his father's accounting business.[2] He graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1943, took a job at Lockheed, and enrolled pre-law at University of California, Berkeley. He was drafted into the Army Air Corps, served two years, and then returned to his studies. In 1949, he graduated from Berkeley with a degree in economics, and in 1951, from University of Southern California with a law degree.[2]
His first marriage ended in divorce. His second marriage, to Alyce Lou, lasted until his death. He has three children from his two marriages.[2]
Entertainment law
editEarly on in Lazar's career he specialized entertainment law. His clients included Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Lenny Bruce, and the Beatles.[1] He dated Maya Angelou when she was working as a cabaret singer. She later stated that he helped launch her career as a poet.[2]
Stock trading
editIn the 1960s, Lazar began investing in oil wells in Texas and Louisiana, a Spanish-language newspaper, timberland in Indonesia, and stocks.[1] According to New York Magazine, he became "the single largest individual stock trader during the sixties",[1] buying and selling more tham $300 million in stocks in 1967 alone.[2] Most of these investments were related to mergers and acquisitions. He had a few big losses, including a proposed merger between Armour and General Host (owner of Frank's Nursery & Crafts) that fell through in 1969.
The Latter-day Saint will
editIn 1976, Lazar joined a group that was trying to prove that a will found in the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City was the final will of Howard Hughes. Lazar invested $250,000 in the investigation. A Nevada jury ruled that the will was a fake.[3]
Milberg Weiss kickback scheme
editLazar developed a professional relationship with Milberg Weiss, a New York law firm known for handling class-action lawsuits. Over a period of about 25 years, he and members of his family participated, as plaintiffs, in over 50 class-action suits against companies like Hertz and United Airlines. In 2005, a federal investigation of these activities led to an indictment against Lazar for taking $2.6 million in kickbacks from Milberg Weiss. He was charged with mail fraud and money-laundering. In 2007, Lazar plead guilty to obstruction of justice, filing a false tax return and making a false declaration; he was sentenced to six months of home detention and ordered to pay a $600,000 fine, on top of a previously ordered $1.5 million forfeiture.[2][1]
Lazar died at his home in Palm Springs in 2016.[2][1]
In 2016, Lazar's daughter, Tara Lazar, opened a speakeasy in Palm Springs and named it Seymour's after her father.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Schudel, Matt (April 5, 2016). "Seymour Lazar, celebrity lawyer, wheeler-dealer and convicted felon, dies at 88". Washington Post. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g Grimes, William (6 April 2016). "Seymour Lazar, 88, Dies; Flamboyant Entertainment Lawyer, and More". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- ^ Dorfman, Dan (October 4, 1976). "A barefoot investor bets $250,000 on the Hughes will". New York Magazine. pp. 14–15. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- ^ Hochman, David (March 8, 2016). "A Former Day-Trader Brings Much-Needed Pizazz to the Palm Springs Dining Scene - Los Angeles Magazine". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved May 13, 2017.