Harry Marcus 'Skip' Brittenham, 1941-2025

Harry Marcus "Skip" Brittenham, the influential entertainment lawyer known as "The Deal Maker" for shaping some of Hollywood's most iconic agreements, died Thursday at 83.

Over a half-century career, he represented clients including Richard Pryor, Ridley Scott, and Ted Danson. In coups that cemented his industry reputation, he brokered early deals for Harrison Ford and Henry Winkler before their rise to stardom.

Brittenham may be best remembered as an early pioneer of backend deals, where actors and producers took less upfront in exchange for stakes in projects that delivered massive payoffs. He secured such deals--and made millions--for Winkler, Danson, and Tom Selleck, years before the strategy became standard in Hollywood.

In 1978, he co-founded Ziffren Brittenham with Ken Ziffren and later married actress Heather Thomas. Thomas is best known for starring opposite Lee Majors in the 1980s series "The Fall Guy."

The firm quickly became a powerhouse, renowned for innovative thinking and cultivating long-term relationships with rising and established stars.

"Everyone in our industry knew of Skip's legal prowess," the firm said in an announcement posted on its website. "But some may not have known of his quiet generosity, his ability to find humor and opportunity in the darkest moments, and his unwavering belief that media and the entertainment industry must serve people, not the other way around."

Brittenham advised DreamWorks Pictures during its IPO, guided Pixar through its historic sale to Disney, and oversaw some of the biggest mergers in entertainment history.

The firm was known for its discretion. For years, Ziffren Brittenham had no website, and secretaries answered the phone with a minimalist greeting: "Law firm." It was a reflection of Brittenham's deep commitment to privacy and professionalism.

"We keep a low profile," he told the Daily Journal in a rare 2006 interview. "We prefer to be neither seen nor heard by the press. This may be the only time I ever do an interview."

That reticence made him all the more respected by clients navigating an often-chaotic business. While Ziffren would later serve as Los Angeles' official film liaison and advocate publicly for expanded state film tax credits, Brittenham remained in the background, quietly negotiating major studio financing deals and talent agreements. His transactional work reportedly averaged over $1 billion annually for a decade--a figure noted with characteristic understatement in his law firm biography.

A lifelong fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and science fiction, Brittenham stepped briefly into the public eye in 2012 when he co-created and published "Anomaly," a large-format, $75 graphic novel set in the year 2717. The story, described as "an epic tale of deception, redemption and unity in a strange alien world," was a passion project that reflected his love of fantasy and imagination. A film adaptation was announced the following year.

Ziffren Brittenham's announcement painted a portrait of a man with a Hollywood-worthy lifestyle: a formidable tennis player, an avid UCLA basketball fan since the Wooden era, and a traveler across six continents who fly-fished from Wyoming to Patagonia.

Born Sept. 6, 1941, in Port Huron, Michigan, Brittenham was the son of a U.S. Air Force pilot and a caseworker mother. He grew up in various states before graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1963. He served four years as a captain before receiving a law degree from UCLA in 1970 and joining the California Bar in 1971.

In 2011, Brittenham and his wife were honored by the Alliance for Children's Rights for their work supporting education, health care and child welfare. The event raised $1.5 million for the nonprofit, which provides free legal services to abused and impoverished children in Los Angeles.

Neither Brittenham's family nor the firm disclosed a cause of death, though several news reports cited a long illness. Besides Thomas, Brittenham is survived by three adult children, and four grandchildren. According to an announcement from Thomas' publicist, Danny Deraney, the family will hold a private celebration of life later this year.

ricardo_pineda@dailyjournal.com

malcolm_maclachlan@dailyjournal.com