Daniel Goldberg, producer of ‘Space Jam’, ‘Old School’ and ‘The Hangover’ dies at 74

Daniel Goldberg, the frequent collaborator of Ivan Reitman and Todd Phillips who co-wrote and produced Bill Murray’s leads Stripes AND Meatballs and has directed other films including Space jam, Old school, Road trip and the Hangover trilogy, is dead. He was 74 years old.

Goldberg died Wednesday in Los Angeles, his brother, Deuce Bigalow screenwriter Harris Goldberg, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was a kind and lovely guy, he was my hero,” Harris said. “That was all I measured myself against.”

No cause of death was immediately available.

Survivors also include his wife, Ilona Herzberg, a native of British Columbia, a producer of films including The Wild River, Evan Almighty, Water world, Rachel is getting married AND Fedsthe 1988 comedy starred Rebecca De Mornay and Mary Gross and was the only film directed by her husband in Hollywood.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Goldberg was the eldest son of Irwin, an aeronautical engineer, and Audrey, an artist.

He first met Reitman in 1966 at McMaster University in his hometown, and starred as a freshman Mac in the short film Orientation (1968), which Reitman wrote and directed. Fox acquired it and showed it in theaters before Peter Yates John and Mary (1969), with Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow.

The pair then got into trouble when they produced The Sex Columbus (1969) and were charged and fined for making and exhibiting an “obscene” film after showing it once to the student body. The experience “bonded them and pushed them to do it together (in show business),” Harris Goldberg said.

Danny followed Reitman to Los Angeles, and over the decades, the pair collaborated to write, produce and/or direct The house on the lake (1976), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Heavy metal (1981), Feds, Junior (1994), Space jam (1996), Private parts (1997), Commandments (1997), Father’s Day (1997), Six days seven nights (1998), Road trip (2000), Evolution (2001), Killing me softly (2002), Old school (2003) and EuroTrip (2004).

For the small screen, Goldberg and Reitman shared an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Made for Television Movie in 1996 for producing HBO The last roundand worked on the 1994 CBS Saturday morning cartoon Beethoven.

After producing the Phillips rudder Road trip, Old school AND School for scoundrels (2006), Goldberg reunited with the director and found spectacular success with The Hangover (2009), starring Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms, which grossed more than $469 million on a $35 million budget.

Goldberg then produced the film directed by Phillips Hangover sequels in 2011 and 2013 which grossed another $587 million and $362 million, respectively, plus Expiration (2011), another comedy starring Galifianakis.

Survivors also include his sisters, Kathy and Amy.