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Legendary talent manager and producer Bernie Brillstein died Thursday after months of battling complications from heart disease; he was 77. Credited with influential (and lucrative) deals for clients including Jim Henson and the geniuses who brought you Hee Haw, Brillstein was perhaps best known for nurturing John Belushi's rising star before his own devastating death in 1982.From his start in the William Morris mailroom to his powerhouse partnership with Brad Grey, Brillstein needed three memoirs just to sort his stories out; as such, we don't even know where to start on our favorites here. Would it be his fatherhood of the "executive producer" credit he established while packaging and selling hit shows? His insatiable appetite and fantastic lust? His shepherding of Animal House and The Blues Brothers through Universal and early defense (maybe even rescue) of Saturday Night Live from the NBC ax? Or it could be any number of the other stories referenced and cross-referenced between Variety, a particularly fun tribute at Tabloid Baby ("I’d like to fuck that Drew Barrymore. Oooh.”) and Nikki Finke, who notes that Grey and Lorne Michaels are arranging a memorial service for Brillstein next week. Consider this our own: Thanks for the memories, Bernie — even Hee Haw. You'll be missed. [Photo Credit: WireImage]