Ken Kragen.Photo: David Livingston/Getty
Ken Kragen, a former Hollywood manager whose charitable endeavors included the groundbreaking “We Are The World” and Hands Across America, has died. He was 85.
A family spokesperson confirms to PEOPLE that Kragen died on Tuesday of natural causes at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles.
“To have been married to someone of such character and loving goodness is the honor of my life,” actress Cathy Worthington, Kragen’s wife of 43 years, said in a statement.
Kragen also served as a business manager, overseeing the careers of stars such as Rogers,Lionel Richie,Trisha Yearwood,Olivia Newton-John, The Bee Gees,Burt Reynoldsand more over the years.
Hands Across America.Getty
Kragen was the creative force behind some of the world’s most memorable charity events, including “We Are the World,” which began with a phone call in 1984 from Harry Belafonte, who was looking to organize a concert to raise money to fight starvation in Africa.
Then, in 1985, Kragen was moved to look to his own backyard, and thus Hands Across America was born. The event brought more than $6 million people together in a continuous hand-holding line from New York City to California, and wound up raising $34 million to fight hunger and homelessness in the U.S.
According to Kragen’swebsite, the idea came from a PR executive working on “We Are the World,” who suggested, “Don’t laugh, but what if we put a continuous line of people together holding hands from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic?”
“I’m not laughing,” Kragen replied.
In his later years, Kragen taught courses at universities, and was a speaker and lecturer at schools like USC and Harvard Business School.
He also served on several charity boards, including the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and Community in School.
“While I am of course immensely proud of everything he has accomplished professionally, he has also been the best dad to me that I could ever ask for,” his daughter Emma Kragen said in a statement.
source: people.com
