In Tribute: From Page To Promoter Legend, Larry Vallon Made L.A. A Locus of Live

Concert security and access to performers has tightened up substantially since 1973, when a 14-year-old Cameron Crowe was left off Black Sabbath’s guest list for a show at the San Diego Sports Arena and desperately trying to get backstage for an arranged interview.

After being told by security to “go to the top of the ramp with the other girls,” the determined interviewer was approached by the concert promoter, who handed him a backstage pass and advised him to “put it in plain view and look like you belong.”

The story, of course, is recounted by Crowe in a Rolling Stone article and adapted for the film “Almost Famous.” It’s a well-known origin story for Crowe. But, for those who knew him, it was an unsurprising act of generosity (and maybe pity) by the concert promoter that helped launch Crowe’s eventual and massively successful career: Larry Vallon, who died July 14 in Los Angeles after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Retired CAA agent Tom Ross met Vallon when they were “Malibu surfing buddies” in high school and remained close friends throughout life.

“Larry, no matter what, he would go out of his way for people. Even if you weren’t on a list — Cameron Crowe got his pass from Larry Vallon, even though he didn’t have the right credentials. But he got his interview, and met a guru of this business who continued to grow people and give advice.”

Over the 50-year-plus course of his career, Vallon helped shape the concert landscape in Southern California before his retirement from AEG Presents in 2019.

As an executive with Universal Concerts, he helped make the former Universal Amphitheater into a must-stop venue for artists in Los Angeles, mentored a generation of concert industry execs and had a front row seat to much of L.A.’s music history.

At the time of his retirement, the Vietnam veteran had been reunited with AEG Presents Chairman Jay Marciano, who brought Vallon to the company in 2004 from House of Blues Concerts.

Marciano wasn’t immediately available to comment, but AEG posted to social media, “We [heart] you, Larry. … He was a truly special person in life and to all of us. AEG sends our condolences to his family, and everyone who loved him.”

Nederlander Concerts CEO Alex Hodges was also a veteran of House of Blues Concerts, whose HOB Entertainment parent company had acquired Universal Concerts and MCA Concerts in 1999. He met Vallon while booking artists at Empire Agency, which he founded in Macon, Georgia.

“Larry invited us [Hodges and now-CAA agent Carole Kinzel] for a tour, and he was so congenial and so pleasant and so optimistic about the future of Universal Amphitheater. He took great pride in it, and he was a wonderful host – showing us around and walking us through some of the history, but mostly the future of Universal Amphitheater. He embraced it. He lived it. He was absorbed with it. It was a wonderful moment.

“I’ll never forget that. It wasn’t completed 100% yet and he walked us through the venue with the enthusiasm and courtesy that Larry always showed to anybody and everybody. And, of course, there were bigger agencies than we had within our agency. But Larry treated us as if we were on the top of the hill ourselves. That was his style to treat everybody that way.”

And that generosity extended to not just stars and their agents, but to writers and photographers.

Rick Diamond, who has been one of the industry’s top concert photographers for many years, says Vallon helped him establish his own career.

“Larry was a top notch man. Decent and honest in every way,” Diamond says. “He was a major help putting me on The Who tour. It was Larry who asked Clay Schell, who was a good contact, if he could help me with the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He got me all-access for 10-plus years. He would always take my call; his friendships stretched coast to coast.”

Vallon’s career touched just about every facet of live entertainment in the region, and then some, going back to his start as a page for promoter and TV pioneer Bob Eubanks with “The Newlywed Game.” An introduction by Eubanks — who promoted The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl — to Steve Wolf and Jim Rissmiller, founders of Wolf & Rissmiller Concerts, set Vallon on the course of his career. He went on to found Larry Vallon Presents, with the help of late Denver concert promoter Barry Fey, and later joined mentor Lew Wasserman and MCA Concerts and then Universal Concerts.

Vallon oversaw booking and operations at Universal Amphitheater, where he put a roof on the Universal City structure and attracted artists like Frank Sinatra and Linda Ronstadt, who booked residencies in the venue. It was later renamed Gibson Amphitheater and met the wrecking ball in 2013, to be replaced by “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Over the years, Vallon earned 13 nominations and four wins as Pollstar’s Talent Buyer of the Year. Marciano, who was hired by Vallon at Universal Amphitheater as director of entertainment, shares four of those nominations and two wins.

Among his many achievements, Vallon told Pollstar at the time of his retirement he was especially proud to have brought top-tier Latin artists like Julio Iglesias (who performed a record run of 18 shows), Maná and Juanes to Universal Amphitheater, presaging the current mass popularity of Latin artists in the U.S. by decades.

He may have been prouder, however, of the slew of concert professionals he trained and mentored who have made their own marks on the live business, including Messina Touring Group founder Louis Messina, Crypto.com President Lee Zeidman, and Gorge Amphitheater President Jeff Trisler among many others.

Vallon was a trailblazer when it came to raising up and mentoring women, including Live Nation Women President & Chief Strategy Officer Ali Harnell, AEG Presents/Goldenvoice executive Melissa Ormond and Nederlander Concerts’ SVP of Marketing Jamie Loeb, who are just a few examples.

“I’ve known Larry as long as I’ve been in the business,” Messina, who celebrated his own 50th anniversary as a concert promoter last year, tells Pollstar. “Larry was one of the good guys. … We worked together, played together and we were great friends. He will be missed.”

Zeidman added, “Among the things a concert promoter does: chooses the date, books the venue, manages the performance costs, promotes the event, negotiates the deal points, brings a wealth of industry knowledge and excels at relationship building and networking. Having worked with Larry for over 30 years at both the Forum, then STAPLES Center, Larry was a master at all these and more. But most of all he was fair, funny, honest, direct and someone I called a great friend who will be missed by an entire industry. Whatever events or concerts they promote in heaven just got better.”

Vallon presented Harnell with the T.J. Martell 2015 Ambassador of the Year in Nashville.
“I’ve worked for and with countless people and I can say this honestly: Larry Vallon was the best of the best,” Harnell says. “Mentor. Protector. Friend. Ally. He was kind and joyful, passionate about the trade, and devoted to [his wife]Claudia, [and daughters] Kelly and Vanessa. I loved him.

“I have so many wonderful memories. Like the time I lost a shit ton of money on a show and he took the blame. Or when he covered for me on a disastrous festival situation. Or the time he roasted me at a T.J. Martell benefit with such class and humor. He never [failed to ask] how I was or how my son Eli was doing before getting to business (and we spoke daily back then). I have a smile in my heart that I knew and loved him. Rest in peace my friend. You are loved, Lar.”

Likewise, Loeb adds, “He was just such a kind man. So smart, and always willing to help. He was someone who did it the right way. It was a pleasure to work with him.”

Trisler, who runs Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, for Live Nation, is one of a younger generation of venue execs who cites Vallon’s influence.

“Larry always treated everyone with the same kindness and generosity, whether they were world renowned superstars or the people working late cleaning up the mess,” Trisler says. “Love him like a brother, will forever miss him, but also forever grateful for the time we had together.”

Another of Vallon’s then-teenaged surfing buddies is Jeffrey Greenberg, founder and CEO of Village Studios in Los Angeles. He, along with Ross and Vallon, might be the most influential music figures ever to emerge from the sands of Malibu besides The Beach Boys.

“My oldest and longest dear friend (and best man at my first wedding), Larry will always be remembered as one of the greatest concert promoters who ever lived,” Greenberg writes. “Beginning with Concert Associates to Wolf and Rissmiller, Universal Amphitheater, Larry Vallon Presents, and AEG, with thousands of stellar huge shows under his belt, he was loved by artists, venues, crews, agents and colleagues alike.

“The Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, and pretty much every act from small theaters to the biggest festivals in history experienced the highest level of professionalism and care. Larry once had [Southern California car dealer] Cal Worthington and his dog Spot introduce The Marshall Tucker Band at The Santa Monica Civic,” Greenberg continues. “And one more thing — Larry saw a kid who was dropped off by his Mom at a concert in San Diego. Larry gave the kid a backstage pass …

“We were introduced by Jim Rissmiller who put me on to ice buckets for drinks for talent. We were roommates, too. A huge part of the concert business and our lives, Larry will be missed. RIP and thanks for showing us how it’s done.”

A memorial gathering for Larry Vallon will take place at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3. Remembrances can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association via a tribute page dedicated to Vallon at the foundation’s website.