Claire Rothman, Trailblazing Exec Of The Forum During The Showtime LA Lakers, Dies At 97

Claire Rothman, one of the most influential female executives in live entertainment, died on Nov. 22 in Las Vegas. The legendary exec died due to complications from a fall, according to the Los Angeles Times. She was 97.

Rothman helped make The Forum in Inglewood, California, a premier destination for artists and one of the most iconic arenas in the world, making it the West Coast’s Madison Square Garden. She served as president and general manager of the “Fabulous Forum” from 1975 to 1995, the home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers during the “Showtime” era in the 1980s with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The franchise won five NBA championships with Rothman at the helm of the arena, and the Buss family, which used to own the Lakers, considered her to be essential to the team’s success.

Jeanie Buss, former Lakers owner and acting governor of the team, considered Rothman a mentor and helped her throughout her career as an executive.

“Claire Rothman paved the way for women working in live entertainment. She was tenacious, creative and indomitable. My father always described her as the MVP who championed the Fabulous Forum as the West Coast concert rival to the legendary Madison Square Garden,” Buss said in a statement. “For me personally, she was a mentor and a guide, helping me learn and navigate an industry that had never been very open to women in leadership. I learned an incredible amount from her as an executive and consider her one of the major influences in my life. Like so many others, I will miss her dearly.”

A pioneer in venue management, Rothman began her journey in the business at Philadelphia’s old Spectrum in 1967, working as a bookkeeper and being promoted within weeks to business manager and talent buyer.

Her successes led her to be hired by the Lakers in 1975 by then-owner Jack Kent Cooke. She was the only woman running an NBA venue at the time, and she made The Forum synonymous with live entertainment under her leadership. It was one of two venues, the other being Madison Square Garden, to realize The Rolling Stones’ vision of including a giant lotus-shaped stage during the band’s 1975 “Tour of the Americas” run. Both iconic venues were designed by architect Charles Luckman.

“We had everything at the Forum,” she told VenuesNow in 2022. “It was magical.”

NBA legend Magic Johnson told the L.A. Times that “Lakers wouldn’t be the Lakers without her,” with her tenacity and talent for growing the team’s brand.

“People got to remember that,” he added. “She was like super and that’s for real. She was doing all those things and doing them exceptionally well.”

Lee Zeidman, who worked under Rothman and succeeded her, referred to her as a legend and credits her for helping him become the professional he is today. He went on to oversee the construction of the Lakers’ new L.A. home, Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena).

“I had to learn as much as I could, or I was going to get trampled because it was the place to be, and I was working for the most iconic woman (really the most iconic venue operator) in the country, if not the world,” Zeidman told Pollstar in the summer.

Rothman was portrayed by Gabby Hoffman in the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, a dramatization of the Showtime Lakers based on Jeff Pearlman’s book. The two-season series was canceled in 2023.

The Kia Forum, the beloved L.A. venue that Rothman built, posted a statement on social media about the former executive’s passing: “Today, we mourn the loss of a true icon in Los Angeles sports and music: Claire Rothman, former President and General Manager of the Forum from 1975 – 1995. A trailblazer who helped bring in championships, concerts, and innovation that transformed the venue into an iconic landmark. Rest in peace, Claire. Your legacy lives on in our venue forever.”