Robert Stigwood (born April 16, 1934 in Adelaide, South Australia) is an Australian-born impresario and entertainment entrepreneur. In the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the most successful figures in the entertainment world, through his management of music groups like Cream and The Bee Gees, theatrical productions like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar and film productions including the hugely successful Saturday Night Fever.

Early life

Robert Stigwood was born in Adelaide in 1934, the son of an electrical engineer. He began his career as a copywriter for a local advertising agency and then in 1955 moved to England. He had an eventful trip: in one incident recounted by Simon Napier-Bell Stigwood bravely climbed fifty feet down a rope ladder into the hold of a tanker to administer morphine to a seaman who had fallen through a hatch. In Turkey he spent several months living with the family of a young friend in a hut in a small village and working with them in the fields.

Early Career in the UK