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PASSINGS: Fritz Manes

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Fritz Manes, 79, a movie producer whose association with Clint Eastwood in the 1970s and ‘80s included producing “Any Which Way You Can” and executive producing “Pale Rider,” died of lung and brain cancer Sept. 27 at his home in Sherman Oaks, said his wife, Audi.

A friend of Eastwood’s since the 1940s, Manes began working for Eastwood’s Malpaso production company in the mid-’70s.

After serving as assistant to producer Robert Daley on the 1976 Eastwood films “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and “The Enforcer,” Manes was associate producer on “The Gauntlet,” “Every Which Way But Loose,” “Escape From Alcatraz” and “Bronco Billy.”

He went on to produce or executive produce “Any Which Way You Can,” “Firefox,” “Honkytonk Man,” “Sudden Impact,” “Tightrope,” “City Heat,” “Pale Rider” and “Heartbreak Ridge.”

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For Malpaso, Manes also produced “Ratboy,” the 1986 movie featuring Eastwood’s companion Sondra Locke in her directorial debut. Manes’ professional and personal relationship with Eastwood ended after making “Heartbreak Ridge” in 1986.

In the late 1980s, Manes served on the California Film Commission.

Born April 22, 1932, in Oakland, he attended UC Berkeley and earned a bachelor’s degree from UCLA. He received a Purple Heart while serving in the Marines during the Korean War. Before joining Malpaso, Manes held a variety of jobs, including working as a radio disc jockey in Oakland and selling yachts in Sausalito.

-- Los Angeles Times staff reports

news.obits@latimes.com

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