Paul Rothchild; Record Producer for Doors

Paul Rothchild, producer of more than 150 albums featuring such rock stars as the Doors, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt and whose credits include the soundtracks for the Joplin-inspired film “The Rose” and the Jim Morrison biopic “The Doors,” is dead.

Jac Holzman of Discovery Records, who first teamed with Rothchild in 1963 to produce the first six Doors albums for Elektra Records, said his longtime friend and colleague was 59 when he died Thursday at his Hollywood Hills home. He lost a five-year struggle with lung cancer, Holzman added.

Rothchild’s most public acknowledgment probably came with the 1991 release of “The Doors,” Oliver Stone’s film about Morrison, his band and his era.

Rothchild portrayed the band manager’s sidekick in the controversial film, which many criticized for dwelling too heavily on Morrison’s darker side. (The troubled singer and guitarist, considered a forerunner of the leather-clad, brooding rock stars who were to follow him, died in Paris in 1971 at age 27 of a drug overdose.)

Stone cast Val Kilmer as Morrison and Rothchild worked with the baritone for the movie’s score. Kilmer’s voice was used in conjunction with some of Morrison’s recordings. After the picture’s release, Rothchild was sought by interviewers seeking insight into Morrison’s life and attitudes.

Rothchild became known early in his career for recordings by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the West Coast rock group Love.