Reggie Rutherford, veteran Operations and Stage manager for numerous television shows, died March 10 in Los Angeles, CA. The 66-year old Rutherford, passed away following years of various health issues, including sleep apnea, according to surviving family members.
Born Reginald Rutherford on June 15, 1952, he grew up in Carson, CA.
He formed his own security company, Unique Protection, and provided private security for Quincy Jones and Don Cornelius, among others. He promoted concerts for a variety of artists, including Prince, Luther Vandross and Anita Baker and handled tour management duties for James Ingram, Marvin Gaye, O’Bryan and others.
Known as the “gentle giant”, he joined Don Cornelius on his music-dance syndicated television program, Soul Train, and served as their Operations Manager until the show ended. He went on to work as Stage Manager for the entertainment magazine Extra! for 20 years. He handled Stage Manager duties on TV shows and specials, including The Oprah Winfrey After-Oscar Party, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Steve Harvey sitcom series, The Grammy Awards, NFL Monday Night Football, various Super Bowl telecasts, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Caught On Camera with Nick Cannon and many more. His production company, Rutherford Entertainment, is credited as Executive Producer for 2 short films, The Exchange and Jack The Reaper, a documentary, Racism, and Creator for The Spirit Awards for Black college football players. Rutherford was an all around entrepreneur and content creator.
Rutherford is survived by 4 children, Chanel, Christopher, Rias and Aara and 3 grandchildren.
The funeral will be held Friday, March 29 at Faithful Central Bible Church- The Living Room located at 400 W. Florence Ave., Inglewood 90301 at 11:30am.
