Jake Bloom Dies: Hollywood Attorney Was 81

Jake Bloom, the founding partner of Bloom, Hergott LLP, the largest and most successful entertainment law firm in Hollywood history, died today of natural causes at his home in Sun Valley, Idaho. He was 81 years old.

Launched in 1970, Bloom Hergott at its height employed more than 30 attorneys and had one of the most impressive stables of high-profile clients ever assembled.

His roster included producers Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Jerry Bruckheimer, Charles Roven, John Davis, Larry Gordon and Lorenzo di Bonaventura as well as directors Ron Howard, John Hughes and Brad Bird.

After mentoring countless young attorneys and industry professionals, Bloom retired from his practice in 2019. Alan Hergott also retired, ending a golden era for the firm. Two firms spun off with lawyers from Bloom Hergott: Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver & Thompson, and Goodman, Schenkman, which later merged with Stone Genow.

Bloom was most respected and admired for his representation of the biggest motion picture and television personalities in the world. His clients included actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Patric and Jackie Chan, among many others.

He also repped Johnny Depp, who would sue Bloom for collecting $18 million in fees over 30 years without a signed agreement. After a big court ruling in the actor’s favor that jolted Hollywood in August 2018, the parties eventually settled.

Born Jacob A. Bloom in Brooklyn to a physician father and homemaker mother, Bloom attended Columbia College and went on to study law at Cornell University, where he received his BA in 1963 and was a moot court champion.  

He was admitted to the California State Bar in 1968 and began what would be a long and successful career in entertainment law with Tom Pollack and Andy Rigrod, whom he’d met by chance at a poker game. The three of them formed the famed law firm.

Bloom was married for 58 years to Ruth Bloom, née Kahlenberg, having reached reached an altared state in 1965 in Los Angeles. Together they traveled the world, exploring new places and cultures, trying new foods and meeting interesting people. They amassed an incredible collection of art and objects and raised their two children, Jason and Rebecca.

Bloom was a committed philanthropist, donating to many foundations and organizations over his lifetime including the Hunger Coalition, local Idaho Hunger Relief efforts and many Jewish organizations. He was a founding member of Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and the Venice Art Walk. Bloom also conceived the Venice Family Clinic’s holiday movie fundraiser.

Along with his wife and children, Bloom is survived by his grandchildren, Naomi, Alex, Caleb and Theo.
He will be laid to rest in Ketchum, Idaho.