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Joan Rivers' manager Billy Sammeth, who also worked with Cher and Dolly Parton, dies at age 66

Published: 18:03 EDT, 18 June 2018 | Updated: 19:27 EDT, 18 June 2018

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Billy Sammeth, the longtime manager for legends like Joan Rivers, Cher and Dolly Parton, has died at the age of 66 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Sammeth made his name as a talent manager but he also had success as a writer and television producer beginning in the 1970's.

He was often known as a man who devoted his attention to his clients and had a charismatic persona. Those high-profile clients also included Olivia Newton-John, K.C. And the Sunshine Band, and the Osmonds.

RIP: Billy Sammeth, who managed superstars like Joan Rivers, Cher, Dolly Parton and Olivia Newton-John passed away at the age of 66; (Sammeth pictured with Rivers in February 2008)

Sammeth was born in Brooklyn in 1951. At the age of 12, he moved with his family to Los Angeles, where his father, Philip, was an executive in the merchandising division at Walt Disney Productions.

By 1971, Sammeth dropped out of college and got a job at MGM records. Soon after, he would be credited with helping launch the Osmond brothers to super stardom during the height of their success in music and television.

He would eventually start his own agency — The Bill Sammeth Organization — in 1983 and continue his long run of managing high-profile talent.

Mover and shaker: Sammeth managed Joan Rivers for more than two decades before their acrimonious split in 2009; they reconciled before her death in September of 2014; (pictured with Melissa and Joan Rivers in January 2006)

There were many monumental triumphs and tribulations during Sammeth's career.

Arguably his two most high profile clients, Joan Rivers and Cher, fired him after working with each of them for more than 20 years. He would go on to sue them both for the commissions he believed they still owed him.

The acrimonious split with Rivers came in 2009 following the comedian’s victory on Celebrity Apprentice.

In Sammeth's lawsuit against Rivers, he asked for 10 percent of the $200,000 she won on the show and $2 million for defamation of character for his portrayal in the documentary, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.

Major Success: Sammeth worked with Cher during her most successful years as an artist; (pictured at the Mermaids premiere in 1990)

They ultimately settled out of court and reconciled before her death in September 2014.

'Being on the road with Billy and Joan, yes, it was business, but it was also family,' concert producer Ed Kasses, the founder of Princeton Entertainment who worked closely with Sammeth for decades, told The Hollywood Reporter.

He added, 'Joan was like Mom to everybody. Billy not only was a killer manager for his clients, but he loved them. And all of us loved him back.'

Cher enjoyed some of her greatest success during her time working with Sammeth. She had music hits like If I Could Turn Back Time and Believe, and won the Best Actress Oscar in 1988 for her role in Moonstruck.

Fired! Sammeth sued Rivers and Cher after their high-profile splits; (Josh Donen, Gene Simmons, Cher, Joe DiCarlo and Billy in 1980)

The 1998 Believe album was Sammeth's final project with Cher. He eventually sued her for 15 percent of the profits of the album.

Sammeth was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year. He spent much of his remaining months seeking out treatments with his sister Barbara. She chronicled their travels together in a blog that was both insightful and funny.

Billy Sammeth also leaves behind behind another sister Ellen; niece Lynn; nephew David; and cousins Patricia, Jack, Laurie, Jeffrey, Susan, Anna, Mitch, David, Cherie and Daniel.