Hollywood producer Steve Bing, who funded Tom Hanks' film The Polar Express , died after falling from the 27th floor, American celebrity site TMZ reported on Monday. The 55-year-old producer, father of a child with actress Elizabeth Hurley, died after falling from a luxury building in the Century City district of Los Angeles, according to TMZ, which cites anonymous court sources. According to this celebrity site, Steve Bing suffered from depression and committed suicide. Confirmation from the producer's entourage, requested by AFP, could not be obtained immediately.
Los Angeles police, interviewed by AFP, for their part confirmed the death of a man in his fifties at the same place, without however revealing, for legal reasons, his identity. Producer of films like Get Carter by Sylvester Stallone or Shine a light , a musical documentary by Martin Scorsese, Steve Bing also co-wrote a comedy, Kangaroo Jack in 2003. He became famous after investing $ 80 million in the film animated film The Polar Express , released in 2004 and which has finally brought in more than $ 300 million worldwide.
A real estate developer, he was also a philanthropist and friend of ex-President Bill Clinton, to whom he had loaned his personal plane for a mission in 2009 in North Korea, intended to free two American journalists. Steve Bing is survived by two children, Damian, son of American actress Elizabeth Hurley, and Kira, daughter of former tennis champion Lisa Bonder.