Eddie Brandt

Eddie August Brandt (August 5, 1920 – February 20, 2011) was an American composer and songwriter and television writer and animator, but is best remembered for his North Los Angeles store, Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee, which rents and sells videos and memorabilia.

Early life Born in Chicago, the "teenage movie-theater usher" was able to collect film memorabilia. In the late 1970s, it became the first to rent videos in Los Angeles. As of June 2011, it offered the largest selection of videos in one location in the country: 82,000 videos and 20,000 DVDs, including many that were rare and out of print. There were also about two million photographs and tens of thousands of movie posters. It was considered such a mecca for film buffs that Ben Mankiewicz taped a segment about the store for Turner Classic Movies.

Brandt suffered the first of a series of strokes and had to retire from the store. His wife Claire and their son Donovan now manage the business.

He died at the age of 90 of colon cancer. He was survived by his wife, four daughters and two sons.