Lester Koenig

Lester Koenig (December 3, 1917 – November 21, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film producer, and founder of the jazz record label Contemporary Records.

Biography Koenig was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Minna (Harlib) and Morris Koenig. His father was a judge; his brother was advertising executive Julian Koenig. As a child, he collected records and was introduced to the record producing business by John H. Hammond who served as his mentor.

He decided to return to record producing with Jazz Man Records but when he returned to Los Angeles, he found that Stuart and Morden had divorced and she had since remarried to Nesuhi Ertegun, the founder of Crescent Records; instead Koenig founded his own label, Good Time Jazz Records.

Personal life In 1948, he married artist Catharine Anliss Heerman, who was the daughter of Sarah Yeiser Mason and Victor Eugene Heerman. Koenig had two children with Heerman, John (born 1950) and Victoria (born 1951). The couple divorced in 1954. In 1961, he married jazz singer Joy Bryan. Koenig died of a heart attack on November 21, 1977.