Kim Vincent Fowley was a record producer, singer and musician born on 21st July 1939, and is still known as the leading figure behind several cult pop rock singles in the ‘60s, and the manager of “The Runaways” band during the ‘70s. Due to his influence he entered the circle of most colorful characters of rock & roll. He passed away in 2015.
Have you ever wondered how rich Kim Fowley is? According to sources it has been estimated that Kim Fowley’s overall net worth amounts to $3 million, as of July 2017, accumulated through a long and fulfilled music career which spanned more than 50 years. Having influenced numerous other popular musicians and stars of rock & roll music apart from his solo career, Kim’s net worth significantly grew in time.
Kim Fowley Net Worth $3 Million
Kim was born into an artistic family, as both of his parents were actors – his father, Douglas Fowley was a character actor and his mother, Shelby Payne appeared in several noted Hollywood productions such as “The Big Sleep”(1946). However, Fowley’s parents divorced when he was a child, and his mother remarried to William Friml, whose father was Rudolf Friml, the famous composer. Kim went to University High School along with several other celebrities such as Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys, Sandra Dee and others. As an adolescent, Fowley was hospitalized with polio and upon his release decided to enter the world of entertainment, and become a manager and publicist. He first became manager of a local band “the Sleepwalkers”, and cooperated with drummer Sandy Nelson.
After spending some time in the army, Kim began working for Berry Gordy and Alan Freed. His first track as a producer was released in 1959, and was the hit by The Renegades called “Charge”. He then promoted the duo Skip & Flip, including their hit “Cherry Pie” which reach no.11 on the Billboard list. Kim co-produced and co-published for several successful tracks in Los Angeles during the ‘60s, including Gary S. Paxton’s “Alley Oop” which reached no.1 on the charts, Paul Revere and the Raiders’ “Like, Long Hair” which became a no.1 hit in the UK, and the Rivingtons’ “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow”. During the mid ‘60s Fowley relocated to London for a while, where he cooperated with celebrities such as Cat Stevens, N’Betweens, Soft Machine, Ritchie Blackmore and many others. He was also credited for the “hypephone” on Frank Zappa’s debut album “Freak Out!”, and for being the inspiration behind promoter John Brower, who called John Lennon which resulted in the appearance of the Plastic Ono Band at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival in September 1969. In 1973, he produced three recordings for the “American Graffiti” movie, and some of the other celebrities he co-wrote songs for were KISS, Alice Cooper, Leon Russell etc. In the late ‘70s Kim formed The Orchids, an all-female rock band, and signed several new artists such as The Popsicles, Tommy Rock and Stiv Bators & the Dead Boys. At the beginning of the ‘80s, Fowley decided to move to Australia where he said he was looking for “a new ABBA or Beatles”, which resulted in turning the power pop band Beathoven into a cult band “The Innocents” and rebuilding the image of Gayle Welch who was an unknown talented teenager from New Zealand, and after building a band, renamed them The Runaways.
Kim then became a mover of the early day L.A. punk scene, and created yet another band called Venus and the Razorblades, also staging “new wave nights” at clubs. However, his engagement within the musical community faded during the following decades, but never disappeared, as he continued working with famous names and celebrities, and also partnered with Norton Records and released several collections of rarities from his catalog.
When it comes to his private life, Kim Fowley married twice, firstly to Cynthia (Cindy) Helen Wheelon for less than a year in 1978, and secondly to Kara Wright who he married in September 2014, but after suffering a long battle with bladder cancer, Fowley died on 15th January 2015 in West Hollywood, California.
