SELMA, CA — Steve White, a veteran production manager who ran Avalon Attraction’s San Diego operations in the 1980s, then worked at Screenworks for more than two decades before retiring last fall, was found dead in his home in Selma, CA on April 30. He was 61.
White’s career backstage began in 1976, when he was hired as a stagehand for Fresno, CA-based Papa Productions. He worked his way up, joining Rockin’ Chair Productions as a stage manager before becoming the production manager for Avalon Attractions in 1979.
For Avalon, White produced rock concerts in the Central California region. Then, in 1981, he transferred to Avalon San Diego, and worked there until 1993. During this time, he worked with acts including Dramarama, Great White, The The, Faith No More and others.
In 1987, White, then 31, was profiled in a story in the Los Angeles Times that took a look at all the many details that he was overseeing for a Duran Duran concert taking place that summer at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
The story noted that, in addition to all the other things White was doing to keep the band, the fire marshal and everyone else happy and safe, he dispatched security to apprehend a photographer to comply with the band’s strict “no photos” decree. But as it turned out, the photographer’s assignment was to take photos of him for the newspaper story, not the band.
“I’m basically a liaison between the band and the facility, the band and the promoter,” White told the Times reporter for the article. “My job is to coordinate every aspect of the production in accordance with the artist’s wants and needs. Whatever the band wants, they get, as long as it’s in the contract. And if the contract says ‘no cameras,’ well, then, that’s the way it’s going to be.”
Before joining Screenworks in 1995, White was the site coordinator for Guns N’ Roses and Metallica world tours. At Screenworks, he worked a project manager and account rep until he retired in Sept. 2016.
Jay Chapel Funeral Directors in Madera, CA (www.jaychapel.com) is handling funeral arrangements. A graveside service will be held at Floral Memorial Park in Selma, CA on Wed., May 24, 2017 at 1:30 p.m.
