Producer Allan Carr Dies

06/30/1999 at 12:00 AM EDT

The flamboyant and often-campy producer Allan Carr, who produced the hit 1978 film "Grease" and the 1983 Broadway musical "La Cage aux Folles" -- as well as one of the worst Academy Awards shows in history (in 1989, when Rob Lowe sang to Snow White) and the 1980 movie dud "Can't Stop the Music" -- died of cancer Tuesday at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 62. Known as "Caftan's Courageous" for sometimes wearing a caftan to hide a plump figure, Carr also won wide publicity for having his jaws wired shut to keep himself from overeating and for wearing floor-length furs. Despite a number of health problems -- Carr received a kidney transplant last year -- he was famous for throwing some of Hollywood's most lavish parties, including ones for Truman Capote (in a Los Angeles jail), Elton John, Rudolf Nureyev and Neil Sedaka. His passing marks the end of an era, as his style of glitz has now given way to grunge. – Stephen M. Silverman