Edgar Bronfman, Sr.
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Edgar Miles Bronfman (born June 20, 1929) is a Canadian businessman and a member of the Bronfman dynasty, and the father of Edgar Bronfman, Jr.
He is the son of Seagram's founder Samuel Bronfman. After graduating from McGill University with a B.A. degree and honors in history in 1951, he joined the family business. In 1957 he took over as head of Seagram's American subsidiary. He increased the range of products sold by the company, improved distribution and expanded the number of countries in which Seagrams products were sold. In 1966 Cemp Investments, which managed the family's investments, bought 820,000 shares of MGM and in 1969 Bronfman took over the chairmanship of MGM, albeit briefly. Following his father's death in 1971, Bronfman took over as president, treasurer, and director of Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Ltd. His son Edgar Jr. succeeded him as chief executive officer of the company in 1994.
Edgar is the son of Samuel and Saidye Bronfman; his siblings are the late Minda de Gunzburg, architecture maven Phyllis, and Charles. He has been married five times. His first marriage, to Ann Loeb on January 10, 1953, produced five children: Sam Jr., Edgar Jr., Matthew, Holly, and Adam. Edgar and Ann divorced in 1973. He was then briefly married to Lady Carolyn Townshend, but the marriage was annulled on November 21, 1974. His third marriage to Georgina produced two daughters and ended in divorce but he remarried the same woman years later. This marriage also ended in divorce. In 1984 he married artist Jan Aranson.