Joseph George Lustig (October 21, 1925 – May 29, 1999) was an American music entrepreneur.
Early career
Lustig was born on October 21, 1925, in Coney Island, New York, the youngest child of five, to Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants from the Polish-Russian border. At the age of 12, he saw Billie Holiday singing in a club and fell in love with music.
During World War II, Lustig served as a medical orderly in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.
Anglo-American folk music
In 1962 American folk singer Julie Felix decided to hitch-hike around Europe. In 1964 she finally arrived in Britain. Jo Lustig saw her potential and offered to become her agent. By 1982 Richard and Linda Thompson were also managed by Jo, but it is not clear when this started. About 1980 Jo Lustig created his own record label called Luggage, but only one act is known to have appeared in it – the Home Service. Jo financed the first Home Service single in 1981. Despite containing talented musicians, the Home Service were not commercially successful. Perhaps this was the reason that he gave up folk bands, and became a film producer.
Lustig in films
In 1985 Jo produced The Doctor and the Devils a historical thriller. In 1987 there came his best-known venture, 84 Charing Cross Road, in which he was associate producer.