Variety reports that Jeff Wald, a former Hollywood and boxing executive, has died at the age of 77 in Los Angeles. Wald was the man behind the Contender. He was the show's producer, and he brought in Sylvester Stallone as a host for season one, which helped establish the reality show as a crossover hit. Wald was also the manager of his wife Helen Reddy, a popular singer in the 1970s. Wald overcame an admitted cocaine addiction in the 1980s and reinvented himself in the boxing world with The Contender reality series, a competition vehicle that launched several successful boxers, including Sergio Mora who went on to win a world title and now analyzes fights for DAZN. Boxingtalk sends its condolences to the friends and family of Jeff Wald.