Record Producer, Jane Fonda's Ex Richard Perry Dead at 82

Richard Perry -- a music producer who collaborated with some of the biggest stars of the 1970s and '80s -- has passed away ... TMZ has confirmed.

Ben McCarthy -- Perry's personal assistant of nearly three decades -- tells TMZ ... Richard passed away at around 1:30 AM this morning.

We're told Richard fought Parkison's disease ... with Ben saying he saw him for a few hours about a month ago -- and, Richard wasn't able to verbally communicate. That said, Richard was in good spirits during their visit, Ben adds.

Perry entered the music industry after graduating from college in 1964 ... leaving Michigan for Los Angeles where he produced the first couple albums for avant-rock cult legend Captain Beefheart.

During the 1970s, Perry began working with legedary artists Carly Simon, Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel, Diana Ross, Ringo Starr and many more. He and Rod Stewart formed a particularly close relationship ... with Perry helping Stewart on three of his Great American Songbook records.

In 1978, Perry began Planet Records -- his own company which he ran until it was sold to RCA Records in 1983.

Perry produced numerous platinum and gold records over the years ... and, in 2015, he received a Grammy Trustees Awards for his contributions to the field of recording music.

From 2009 to 2017, Perry was in a relationship with actress Jane Fonda ... falling for one another while he helped her recover from knee surgery.

Perry confirmed the split in 2017 ... announcing that rumors of their break up were true -- though adding "they continue to maintain a close friendship and care deeply about each other."

Perry was 82.