From an AP obit by Hillel Italie headlined “Stephen Rubin, publisher of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and other blockbusters, dies at 81”:

Stephen Rubin, a longtime publishing executive with an eye for bestsellers and a passion for music and public life who helped launched the career of John Grisham, among others, and released such blockbusters as “The Da Vinci Code” and “Fire and Fury,” has died.