“He’d always have a car pick me up and I thought: ‘Who is this guy?’” Ms. Avant said. “One day, I guess, he was really trying to win me over and, for some reason, he mentioned how much he had paid the Internal Revenue Service.”
In the documentary, actors and producers who knew the couple marveled at the longevity of their marriage and their fierce loyalty to each other.
“They look so amazing,” the actor Jamie Foxx said. “They still look like they’ve got wedding cake on their feet, like they just walked off a soul wedding cake.”
Ms. Avant was a past president of the Neighbors of Watts, a charitable organization that threw star-studded benefits to support child care and other needs. She was also an elementary school tutor and an avid collector of Japanese lacquered boxes.
Mr. Avant started Sussex Records in 1969 and signed Bill Withers, releasing some of his best-known songs, including “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Use Me” and “Lean on Me.” In 1971, he started Avant Garde Broadcasting, one of the first Black-owned radio stations in the country, according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Mr. Avant was inducted into the hall in May.
Over the years, Mr. Avant also worked with Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Babyface. He helped promote Michael Jackson’s “Bad” world tour in 1987, and was chairman of the board of Motown Records, according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The couple’s daughter, Nicole A. Avant, was a producer of “The Black Godfather,” which featured testimonials from Mr. Obama and Mr. Clinton, as well Vice President Kamala Harris, who was then a presidential candidate. Nicole Avant is married to Ted Sarandos, a co-chief executive of Netflix, and is a former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas.