Long ignored as a group, agents have had a powerful effect on the motion picture business, shaping its economics and often discovering its stars. They are the people who find work for film artists and negotiate their contracts, usually in exchange for 10 percent of the artist's income. Among the earliest and eventually the most powerful of talent agents in film were William Morris and Jules C. Stein. Morris built his agency by representing theater and vaudeville stars, eventually selling their services to the movies for far more than they were paid for their live performances.
Jules Stein was an eye doctor who failed in his chosen profession but built the largest talent agency in the world, calling his company the Music Corporation of America (MCA). His company's original growth came from representing an array of famous musicians and big bands.
Despite the restrictions of the STUDIO SYSTEM, agencies and lone agents began to wield considerable power during the 1930s, especially if they represented popular stars. The keys to an agent's success and desirability to upwardly mobile film actors, directors, and writers were his strong connections in the industry. Myron Selznick, for instance, DAVID O.
SELZNICK's brother, became an enormously powerful agent who could turn ruthless when he negotiated with the studio bigwigs, many of whom he blamed for his father Lewis J. Selznick's downfall during the silent era. Another well-connected agent was Zeppo Marx, formerly of the Marx Brothers. The not-so-funny brother was actually the wealthiest of all his siblings, representing a wide array of talent beginning in the mid-1930s. He represented the Marx Brothers only once, however, obtaining $200,000 for them to star in Room Service (1938). It was the most money they ever received on any one picture, but Zeppo refused to work with his brothers again - they were too much trouble.
Paul Irving “Swifty” Lazar (1907–93) was one of the last of the old breed of movie agents, wheeling and dealing and keeping everything in his head. According to Whitney Stine, in his book Stars & Star Handlers, Lazar received his nickname rather late in his career, earning it in the 1950s when Humphrey Bogart wagered that his agent couldn't get him five deals in one day. Bogart lost. “Swifty” Lazar was born. Other important agents included Leland Hayward, Louis Shurr, and Henry Wilson. Most agents gained their reputation by handling a large stable of well-known stars. Others gained fame by creating stars. Sue Carol, for example, discovered ALAN LADD (whom she later married), and Johnny Hyde helped to create the MARILYN MONROE phenomenon. Since the end of the studio system, agents have become even more powerful than many producers and are often in the best position to pull all the parties together to make a movie deal. One agent or agency may represent all of the principal people in a package: the star, the director, and the screenwriter. MCA, in fact, was so involved in deal making that it finally behooved the agency to go into filmmaking instead. Lew Wasserman, the longtime head of MCA after Jules Stein retired, bought UNIVERSAL PICTURES and sold off the agency's contracts. As a result, MCA eventually went from the world's largest talent agency to one of the most successful of all the major film studios.
The biggest agencies occasionally grow too large. Some entertainers often feel lost or overlooked in such massive companies. In fact, during the much publicized search for the kidnapped Patty Hearst in the early 1970s, the joke going around Hollywood was that Miss Hearst couldn't be found because she was signed with William Morris.
Among the most powerful agencies today are International Creative Management (ICM) and the William Morris Agency, but there are very successful smaller agencies in abundance all over Los Angeles.
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