Abraham Isaac Lastfogel (May 17, 1898 – August 27, 1984) was one of the first employees and a long-time president of the

William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ag ...

, a large diversified talent agency.

Early life

Lastfogel was the seventh son of a Jewish animal skinner who had fled

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

in 1889 to escape the

pogroms A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

. He was raised in a cold-water flat in New York.

Career

The

hired Lastfogel in 1912 as an office boy. Finding success in the rapidly growing firm, Lastfogel moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

in 1932 to manage WMA's Los Angeles office. He became chairman of the agency while

William Morris Jr. William Morris Jr. (1899 – November 3, 1989) was an American talent agent and former president of the William Morris Agency.

served as president.

USO shows

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Lastfogel oversaw USO camp shows, which were wartime entertainment events featuring more than 7,000 performers seen by an estimated 200 million servicemen.

Personal life

In 1927, Lastfogel married Frances Arms, a former

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer. They had no children. Lastfogel died of a heart attack in 1984 at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over ...

in Los Angeles and was interred at the

Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried here. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb (desig ...

Early life

Career

USO shows

Personal life

References

Further reading