General Amusement Corporation (GAC) was an international talent booking agency dating back to the 1930s. Through a series of acquisitions and mergers, it eventually became one of the agencies that formed International Creative Management in 1975.

History

The company was founded in the early 1930s as a partnership between Thomas G. Rockwell (1901–1958) and Francis "Cork" O'Keefe (1900–1990). It was called the Rockwell-O'Keefe Theatrical Agency. Their clients included

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

and the newly formed

Dorsey Brothers The Dorsey Brothers were an American studio dance band, led by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. They started recording in 1928 for OKeh Records. History The Dorsey Brothers recorded songs for the dime store labels (Banner, Cameo, Domino, Jewel, Oriole ...

band. In 1939, when O'Keefe retired, Rockwell reorganized the firm and changed the name to General Amusement Corporation. In the 1940s, GAC's name was changed to General Artists Corporation to avoid confusion with a registered coin-machine company. At that point, the only larger booking firm than GAC was

Music Corporation of America Music Corporation of America, formerly known as Universal Music Group Nashville, is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened in 1945 as MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville which opened on New Year's Day 1950 a ...

(MCA). Co-founder Rockwell died in 1958. In 1968, GAC merged into

Creative Management Associates Creative Management Associates (CMA) was an American talent booking agency. Co-founded by Freddie Fields and David Begelman, CMA was instrumental in the development of movie stars, prominent directors, and popular musicians. CMA is credited wit ...

(with the parent company called "GAC, Inc."). in 1975, it merged with International Famous Agency to form International Creative Management.

Notable clients

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

The Clingers The Clingers was one of the first rock-and-roll All-female band, girl bands. They started as a barbershop quartet and recorded five singles before transitioning to playing their own instruments in a rock band in 1966. The members consisted of th ...

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days ...

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

* Patricia Huston *

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

* Will Osborne * Ann Williams

Notable employees and agents

From 1962 to 1968, Julius Rosenthal Wolf served in various capacities with the agency, ultimately becoming the agency's vice president. During his time with GAC, he became known as an early champion of

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

talent in the film and theater industries. Other notable people who worked for GAC over the years included Martin Baum, Sid Bernstein, Stephen Blauner, Sam Cohn,

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, Sandy Gallin, and

Mike Medavoy Morris Mike Medavoy (born January 21, 1941) is an American film producer and business executive. He co-founded Orion Pictures and currently serves as chairman and CEO of Phoenix Pictures. He previously held leadership roles at TriStar Pictures a ...

References

1975 disestablishments in California 1975 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Los Angeles Companies disestablished in 1975 Companies established in the 1930s Defunct mass media companies of the United States Talent and literary agencies {{Entertainment-stub