Nat Lefkowitz (July 24, 1905 – September 4, 1983) was an American talent agency executive who served as co-chairman 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 ...

Biography

Lefkowitz was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Brooklyn. He attended New York City public schools and was a graduate of

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

and the

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty. ...

. After school, he worked as an accountant and then went to work for the

in 1927 where he held a number of positions including

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

, executive vice president, president, and the chairmanship in 1976. His brother Julius Lefkowitz ran the outside accounting firm that William Morris agency used. In 1980, he was replaced by his protégé Morris Stoller after an acrimonious power struggle at the agency. He was named as chairman emeritus. Lefkowitz was active in served as the chairman of the Jewish Theatrical Guild, as an executive with the

United Jewish Appeal The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization for the Jewish Federations system, representing over 350 independent Jewish communities across North Ameri ...

, the

Federation of Jewish Philanthropies UJA-Federation of New York (United Jewish Appeal⁣ – ⁣ Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.) is the largest local philanthropy in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annuall ...

, the Actors Fund, the

Will Rogers Memorial Hospital Will Rogers Memorial Hospital is a historic tuberculosis sanatorium located at Saranac Lake in Essex County, New York. It was built in 1928 as the National Vaudeville lodge by the National Vaudeville Artists Association, who previously sent pat ...

, the O'Donnell Memorial Research Laboratories and the

National Conference of Christians and Jews The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

Personal life

He was married to Sally Feigelman; they had three daughters, Dorothy Lefkowitz Litwin, Rona Lefkowitz Pinkus Forstadt, and Helene Andrea Lefkowitz Nachtigall. He died on September 4, 1983, in Manhattan after complications from heart surgery. Services were held at

Riverside Memorial Chapel The Riverside Memorial Chapel is an American Jewish funeral home chain with their main facility at 180 West 76th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City.Ted Ashley, former chairman of the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

film studio (1969–1980) and founder of the

Ashley-Famous Ashley-Famous was a talent agency started in 1945 by talent agent Ted Ashley. The agency was responsible for many hit television shows and had several famous clients. It changed names and ownership a few times, eventually becoming one of the age ...

talent agency.

References

1905 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American Jews American talent agents 20th-century American businesspeople City College of New York alumni Brooklyn Law School alumni American lawyers {{US-business-bio-1890s-stub