William Morris Sr.
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a
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) * Hollywood ...
-based
talent agency A talent agency is a company that represents actors, authors, musicians, model (person), models, professional athlete, athletes, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various industries. Talent agencies specialize, either by creating dep ...
. 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 agency in show business". In April 2009, WMA announced it would merge with the
Endeavor Talent Agency The Endeavor Talent Agency was a Beverly Hills–based talent agency founded by Ari Emanuel, Rick Rosen, Tom Strickler, and David Greenblatt. It was launched in March 1995 and went on to represent a wide variety of acclaimed film and television s ...
to form William Morris Endeavor. William Morris Endeavor was renamed WME-IMG in 2013, then Endeavor in October 2017.


History


Early history

In 1898, William Morris (born Zelman Moses), a
German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...
immigrant to the US, posted a cross-hatch trademark above an office door in New York City four "X's", representing a W superimposed on an M and went into business as William Morris, Vaudeville Agent. By the time WMA formally incorporated in New York State on January 31, 1918, Morris' son William Morris Jr. and his assistant Abraham Lastfogel, who after working as Morris Jr.'s office boy and establishing his own talent/employment agency, partnered with Morris Sr. As silent film grew into widely viewed entertainment, Morris encouraged his clients to experiment in the new medium. Stars such as
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
,
Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...
, the
Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...
, and
Mae West Mary Jane "Mae" West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, comedian, screenwriter, and playwright whose career spanned more than seven decades. Recognized as a prominent sex symbol of her time, she was known ...
were all represented by the company. By 1930, Morris had turned over leadership of the agency to his son and Lastfogel. In 1932, five years after his retirement, William Morris Sr. died from heart failure. By that time, the Agency had begun the process of relocating from
Hollywood and Vine Hollywood and Vine, the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California, became known in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is centered on the intersectio ...
to Canon Drive in Beverly Hills.


1945 to 2000

In December 1949, the William Morris Agency acquired the Berg-Allenberg Agency (founded by Phil Berg and Bert Allenberg). The senior agent in the motion picture department during the 1950s was Mike Zimring. By 1965, WMA's Music Department was representing several clients including
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
,
Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as rhythm and blues, R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. ...
,
the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
and
the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
. In 1973, the Agency's newly established Nashville office provided another significant boost to the operations of William Morris, extending the Agency's reach into
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
and beyond. In 1976,
Nat Lefkowitz Nat Lefkowitz (July 24, 1905 – September 4, 1983) was an American talent agency executive who served as co-chairman of the William Morris Agency. Biography Lefkowitz was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Brooklyn. He attended New York ...
was named as co-chairman of the firm (in 1936, Lefkowitz hired his nephew,
Ted Ashley Ted Ashley (August 3, 1922 – August 24, 2002) was the chairman of the Warner Bros. film studio from 1969 to 1980 and founder of the Ashley-Famous talent agency. Biography Ashley was born to a poor Jewish family in Brooklyn in 1922 as Theodore ...
, at William Morris, who would go on to found 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). In 1980, Morris Stoller was named chairman. In the early 1980s, WMA built the William Morris Plaza located at 150 El Camino Drive, directly across the street from its main building at 151 El Camino. In 1989, WMA acquired the
Jim Halsey Jim Halsey is an American artist manager, agent and impresario. He and his staff have guided, promoted or managed the careers of numerous prominent U.S. entertainers - particularly country music stars - including 29 inductees of the Country Musi ...
Company. In the early 1990s, WMA's Literary Department announced the largest book-to-screen deal ever inked when it sold the television rights for ''Scarlett'', the sequel to
Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel that was published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel ''Gone With the Wind (novel), Gone ...
's ''
Gone With the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...
''. In 2000, WMA acquired The Writers Shop, which was owned by
Jennifer Rudolph Walsh Jennifer Rudolph Walsh is a board member at the talent agency WME and runs the agency's worldwide literary, speakers, and conference divisions. Walsh's department publishes over 200 books a year, half of those landing on ''The New York Times'' B ...
.


Post-2000

In 2003, WMA opened an office in Miami Beach, and in 2004 they opened an office in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
. In 2007, the Agency expanded its London music operation, underscoring WMA's continued commitment to the international marketplace. Along with the addition of new personnel, the London office moved into the iconic Centre Point Tower. In 2003, a seismic shift occurred in the agency landscape when WMA's SVP and Theatre topper, George Lane, and fellow agent in charge of foreign rights, Michael Cardonick, left WMA to open
Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency, LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. With 1,800 employees in March 2016, it is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous client ...
's New York City office and Theatrical Department.


2009 merger with Endeavor

On April 27, 2009, WMA and the Endeavor Talent Agency announced that they were merging to form William Morris Endeavor. Endeavor executives
Ari Emanuel Ariel Zev Parmar Emanuel (born March 29, 1961) is an American businessman and the CEO of Endeavor, an entertainment and media agency, as well as CEO and executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, which owns the UFC and WWE. He was a founding ...
and
Patrick Whitesell Patrick Whitesell (born February 4, 1965) is an American businessman and executive chairman of Endeavor, an entertainment and media agency. He joined the Endeavor Talent Agency as a partner in February 2001, where he was a member of the company ...
were widely recognized as the architects of the deal and ultimately took the roles of WME Co-CEOs. Following the official announcement of the merger, nearly 100 WMA employees and former board members were let go. One of those leaving was Jim Wiatt, who came to WMA in 1999 from International Creative Management, where he was vice-chairman. He had joined WMA as president and co-chief executive officer, and had risen to board chairman. After the merger, WMA relocated its offices to the Endeavor building at 9601 Wilshire Boulevard in
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
.


WMA Agent Training Program

The WMA Agent Training Program, often referred to as the "mailroom", was established in the 1940s and is well known for its roster of successful alumni. Since the 1970s the program has been replicated at other talent agencies and studios, many of which were headed by former mailroom trainees. Once accepted, trainees rotate through different departments, starting with the mailroom, before becoming a full-time assistant or coordinator. WMA's longtime competitor,
Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency, LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. With 1,800 employees in March 2016, it is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous client ...
, was founded in 1975 by
Michael Ovitz Michael Steven Ovitz (born December 14, 1946) is an American businessman. He was a talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as president of The Walt Disney Compan ...
,
Ronald Meyer Ronald Meyer (born September 25, 1944) is an American entertainment executive and former talent agent. He co-founded Creative Artists Agency in 1975, and served as the President and Chief Operating Officer at Universal Studios from 1995-2013 and t ...
, William Haber,
Michael S. Rosenfeld Michael Stuart Rosenfeld (June 28, 1934 – March 25, 2010) was a talent agent, movie producer, and co-founder of Creative Artists Agency. Early life Rosenfeld was born in Philadelphia to Maxwell S. Rosenfeld, who became a Pennsylvania state sen ...
, and Rowland Perkins, all former WMA agent trainees.
David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American film producer, record executive, and media proprietor. In music, he co-founded Asylum Records with Elliot Roberts in 1971 before founding Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1 ...
once called the WMA Agent Training Program "The Harvard School of Show Business – only better: no grades, no exams, a small stipend and great placement opportunities." Graduates from the Training Program were perceived at a high level of prestige within the entertainment industry, because of the caliber of notable alums that have graduated from the program. Future chairman
Norman Brokaw Norman Robert Brokaw (April 21, 1927 – October 29, 2016) was an American talent agent. He served as the president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the William Morris Agency. He represented Marilyn Monroe, Donna Summer, Bill Cosby, Mark ...
became the first mailboy in the Beverly Hills Mailroom at age 15. The Agent Training program still exists today at William Morris Endeavor. It was famously documented in David Rensin's 2003 book, '' The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up''.


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

* {{authority control 1898 establishments in New York City Companies based in Beverly Hills, California Companies based in New York City Entertainment companies of the United States Talent and literary agencies American companies established in 1898 Entertainment companies established in 1898