Lew Wasserman

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Lewis Robert "Lew" Wasserman (* 15. March 1913 in Cleveland , Ohio ; † 3. June 2002 in Beverly Hills ) was President of the actor - Agency and the subsequent media group MCA (Music Corporation of America). For decades he was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.

Life

Wasserman, born in 1913 and the son of a Jewish-Russian immigrant, was originally a theater usher . In 1940 he built the MCA into Hollywood's most influential actor agency. The MCA has represented Ronald Reagan , Tony Curtis , Alfred Hitchcock , Billy Wilder , Bette Davis , Henry Fonda , Judy Garland , Fred Astaire , Errol Flynn , Gregory Peck , Gene Kelly and James Stewart over the years . Wasserman was one of the most powerful and influential personalities in Hollywood for a good five decades and promoted the careers of numerous famous actors and directors.

In 1950 Wasserman ushered in the end of the Hollywood studio system, according to which actors are bound by contract to certain studios. He brokered James Stewart for a 50 percent profit participation in the film Winchester '73 to Universal . The film made huge profits, Stewart got rich, and an avalanche broke out. In 1952 he was the first agent to become a television producer at the same time. He produced Kojak and Miami Vice . In 1957 he bought the rights to 700 Paramount films for $ 10 million and soon sold their television broadcasting rights for over $ 30 million. In 1962, under Wasserman's leadership, MCA merged with Universal, but at the same time had to part with the actor agency. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee and thus involved in organizing the 1984 Summer Olympics .

On September 29, 1995 Wasserman received the Presidential Medal of Freedom . In October 2007, Wasserman was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .

family

Wasserman's grandson Casey Wasserman (* 1974) has headed the "Wasserman Media Group" (WMG) since 1998. Since the death of his grandfather, he has also presided over the "Wasserman Foundation", a charity founded in 1952 by Lew Wasserman and his wife Edie Wasserman (1916–2011).

Representation in art

Wasserman was portrayed by Stewart Bick in the television movie The Reagans (2003), by David Eisner in Martin and Lewis in 2002, and by Michael Stuhlbarg in Hitchcock (2012).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Edie Wasserman Dies at 95, Edie Wasserman, a Hollywood philanthropist and the wife of legendary mogul Lew Wasserman, has died of natural causes, The Wrap Covering Hollywood August 18, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Wasserman, Lew
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wasserman, Lewis Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American filmmaker
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Cleveland , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH June 3, 2002
Place of death Beverly Hills