The Gersh Agency

Last updated

The Gersh Agency
Company type Private
Industry Talent and Literary Agencies
Founded Beverly Hills, California, U.S.(1949)
Headquarters Beverly Hills, California
New York City, New York
Key people
Bob Gersh, David Gersh and Leslie Siebert: Co-presidents [1]
Number of employees
about 300 [1]

The Gersh Agency (known as Gersh or TGA) is a talent and literary agency established in 1949 by Phil Gersh, [2] based in Beverly Hills, California and New York City.

Contents

The company was wholly owned by the Gersh family until 2023, when a minority interest was sold to Crestview Partners, a private equity company. The agency is currently run by Phil Gersh's sons, Bob and David, [3] and Leslie Siebert as a third co-president. [4]

History

Gersh was founded in Beverly Hills in 1949 by Phil Gersh. He was considered one of the last links between Hollywood's Golden Age and today's corporate-owned movie business, [5] and his clients included Humphrey Bogart, David Niven, and Richard Burton. [6] In 1965, Phil Gersh was able to purchase the agency's Beverly Hills office with his fee for representing Robert Wise, director of The Sound of Music . [7]

Phil Gersh gradually handed over responsibility to his two sons, Bob and David Gersh but continued to play a role in the company's management until 10 weeks before his death in 2004. [5] Richard Arlook was working at the agency from 1990 until 2008. [5] [8]

In 2010, Gersh purchased literary agent Hohman, Maybank, Lieb. [9]

In 2016, the Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) sued Gersh, alleging that Gersh had poached an APA agent who had just renewed their contract. [10] [11]

On 4 July 2018, Gersh notified actor James Woods by email that they would no longer represent him. Woods accused the agency of liberal political bias due to his outspoken conservative views. [12] [13] [14]

In 2019, agents Roy Ashton, David Rubin, and Shan Roy came under fire after cancelling a studio meeting of a former client that had left them during the WGA/ATA conflict. In response to the immediate criticism, the agency said it was "just following protocol", which drew further ire within the industry. [15] [16]

In 2023, Gersh sold a 45% stake to investment firm Crestview Partners, and Leslie Siebert was named as a third co-president. [3] [1] Until this sale, the company had been wholly owned by the Gersh family for nearly 75 years. [17]

In 2024, Gersh began a global expansion plan, acquiring the digital and unscripted departments of A3 Artists Agency, along with more than 25 agents, 45 additional staff members, and hundreds of clients. [18] The company also brought in new senior executives in the Business Affairs, [19] Communications, [20] and HR departments, [21] and a number of agents from other companies. [22] In June 2024, the company announced that it had created the new role of Head of Affiliate Marketing, and was promoting staff in its digital division and elsewhere in the agency. [23] [21]

Gersh Spike Lee Fellows

In 2023, Gersh partnered with client Spike Lee and the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC)—consisting of three Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University—to launch the Spike Fellows at Gersh program. [24] The initiative is designed to nurture creative undergraduate students from AUCC with interest in the entertainment industry. [25]

In 2024, the second class of Spike Fellows hosted the inaugural Spike Fellows' Young Black Hollywood Mixer, [26] a networking event for young Black people working in the industry.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creative Artists Agency</span> American talent and sports 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 clients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ICM Partners</span> American talent and literary agency

ICM Partners was a talent and literary agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., and London. The company represented clients in the fields of motion pictures, television, music, publishing, live performance, branded entertainment and new media. Its corporate headquarters were in Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles. In 2022, ICM became part of Creative Artists Agency.

Spyglass Media Group, LLC is an independent film and television production and finance company founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Talent Agency</span> American talent agency

United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. As of 2021, the company has more than 1,400 global employees. UTA has divisions focused on film, television, music, sports, digital, books, video games, branding and licensing, speaking, marketing, fine arts, news, and broadcasting, among others. The agency also operates the non-profit UTA Foundation.

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 stars. In April 2009, Emanuel and Endeavor executive Patrick Whitesell orchestrated a merger with the William Morris Agency, resulting in William Morris Endeavor. William Morris Endeavor was renamed Endeavor in October 2017.

Phil Gersh was an American talent and literary agent, who established an agency known as The Gersh Agency in 1949, based in Beverly Hills, California, and New York City, representing stars including Humphrey Bogart, David Niven and Richard Burton. He was considered one of the last links between Hollywood's Golden Age and today's corporate-owned movie business.

In film industry terminology, movie packaging or film packaging is a type of product bundling in which a top-level talent agency starts up a film or television project using writers, directors and/or actors it represents, before giving other agencies a chance to submit their clients for the project. For this service, the talent agency negotiates a packaging fee. Packaging is frequently done by the "big four" talent agencies Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Endeavor, United Talent Agency, and ICM Partners.

APA was a diversified talent agency in the entertainment industry with headquarters in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Atlanta, Toronto, and London. Founded in 1962 by a group of former MCA agents in New York, the company represented actors, writers, producers, showrunners, directors, performers, physical production services, film studios, as well as luxury and lifestyle brands across all media platforms worldwide. The agency also packaged feature films and television series such as Away on Netflix, The Dublin Murders on Showtime, All Rise on CBS, and For Life on ABC, as well as classic TV series Home Improvement and Roseanne. APA was one of the first among the top 5 packaging agencies to sign The WGA's new franchise agreement on January 21, 2020, when the agency integrated its Television and Motion Picture departments under one APA Scripted Literary banner.

Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, California. The company was founded in April 2009 after the merger of the William Morris Agency and Endeavor Talent Agency. Endeavor represents artists in film, television, music, theater, digital media, and publishing. It also represents the NFL and NHL. Endeavor owns Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and is majority owner of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) through TKO Group. In collegiate athletics Endeavor-Learfield IMG represents The American, A10, Big 12, Conference USA, Horizon League, MAC, MEAC, OVC, SEC and WCC.

Richard Arlook is an American talent manager and film producer. Arlook was a senior partner and head of the Motion Picture Literary department at The Gersh Agency. In 2008, he formed The Arlook Group production company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Morris Agency</span> Former American talent 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 agency in show business".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradigm Talent Agency</span> American talent agency

Paradigm Talent Agency is an American full-service entertainment agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Chicago, Toronto, Monterey, Nashville, Berkeley and Austin. Paradigm Talent Agency has more than 200 agents representing clients in television, music performances, motion picture, theatre, book publishing, digital, commercial/voiceover, content finance, media rights, brand partnerships and beyond. Paradigm's clients have included author Stephen King, actors Sydney Sweeney, Antonio Banderas and Brian Cox, directors James Wan and Malcolm D. Lee, and musicians Coldplay, Tiffany Young, Billie Eilish, Halsey, and Ed Sheeran, as of 2018.

Guggenheim Partners, LLC is a global investment and advisory financial services firm that engages in investment banking, asset management, capital markets services, and insurance services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David A. Unger</span> American film producer

David A. Unger is CEO of Artist International Group, a global talent management, branding and content production company representing clients in the fields of film, television and media advisory. Born in London, Unger has served as a talent and literary agent for over 20 years.

Amblin Partners American entertainment company

Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American independent entertainment production company. It develops and produces films under the Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures banners, as well as television series through Amblin Television.

Daniel Aaron Aloni or Dan Aloni is an American talent agent and Managing Partner at William Morris Endeavor (WME). He was previously a partner at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and United Talent Agency (UTA), where he was Co-Head of Motion Picture Literary department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Remy Matthews</span> British-born, Australian-raised cinematographer

Nick Remy Matthews, ACS, is a British-born, Australian-raised director of photography based in Europe. In 2020 he was named "Cinematographer of the Year" by the Australian Cinematographer's Society. He was also named byVariety as one of the "10 Cinematographers to Watch" in 2019 for his work on Hotel Mumbai., a factual action drama depicting the Mumbai terror attacks, directed by long time collaborator Anthony Maras. The film stars Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher, Suhail Nayyar, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Tilda Cobham-Hervey and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2018 where Matthews was singled out for praise for his work on the film. Rolling Stone declare that "Even in the chaos of bullets and bombs — kudos to ace cinematographer Nick Remy Matthews — Maras creates a sense of actual lives hanging in the balance.". The Hollywood Reporter also praises the "...kinetic cinematography..." that enhances "...the idea that these are real events.". Variety describes the film as "Stunningly framed and photographed..." and as having a "...visual striking aesthetic."Washington Square News describes the film's cinematography as spanning "...cramped utility closets and breathtaking skylines, a visual treat from beginning to end."

Bruce Tufeld was an American talent agent and manager. He was the founder of the Tufeld Entertainment Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Global</span> American mass media corporation

Paramount Global is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan. The company was formed on December 4, 2019, as ViacomCBS through the merger of the second incarnations of CBS Corporation and Viacom. The company took its current name on February 16, 2022.

Emily Taryn Arlook is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Nomi Segal on the Freeform comedy drama Grown-ish (2018–2024), Kate Harris in Big Time Adolescence (2019), and Kim Glassman in You People (2023).

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 1, 2023). "Gersh Agency Sells 45% Stake To Private Equity Firm Crestview Partners; Leslie Siebert Upped To Co-President". Deadline. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  2. ↑ Sun, Rebecca (June 4, 2015). "The THR Guide to the 7 Major Hollywood Agencies". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Hayden, Erik (May 1, 2023). "Gersh Sells Minority Stake to Private Equity Firm Crestview Partners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  4. ↑ Kroll, Justin (February 17, 2022). "Gersh Ups Lit Agent Eric Garfinkel To Partner Amid Companywide Promotions". Deadline. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 McLellan, Dennis (May 11, 2004). "Phil Gersh, 92; Agent With Old Hollywood Instincts, Art Patron". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ Weinraub, Bernard (May 12, 2004). "Phil Gersh, a Leading Agent In Hollywood, Is Dead at 92". The New York Times . Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  7. ↑ Reed, Christopher (July 6, 2004). "Old-school Hollywood agent who represented Humphrey Bogart". The Guardian. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Meet with Producer and Manager Richard Arlook in Beverly Hills". Charitybuzz . Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  9. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 1, 2010). "Update: Gersh Confirms Hohman Maybank Lieb Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  10. ↑ Lincoln, Ross A. (September 2, 2016). "APA Sues Gersh & The Agent It Claims Was Poached". Deadline. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  11. ↑ "US agencies at war over poaching claims". IQ Magazine. September 8, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  12. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (July 5, 2018). "James Woods Says He Was Dropped By 'Liberal' Talent Agent". Variety. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  13. ↑ Gaynor, Gerren Keith (July 5, 2018). "James Woods is dropped by 'liberal' talent agent: 'It's the 4th of July and I'm feeling patriotic'". Fox News . Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  14. ↑ Lynch, John (July 5, 2018). "Conservative actor James Woods says he was dumped by his agent because of his political views". Business Insider . Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  15. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (May 21, 2019). "Gersh Agency Stirs Ire After Canceling Network Meeting for Former Client". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  16. ↑ Robb, David (May 22, 2019). "Writer-Producer Says Ex-Gersh Agents Apologized For Canceled Network Meeting – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  17. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (May 1, 2023). "Gersh Agency Sells Minority Stake to Crestview Partners, Promotes Leslie Siebert to Co-President". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  18. ↑ Maas, Jennifer (January 9, 2024). "Gersh Acquires A3 Artists Agency's Digital and Unscripted Divisions". Variety. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  19. ↑ Otterson, Joe (January 23, 2024). "Gersh Hires A3's April Perroni as Head of Business Affairs (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  20. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 4, 2024). "Gersh Taps Matt Andrée Wiltens as Head of Global Corporate Communications". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  21. 1 2 Grobar, Matt (June 27, 2024). "Gersh Names Endeavor's Catherine Benoit Masraff Head Of Human Resources, Promotes Kenji Shishido To Agent". Deadline. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  22. ↑ Stephan, Katcy (February 27, 2024). "Gersh Hires Doug Fronk as SVP and TV Literary Agent". Variety. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  23. ↑ Grobar, Matt (June 13, 2024). "Gersh Digital Division Names Meg Chemburkar Head Of Affiliate Marketing, Promotes Seven". Deadline. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  24. ↑ White, Abbey (May 12, 2023). "Spike Lee and The Gersh Agency Announce Inaugural Spike Fellows". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  25. ↑ Sun, Rebecca (January 12, 2023). "Spike Lee, Gersh Launch HBCU Fellowship Program". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  26. ↑ Lang, Robert (July 26, 2024). "Step & Repeat Gallery: The Best Red Carpet & Party Photos Of 2024". Deadline. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.