Latest in William Morris Agency

Sam Adams, a literary agent whose career began in the postwar years at Warner Bros. and ended with the deal to bring The Handmaid’s Tale to the big screen, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 94. Adams’ client list included Handmaid’s author Margaret Atwood, the recently-deceased Peter Bogdanovich, Saturday…

John Ferriter, the former powerhouse William Morris Agency EVP/Worldwide Head of Non-Scripted TV and the only WMA board member to vote against the merger with Endeavor, died Thursday, according to sources. He was 59. A former close associate of his shared the news with some of Ferriter’s former colleagues today. We…

June 1, 2019 marks the official 10-year anniversary of the William Morris Agency-Endeavor merger. As part of Deadline’s coverage of the milestone, we reached out to John Ferriter, former WMA EVP/Worldwide Head of Non-Scripted TV, who was the only board member in either company who voted against the merger. He was let…

June 1, 2019 marks the official 10-year anniversary of the William Morris Agency-Endeavor merger. It wasn’t a marriage of equals, with 14-year-old Endeavor, then valued at $100 million-plus, joining forces with a Hollywood royalty, the 111-year-old WMA valued at more than twice as much. But, in one of the most…

Saturday marks the official 10-year anniversary of the William Morris Agency-Endeavor merger into WME. Coincidentally, WME is marking the anniversary with its parent Endeavor filing for an IPO, an illustration of how far the company has gone in a decade. In 2009, Endeavor was a”client-rich” mid-size agency with big…

Lou Weiss, chairman emeritus of the William Morris Agency and one of the last vestiges of the old guard of a bygone era in the entertainment business, passed away at 9:30 AM on April 8, due to complications from an appendectomy. He was 101. Weiss retired in 2007 after 70 years at WMA. During his tenure, which tracked…

Michael Ovitz was ever the master of both confession and concealment — the shared confidence that really wasn't, or the backdoor whisper that had to be denied. When I was pursuing him, in a reportorial sense, for a 1986 Wall Street Journal profile, for instance, he struck a pose of complete resistance. But he also had…

Roger H. Davis, 32-year veteran of the William Morris Agency, has died. He was 92 and passed away this morning in Los Angeles after a decade-long battle against cancer, surrounded by his family. Born in Chicago, Davis moved to Los Angeles when he was a child. Following graduation from Burbank High School he served…

EXCLUSIVE: Known universally as Biff and ever-present both backstage and at Broadway openings when Broadway openings mattered, Liff wore hats as a manager and producer, and as a longtime talent agent for William Morris during a career that spanned more than six decades. Liff died Monday at home in Westchester County…

Manager Leonard Hirshan, who represented Clint Eastwood from his days in television to his turn as a multi-Academy Award-winning filmmaker, died on January 31 at his home in Beverly Hills. The cause of death for the longtime former William Morris agent was Merkel cell carcinoma. He was 86. Hirshan was a longtime Willia…

UPDATE: That’s just one of the drinks being served at the William Morris Agency Alumni Party happening this Saturday night and organized by Rikin Mantri and and Mike Palank. “We have all been witnesses to the legacy of the William Morris Agency, and now it's time to come tell a few stories with the people who at some…

We all know that Ari Emanuel is an asshole, but we also thought he was at least a smart asshole. Because he decided to back out of the William Morris Agency’s commitment to lease that big blue Beverly Hills office building after Endeavor took over the venerable tenpercentery. Well, now that decision is biting him on…