The Gersh Agency

The Gersh Agency (also known as simply Gersh) is a talent and literary agency established in 1949 by Phil Gersh,[1] based in Beverly Hills, California and New York City. The Gersh Agency is the sixth largest talent agency in the United States.[2]

GERSH
TypePrivate
IndustryTalent and Literary Agencies
FoundedBeverly Hills, California, U.S. (1949)
HeadquartersBeverly Hills, California
New York City, New York
Key people
Bob Gersh, Co-President
David Gersh, Co-President
Leslie Siebert, Senior Managing Partner
DivisionsTalent, Alternative, Books, Branding, Film Finance, Literary, Personal Appearance, Production, Theatre

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,[3] and his clients included Humphrey Bogart, David Niven, William Holden, June Allyson, Richard Burton, Lee J. Cobb, Fredric March, Gloria Grahame, James Mason, Karl Malden, and Robert Wise.[4] In 1965, Phil Gersh was able to pay for the agency's Beverly Hills office from the proceeds of having Robert Wise direct The Sound of Music.[5]

Phil Gersh gradually handed over responsibility to his two sons but continued to play a role in the company's management until 10 weeks before his death in 2004.[3] Richard Arlook was working at the agency from 1990 until 2008.[3][6]

In 2010, Gersh purchased literary agent Hohman, Maybank, Lieb, with a portfolio of writers including Robert Rodat, Katherine Fugate, Dave Reynolds, Ken Hixon, Sam Harper, Ben Ripley, David Scarpa, Geoff Rodkey, Marlene King, and Allison Burnett.[7]

In December 2019, Gersh added four female agents, including Lauren Craniotes, a former Sony Pictures Vice President of Production.[8]

Current clients

The agency is currently run by Phil Gersh's sons, Bob and David. They have since represented clients including Drew Carey, Allison Janney, Dennis Dugan, Brittany Snow, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Lloyd, John Goodman, Melanie Lynskey,[9] Mark Hamill, Judith Light, Tom McCarthy, Meg Ryan, John Slattery, Jeffrey Tambor,[10] Adam Driver,[11] Pamela Gray,[12] Thomas Gibson,[13] Ray Liotta, Drew Lynch,[14] Terry Gilliam,[15] Winona Ryder,[16] Pat Healy,[17] Sasheer Zamata,[18] Joel David Moore,[19] Anna Ziegler,[20] Kristen Stewart,[21] Anne Winters,[22] Ericson Core,[23] Megan Hilty, Lana Parrilla, Kelli O'Hara, Angela Bassett, J.K. Simmons, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Meloni, Catherine Keener, Mandy Moore, Laura Benanti,[24] Leslie Iwerks,[25] Lauren Glazier,[26] Dreama Walker,[27] Kerri Kenney-Silver,[28] Alexander Dreymon [29] and Andie MacDowell.[30]

On 4 July 2018, TGA 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.[31][32][33]

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.[34][35] In January 2020, Gersh signed a deal with the WGA to resume representing the guild's writer clients.[36]

References
  1. Sun, Rebecca (June 4, 2015). "The THR Guide to the 7 Major Hollywood Agencies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  2. Valentino, Paul (2017). "Top Talent Agencies in Los Angeles". Acting Plan: How to Become an Actor in Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  3. McLellan, Dennis (May 11, 2004). "Phil Gersh, 92; Agent With Old Hollywood Instincts, Art Patron". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  4. Weinraub, Bernard (May 12, 2004). "Phil Gersh, a Leading Agent In Hollywood, Is Dead at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  5. Reed, Christopher. "Old-school Hollywood agent who represented Humphrey Bogart". The Guardian. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  6. "Meet with Producer and Manager Richard Arlook in Beverly Hills". Charitybuzz. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  7. Fleming, Mike, Jr. (December 1, 2010). "Update: Gersh Confirms Hohman Maybank Lieb Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  8. Sun, Rebecca. "Gersh Adds Former Sony Exec Lauren Craniotes, Promotes Three Others". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  9. Riley, Jenelle (September 11, 2009). "Away She Goes". Backstage. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  10. Busch, Anita (March 14, 2016). "Bill Gersh Becomes Agent, Marking Another In Third Generation In Talent Rep Business". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  11. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 25, 2017). "Adam Driver Joins Spike Lee's 'Black Klansman'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  12. Busch, Anita (June 19, 2017). "'Megan Leavey' Co-Writer Pamela Gray Signs With Gersh". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  13. Gardner, Eriq (March 24, 2017). "'Criminal Minds' Actor Thomas Gibson Suffers Defeat in Fight Over Ex-Manager's Commissions". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  14. Gutelle, Sam (August 24, 2017). "YouTube Millionaires: Drew Lynch Uses His Dog Vlog To "Make Fun Of Myself And Our Experiences"". Tubefilter. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  15. "Terry Gilliam's 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote' Filming Wraps". ComingSoon.net. June 5, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  16. Mitchell, Robert (August 30, 2017). "Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder Reunite for 'Destination Wedding'". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  17. Kroll, Justin (April 27, 2017). "Amy Madigan, Ken Marino and Sky Ferreira Join Scott Free's 'Burning Woman'". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  18. Ford, Rebecca (August 1, 2017). "Whoopi Goldberg, Hill Harper Join 'Ghetto Plainsman'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  19. Lincoln, Ross A. (June 30, 2016). "Gersh Signs 'Avatar' Actor & 'Youth In Oregon' Director Joel David Moore". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  20. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (February 14, 2017). "SundanceTV Developing Limited Series Based on Book 'Intuition'". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  21. Lang, Brent (September 29, 2017). "Kristen Stewart could be one of the next 'Charlie's Angels'". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  22. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (August 8, 2017). "'13 Reasons Why' Adds Seven New Actors for Season 2". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  23. Lee, Ashley (August 2, 2017). "Damien Chazelle's Thriller 'The Claim' Finds Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  24. "Gersh Agency Representatives Talk Talent". The Montclarion. November 17, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  25. Anita, Bennett. "'The Imagineering Story' Director Leslie Iwerks Signs With Gersh". Deadline. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  26. Wiseman, Andreas. "Gersh Signs 'Mindhunter' Actress Lauren Glazier". Deadline. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  27. N'Duka, Amanda. "Taryn Manning & More Join Indie Comedy 'Pooling To Paradise'; Julie McNiven, Jon Abrahams Topline 'Heart To Heart'". Deadline. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  28. Petski, Denise. "'Reno 911!' Revival Gets Green Light At Quibi". Deadline. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  29. Andreeva, Nellie (September 5, 2014). "Alexander Dreymon Lands Lead In BBC America Series 'The Last Kingdom'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  30. N'Duka, Amanda (September 25, 2017). "Chevy Chase, Andie MacDowell, Richard Dreyfuss & More Topline Netflix Comedy Film 'The Last Laugh'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  31. Rubin, Rebecca (July 5, 2018). "James Woods Says He Was Dropped By 'Liberal' Talent Agent". Variety. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  32. 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.
  33. 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.
  34. Littleton, Cynthia (May 21, 2019). "Gersh Agency Stirs Ire After Canceling Network Meeting for Former Client". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  35. Robb, David (May 22, 2019). "Writer-Producer Says Ex-Gersh Agents Apologized For Canceled Network Meeting – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  36. Goldsmith, Jill. "Gersh Latest Agency To Peel Off In WGA Deal". Forbes. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
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