\tLarry Auerbach, a top agent at William Morris Agency for nearly 50 years who also served 25 years at USC School of Cinematic Arts, died Nov. 23 at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 95.<\/p>\n
\tAuerbach represented a wide range of talent during his 47 years with William Morris, including Alan Alda, Bea Arthur, Marlo Thomas, Robert Wagner, Aaron Spelling, Sammy Davis Jr., Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Harry Belafonte and such prestige-movie directors as Norman Jewison and Bernardo Bertolucci. Auerach worked his way up to a leadership role at the agency after starting there in New York at age 15, working part-time while in high school sweeping floors and other less-than-glamorous duties. <\/p>\n
\tAfter ending his WMA career in 1992, Auerbach segued to USC film school, where he used his matchmaking skills to create the Office of Industry Relations. He retired from USC as associate dean and head of student-industr relations in 2018. \t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t \t\t\tPopular on Variety\t\t \t \t\t \t \tFor the following decades he had an indescribably profound impact on helping generations of students and alumni develop meaningful careers and understand the industry they wanted to join,\u201d said Elizabeth M. Daley, Dean of USC School of Cinematic Arts. \u201cHe was a friend and valued mentor, loved by us all, and his spirit will infuse the school long into the future. He cared about each and every one who walked through his door, be they an aspiring young person or a faculty or staff colleague who was seeking his advice and wisdom. For all those years, we so often said to one another when trying to make a decision, \u201cWell, just ask Larry.\u201d I will miss him and know that my life and the lives of so many here at USC are richer because he was with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tA native of Brooklyn, Auerbach worked his way up the agency ladder and became a tenpercenter by the age of 19. He broke in as a personal appearances rep, setting up nightclub gigs for comedians and musical acts. He left the agency for a two-year stint in the U.S. Army.<\/p>\n
\tWhen he returned to the agency, he lauched WMA\u2019s rock music department. Auerbach managed to book the first and last national TV appearances for Elvis Presley \u2014 both famous moments in the history of music and TV. <\/p>\n
\tAuerbach turned his attention to film, steering the motion picture division for William Morris in New York. He helped assemble such notable pics as the Oscar-winning \u201cThe French Connection\u201d (1971), \u201cIn the Heat of the Night\u201d (1967), \u201cFiddler on The Roof\u201d (1971), \u201cMoonstruck\u201d (1987) and \u201cLast Tango in Paris\u201d (1972). He moved to Los Angeles and became head of the television department. He worked closely with stars and producers of such mega hit 1960s and \u201970s series as \u201cSing Along with Mitch,\u201d \u201cThe Patty Duke Show,\u201d \u201cThat Girl,\u201d \u201cThe Mod Squad,\u201d \u201cChico and te Man,\u201d \u201cWelcome Back, Kotter\u201d and daytime soaps \u201cAll My Children\u201d and \u201cOne Life to Live.\u201d \t<\/p>\n
\tAuerbach\u2019s influence at WMA was strong into the 1980s and \u201990s. Aaron Kaplan, a WMA alumnus turned producer, was among those who learned the ropes of cutting deals and keeping clients on top in TV from Auerbach.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe have lost a true Hollywood legend. Larry Auerbach was one of the architects of the television business and of the agency business. He was a fierce advocate for his clients and his colleagues and later his students,\u201d Kaplan said. \u201cHe started teaching me how to sell television in 1991 and was my mentor for over 30 years. Larry\u2019s legacy lives on in those of us whose lives he changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cLarry Auerbach was one of the greats. He touched so many people\u2019s lives\u2026.great artists like Norman Jewison, Alan Alda, Bernardo Bertolucci, Robert Wagner and Bea Arthur to name a few. He mentored hundreds of young people who were drawn to film and television \u2026he changed so many people\u2019s lives for the better.\u2026I was one of those lucky people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBryan Lourd, co-head of CAA, called himself \u201cone of those lucky people\u201d who able to call Auerbach a mentor.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cLarry Auerbach was one of the greats. He touched so many people\u2019s lives \u2014 great artists like Norman Jewison, Alan Alda, Bernardo Bertolucci, Robert Wagner and Bea Arthur to name a few,\u201d Lourd said. \u201cHe mentored hundreds of young people who were drawn to film and television. He changed so many people\u2019s lives for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMore to come<\/p>\n
\t(Pictured: Larry Auerbach with George Lucas and USC\u2019s Elizabeth M. Daley in 2011.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Larry Auerbach, a top agent at William Morris Agency for nearly 50 years who also served 25 years at USC School of Cinematic Arts, died Nov. 23 at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 95. Auerbach represented a wide range of talent during his 47 years with William Morris, including Alan Alda, Bea Arthur, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19036,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}