{"product_id":"the-agency-william-morris-and-the-hidden-history-of-show-business-9780887308079","title":"The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor decades  hidden from the public eye  William Morris agents made the deals that determined the fate of stars  studios  and networks alike. Mae West  Frank Sinatra  Marilyn Monroe  Danny Thomas  Steve McQueen--the Morris Agency sold talent to anyone in the market for it  from the Hollywood studios to the mobsters who ran Vegas to the Madison Avenue admen who controlled television. While the clients took the spotlight  the agency operated behind the scenes  providing the grease that made show business what its become.  The story begins more than a century ago  when a fiery young immigrant named William Morris opened a vaudeville-booking office on New Yorks Fourteenth Street and went up against the trust that ruled the leading entertainment medium of the day. Led after Morriss death by the legendary Abe Lastfogel  a cherubic little man who treated agents and clients alike as family  the firm transformed the agents image from garish flesh-peddler to smooth-talking professional. But when Lastfogels successor brutally sacrificed his best friend--the man whod brought Barry Diller and Michael Ovitz out of the mail room--William Morris gave birth to its own nemesis: Ovitzs new firm  CAA. Throughout the 80s and 90s  as the Morris Agency made  and lost  such stars as Mel Gibson  Julia Roberts  Kevin Costner and Tom Hanks  Ovitzs power grew inexorably as Morriss waned. Lulled by the phenomenal success of Bill Cosby and the upward spiral of the Beverly Hills real estate market  Morriss board failed to act as death and defection thinned its ranks. Finally  with its flagship motion-picture department on the brink of collapse  the board was faced with the stark reality of having to buy its way back into the business it had once owned.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45280006668341,"sku":"ByrdShop_0887308074","price":70.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780887308079.jpg?v=1780617504","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-agency-william-morris-and-the-hidden-history-of-show-business-9780887308079","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}