Creative Management Associates

Creative Management Associates (CMA) was an American talent booking agency. Co-founded by Freddie Fields and David Begelman, CMA was instrumental in the development of movie stars, prominent directors, and popular musicians.

Creative Management Associates
TypePrivate
IndustryTalent agency
Founded1960 (1960)
FoundersFreddie Fields and David Begelman
Defunct1975 (1975)
FateMerged with International Famous Agency to form International Creative Management
Key people
Richard Shepherd

CMA is credited with pioneering the movie "package", where the talent agency put their stars, directors, and writers together on a single project.[1] The agency was deeply involved with numerous blockbuster films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, American Graffiti, and Star Wars.

CMA was one of two agencies that formed International Creative Management in 1975.

History

CMA was founded as a boutique agency in 1960[1] by Fields and Begelman.[2][3][4] (Both Begelman and Fields had previously worked at the Music Corporation of America.)[1] One of CMA's first partners was producer Richard Shepherd.[5]

In 1968, CMA absorbed fellow talent agency General Artists Corporation (GAC) (with the parent company called "GAC, Inc.").[6]

Begelman left CMA in 1973 to take over the floundering Columbia Pictures.[7]

On December 30, 1974, Fields sold the agency to Marvin Josephson's International Famous Agency (IFA);[8] the two companies merged to become International Creative Management (ICM).[9]: 51 [4]

Notable clients

CMA was instrumental in the development of such stars as Judy Garland, Henry Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen,[9]: 44–45  Peter Sellers, Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Natalie Wood, Faye Dunaway, James Coburn,[10] Al Pacino,[11] Jack Carter, Liza Minnelli, Gregory Peck, Jackie Gleason, Fred Astaire, Woody Allen, and Barbra Streisand; producers and directors like Irwin Winkler, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas; and popular musicians like Burt Bacharach and Neil Young.

Notable employees and agents

CMA developed numerous agents, including Alan Ladd Jr.,[12][13] Sue Mengers,[9] Guy McElwaine,[14] David Geffen,[15] Mike Medavoy, Michael Gruskoff,[10] and Sam Cohn.[16][2]

Medavoy became vice president of CMA's motion picture department in 1967, working with Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola, among others. He left for International Famous Agency in 1970.[17]

References
  1. Eller, Claudia; Dutka, Eliane (August 9, 1995). "Begelman, Ex-Columbia Chief, an Apparent Suicide". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  2. Natale, Richard (December 12, 2007). "Agent Freddie Fields dies at 84. Industry vet paved the way for super-agents". Variety.
  3. "Obiturary - Freddie Fields, Holywood Talent Agent, Dies at 84: Freddie Fields, brother of bandleader Shep Fields". The New York Times. December 13, 2007.
  4. Rogers, John (December 12, 2007). "Legendary producer/agent Freddie Fields dies". USA Today.
  5. Khatchatourian, Maane (January 15, 2014). "Producer Richard Shepherd, Founder of Artists Agency, Dies at 86". Variety. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  6. "TALENT AGENCIES ARRANGE MERGER; Creative Management and General Artists Set Deal". New York Times. March 11, 1968.
  7. Thomas Jr., Robert Mcg. (Aug 9, 1995). "David Begelman, 73; Headed Columbia Pictures". The New York Times.
  8. Murphy, J. Kim (May 19, 2022). "Marvin Josephson, Founder of ICM Partners, Dies at 95". Variety.
  9. Abramowitz, Rachel (2000). Is That a Gun In Your Pocket? Women's Experience of Power in Hollywood (hardcover ed.). New York: Random House.
  10. Aguilar, Carlos (June 2, 2014). "IndieWire: "Interview: Producer Michael Gruskoff on the Foreign Language Academy Award and International Hollywood"". IndieWire.
  11. Yule, Andrew (1992). Al Pacino : Life on the Wire. Time Warner Books. ISBN 0751500488. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  12. McLellan, Dennis (March 2, 2022). "Alan Ladd Jr. dies; Oscar-winning producer and studio boss greenlighted 'Star Wars'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  13. Coyle, Jake (March 2, 2022). "Oscar-winning producer Alan Ladd Jr. dies at 84". Associated Press. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  14. Saperstein, Pat (April 2, 2008). "Agent Guy McElwaine dies at 71". Variety. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  15. "Sex, drugs and the billion-dollar rise of David Geffen". The Independent. 2005-11-18. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  16. Singer, Mark (January 11, 1982). "Profiles: Dealmaker" (fee required). The New Yorker. pp. 40–84. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  17. Phoenix Pictures Inc. (10 Sep 2009). "Mike Medavoy | Chairman & Chief Executive Officer". Phoenix Pictures. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
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