Marvin Josephson

Marvin Josephson (March 6, 1927 – May 17, 2022) was an American talent agent and executive. He was the founder of International Creative Management (later known as ICM Partners).[1][2][3]

Born and raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Josephson attended Atlantic City High School.[4] He is of Jewish descent.[5] Josephson graduated from Cornell University in 1949, where he was managing editor of The Cornell Daily Sun and a member of the Quill and Dagger society. He graduated from the New York University School of Law in 1952, going on to work for the legal department at CBS News.[1]

In 1955 he started his own talent agency, at first representing television journalists like Chet Huntley (and later, Barbara Walters).[1] His first notable entertainment client was Bob Keeshan.[1]

In 1968 he purchased the Ashley-Famous talent agency from Steve Ross of Kinney National Company, renaming it International Famous Agency (IFA). In 1971, Josephson added the clients and assets of Jerry Perenchio's Chartwell Artists to IFA;[6] adding the literary assets of Robin Dalton that same year.[7] Under Josephson, IFA became the world's first publicly traded talent agency.[6]

In 1975, Josephson merged IFA with Freddie Fields' Creative Management Associates to form International Creative Management.[3] "In 1992, Josephson passed control of ICM onto Jeff Berg, Sam Cohn, and Jim Wiatt, though Josephson maintained a leadership role and continued to represent personal clients. In 2005, the company was sold to a private investor, Suhail Rizvi."[3]