The Gersh Agency (also known as simply Gersh) is a talent and literary agency established in 1949 by Phil Gersh, based in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The Gersh Agency is the fourth largest talent agency in the United States.

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, and his clients included

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

, David Niven, William Holden,

June Allyson June Allyson (born Eleanor Geisman; October 7, 1917 – July 8, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actress, dancer, and singer. Allyson began her career in 1937 as a dancer in short subject films and on Broadway in 1938. She sign ...

, Richard Burton,

Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby; December 8, 1911February 11, 1976) was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage. He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectabl ...

, Fredric March, Gloria Grahame,

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

, Karl Malden, and Robert Wise. 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 ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

''. 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.

Richard Arlook Richard Arlook is an American talent manager and film producer. Arlook was a senior partner and head of the Motion Picture Literary department at The Gersh Agency. In 2008, he formed The Arlook Group production company. Early life and education A ...

was working at the agency from 1990 until 2008. In 2010, Gersh purchased literary agent ''Hohman, Maybank, Lieb'', with a portfolio of writers including Robert Rodat, Katherine Fugate, Dave Reynolds,

Ken Hixon Ken Hixon is an American screenwriter, best known for films including ''Welcome to the Rileys'', ''City by the Sea'' and ''Inventing the Abbotts''. He is married to Melanie Otey and has two children: Lillian and Samuel Hixon. His son, Sam, is a fil ...

Sam Harper Sam Harper is an American filmmaker. Career Harper was born into an artistic family with a father who was a painter and a mother who was a writer. After college, he worked as a reporter and associate editor for the advertising industry trade ...

Ben Ripley Ben Ripley is an American screenwriter best known for writing the science-fiction thriller ''Source Code'' directed by Duncan Jones. Ripley is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Southern California's USC School of Cinema-Telev ...

David Scarpa David Scarpa is an American screenwriter. He is best known for writing the screenplays to ''The Last Castle'', the 2008 remake of ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' and ''All the Money in the World'', about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping, whic ...

Geoff Rodkey Geoff Rodkey (born September 9, 1970) is an American screenwriter and author. His most recent novel is the suburban-apocalypse comedy ''Lights Out in Lincolnwood''. Previously, he co-wrote comedian Kevin Hart's 2021 debut middle grade novel ''Ma ...

, Marlene King, and Allison Burnett. In December 2019, Gersh added four female agents, including

Lauren Craniotes Lauren may be a given name or surname.The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius. ...

, a former

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

Vice President of Production.

Current clients

The agency is currently run by Phil Gersh's sons, Bob and David. They have since represented clients including Brendan Fraser, Drew Carey, Allison Janney, Dennis Dugan, Brittany Snow,

Patricia Arquette Patricia Tiffany Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987). Her other notable films include ''True Romance'' (1993), ''Ed Wo ...

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, an ...

, Melanie Lynskey,

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...

, Judith Light, Tom McCarthy,

Meg Ryan Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra; November 19, 1961) is an American actress. She began her acting career in 1981 when she made her acting debut in the drama film ''Rich and Famous''. She later joined the cast of the CBS soap opera ...

, John Slattery, Jeffrey Tambor,

Adam Driver Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award; making him one of few performers nominated ...

Pamela Gray Pamela Gray (born 1956) is an American screenwriter. Biography Gray was raised in a Jewish family in New York City, the daughter of a salesman and a schoolteacher.

, Thomas Gibson, Ray Liotta,

Drew Lynch Andrew Lynch is an American stand-up comedian known for his 2015 appearance on America’s Got Talent, finishing in second place in the finale. ''America's Got Talent'' Lynch auditioned for the 10th season of ''America's Got Talent'' in 2015. A ...

, Terry Gilliam, Winona Ryder,

Pat Healy Patrick Healy, Pat Healy, Patrick Healey or Pat Healey may refer to: * Felix Healy (Patrick Joseph Healy, born 1955), former Northern Irish football player and manager * Pat Healy (actor) (born 1971), American actor, writer, and director * Pat H ...

Sasheer Zamata Sasheer Zamata Moore (; born May 6, 1986) is an American actress and comedian known for her work as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2014 to 2017 as well as her leading roles in the TV series ''Woke'' (2020–2022) and ''Home Econom ...

, Joel David Moore, Anna Ziegler, Kristen Stewart, Anne Winters,

Ericson Core Ericson Core is an American film director and cinematographer, best known for directing the 2006 sports film ''Invincible (2006 film), Invincible'' and the 2015 film ''Point Break (2015 film), Point Break''. He has been director of photography on ...

, Megan Hilty, Lana Parrilla, Kelli O'Hara,

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

J.K. Simmons Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (199 ...

, Christopher Meloni, Catherine Keener,

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...

Laura Benanti Laura Ilene Benanti (née Vidnovic; born July 13, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Over the course of her Broadway career, she has received five Tony Award nominations. She played Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival of '' Gypsy'', winni ...

Leslie Iwerks Leslie Iwerks () is an American producer, director, and writer. She is daughter of Disney Legend Don Iwerks and granddaughter of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, the animator and co-creator of Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. She has directe ...

Lauren Glazier Lauren Christie Glazier (born 1985) is a Canadian-American film and television actress. Early life and education Glazier was born and grew up in Kelowna, British Columbia and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and the Vancou ...

Dreama Walker Dreama Elyse Walker (born June 20, 1986) is an American actress. She is known for her supporting role in the series ''Gossip Girl'', her lead role in the film ''Compliance'' (2012), and her lead roles in two short-lived television series, the co ...

, Kerri Kenney-Silver,

Alexander Dreymon Alexander Dreymon (born Alexander Doetsch; 7 February 1983) is a German actor. He is best known for portraying Uhtred of Bebbanburg in the television series ''The Last Kingdom'' (2015–2022). Dreymon's other notable roles were in ''Christopher an ...

and Andie MacDowell. 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. 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. In January 2020, Gersh signed a deal with the WGA to resume representing the guild's writer clients.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gersh Agency, The Companies based in Beverly Hills, California Business services companies established in 1949 Talent and literary agencies Privately held companies of the United States 1949 establishments in California Family-owned companies of the United States