Norman R. Brokaw (April 21, 1927 – October 29, 2016) was an American talent agent. He served as the president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the

William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent a ...

. He represented

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record ti ...

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

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, and many more.

Early life

Norman Brokaw was born on April 21, 1927, in New York City, the son of Marie and Isidore Brokaw. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. His maternal grandparents, known as the Haidaburas, were "the first Russian acrobatic dance troupe to appear on the American vaudeville stage". His maternal uncle,

Johnny Hyde Johnny Hyde (23 April 1895 – 18 December 1950) was an American talent agent who developed the career of Marilyn Monroe. Early life Hyde was born to a Jewish family as Iván Haidabura in Russia and moved to the United States in April 1898 ...

, was the vice president of the William Morris Agency. Brokaw relocated to Los Angeles when he was a teenager.

Career

Brokaw delivered mail for the

in 1943, at the age of 15. By the 1950s, he encouraged William Morris to get into the television business. He helped create such series as ''

Racket Squad ''Racket Squad'' is an American TV crime drama series that aired from 1951 to 1953. The format was a narrated anthology drama, as each individual episode featured various ordinary citizens getting ensnared in a different confidence scheme. E ...

'' and ''Public Defender'' by moving 1950s film stars to television. Brokaw would go on to represent producers of ''

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''The show (and CBS) renders the title as ''Gomer Pyle – USMC''. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spin-off of ''The Andy Griffith Sho ...

'', ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Product ...

'', and ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

''. Brokaw was appointed as the president and CEO of the William Morris Agency in 1989. He became its CEO and chairman in 1991.

Philanthropy

Brokaw was the co-founder of the Betty Ford Cancer Center. He also served as its president. Additionally, he served on the boards of trustees of the

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

and the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Personal life and death

Brokaw married three times. He had six children: David Brokaw, Sanford Brokaw and Joel Brokaw with his first wife; Barbara Brokaw and Wendy Brokaw Kretchmer with his second wife; and Lauren Brokaw with his third wife, Marguerite Longley. Brokaw died on October 29, 2016, in Beverly Hills, California. He was 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brokaw, Norman 1927 births 2016 deaths American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish American philanthropists Businesspeople from New York City People from Beverly Hills, California Hollywood talent agents Businesspeople from California American chief executives Philanthropists from New York (state) 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American Jews