Creative Management Associates
{{Short description|International talent booking agency}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Creative Management Associates
| predecessor =
| successor =
| type = Private
| logo =
| foundation = {{start date and age|1960}}
| founders = Freddie Fields and David Begelman
| location =
| fate = Merged with International Famous Agency to form International Creative Management
| defunct = {{end date and age|1975}}
| area_served =
| key_people = Richard Shepherd
| industry = Talent agency
| owner =
| homepage =
}}
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.
CMA is credited with pioneering the movie "package", where the talent agency put their stars, directors, and writers together on a single project.{{cite news|last1=Eller|first1=Claudia|last2=Dutka|first2=Eliane|title=Begelman, Ex-Columbia Chief, an Apparent Suicide|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-09-mn-33242-story.html|access-date=May 23, 2016|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 9, 1995}} 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 by Fields and Begelman.{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2007/film/news/agent-freddie-fields-dies-at-84-1117977570|work=Variety|title=Agent Freddie Fields dies at 84. Industry vet paved the way for super-agents|first=Richard|last=Natale|date=December 12, 2007}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/arts/13fields.html|work=The New York Times|title=Obiturary - Freddie Fields, Holywood Talent Agent, Dies at 84: Freddie Fields, brother of bandleader Shep Fields|date=December 13, 2007}}{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-12-12-freddie-fields-obit_N.htm|work=USA Today|title=Legendary producer/agent Freddie Fields dies|first=John|last=Rogers|date=December 12, 2007}} (Both Begelman and Fields had previously worked at the Music Corporation of America.) One of CMA's first partners was producer Richard Shepherd.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2014/biz/news/producer-richard-shepherd-founder-of-artists-agency-dies-at-86-1201059800/ |title=Producer Richard Shepherd, Founder of Artists Agency, Dies at 86 |magazine=Variety |last=Khatchatourian |first=Maane |date=January 15, 2014 |accessdate=January 18, 2014}} Harvey Orkin, who won an Emmy award as a writer for The Phil Silvers Show, headed a creative services department and represented, at various times, Peter Burton, Peter Sellers and Patricia Neal.{{Cite news |last=Freeman |first=William M. |date=1975-11-05 |title=HARVEY ORKIN, 57, FILM AGENT, DIES |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/05/archives/harvey-orkin-57-film-agent-dies-talent-representative-also-won.html |access-date=2025-03-14 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} While representing CMA clients in London, Orkin regularly appeared on Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life and co-wrote the Lionel Bart musical Twang!.
In 1968, CMA absorbed fellow talent agency General Artists Corporation (GAC) (with the parent company called "GAC, Inc.").{{cite news|title=TALENT AGENCIES ARRANGE MERGER; Creative Management and General Artists Set Deal|date=March 11, 1968|work=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/11/archives/talent-agencies-arrange-merger-creative-management-and-general.html}}
Begelman left CMA in 1973 to take over the floundering Columbia Pictures, along with Orkin, who died in 1975.{{cite news|title=David Begelman, 73; Headed Columbia Pictures|first=Robert Mcg.|last=Thomas Jr.|date=Aug 9, 1995|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/09/obituaries/david-begelman-73-headed-columbia-pictures.html}}
On December 30, 1974, Fields sold the agency to Marvin Josephson's International Famous Agency (IFA);{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/marvin-josephson-dead-icm-founder-1235271503/|title=Marvin Josephson, Founder of ICM Partners, Dies at 95|first1=J. Kim|last1=Murphy|date=May 19, 2022|work=Variety}} the two companies merged to become International Creative Management (ICM).{{cite book|title=Is That a Gun In Your Pocket? Women's Experience of Power in Hollywood|last=Abramowitz|first=Rachel|year=2000|publisher=Random House|edition=hardcover|location=New York}}{{rp|51}}
Notable clients
CMA was instrumental in the development of such stars as Judy Garland, Henry Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen,{{rp|44–45}} Peter Sellers, Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Natalie Wood, Faye Dunaway, James Coburn, Al Pacino,{{Cite book|title=Al Pacino : Life on the Wire|last=Yule|first=Andrew|publisher=Time Warner Books|year=1992|isbn=0751500488|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QGloPgAACAAJ|access-date=October 30, 2020|archive-date=November 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114145048/https://books.google.com/books?id=QGloPgAACAAJ|url-status=live}} 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.,{{cite news |last=McLellan |first=Dennis |title=Alan Ladd Jr. dies; Oscar-winning producer and studio boss greenlighted 'Star Wars' |url=https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2022-03-02/alan-ladd-jr-dead |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=March 2, 2022 |access-date=March 3, 2022}}{{cite news |last=Coyle |first=Jake |title=Oscar-winning producer Alan Ladd Jr. dies at 84 |url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-arts-and-entertainment-movies-mel-gibson-e4720830b63447d5e78858bd76ab50e1 |publisher=Associated Press |date=March 2, 2022 |access-date=March 3, 2022}} Sue Mengers, Guy McElwaine,{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=Agent Guy McElwaine dies at 71|url=https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/agent-guy-mcelwaine-dies-at-71-1117983368/|date=April 2, 2008|access-date=October 21, 2018|last=Saperstein|first=Pat}} David Geffen,{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/sex-drugs-and-the-billion-dollar-rise-of-david-geffen-5384737.html|title=Sex, drugs and the billion-dollar rise of David Geffen|date=2005-11-18|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-02-14}} Mike Medavoy, Michael Gruskoff,{{cite web|last=Aguilar|first=Carlos|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/interview-producer-michael-gruskoff-on-the-foreign-language-academy-award-and-international-hollywood-international-film-business|title=IndieWire: "Interview: Producer Michael Gruskoff on the Foreign Language Academy Award and International Hollywood"|website=IndieWire|date=June 2, 2014|access-date=June 13, 2023|archive-date=October 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006043232/http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/interview-producer-michael-gruskoff-on-the-foreign-language-academy-award-and-international-hollywood-international-film-business|url-status=dead}} and Sam Cohn.{{cite magazine|first=Mark|last=Singer|title=Profiles: Dealmaker|pages=40–84|magazine=The New Yorker|date=January 11, 1982|url=https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1982-01-11/flipbook/040/|format=fee required|accessdate=May 9, 2009}}
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixpictures.com/about-us/mike-medavoy.html|title=Mike Medavoy {{!}} Chairman & Chief Executive Officer|website=Phoenix Pictures|access-date=June 13, 2023|date=10 Sep 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328052835/https://phoenixpictures.com/about-us/mike-medavoy.html|archive-date=28 March 2015|author=Phoenix Pictures Inc.|url-status=dead}}
References
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Category:1975 disestablishments in California
Category:1975 mergers and acquisitions
Category:Companies based in Los Angeles
Category:Entertainment companies disestablished in 1975
Category:Entertainment companies established in 1960