Sue Mengers was a talent agent to many significant filmmakers and actors of the New Hollywood generation of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.[3](September 2, c. 1932 [2] — October 15, 2011)
Early life
Mengers was born in Hamburg, Germany.[4] Several years of birth have been published,[5][6][7][8] and while she was living, reporters stated "she won't say just when" she was born.[9] Around 1938, she arrived in the United States with her parents.[10] Neither of her Jewish[11] parents spoke English at the time. Settling in Utica, New York, her father became a traveling salesman. After he committed suicide in a hotel in Times Square, Mengers relocated to The Bronx with her mother, who took a job as a bookkeeper.[12]Career
Mengers' entry into the talent agency business was in 1955 as a receptionist at MCA, at the time the dominant company of the trade, with a roster of clients that included Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift. She also worked for a while as a secretary for freelance theatrical agency Baum & Newborn. Eventually, she was hired as a secretary at William Morris Agency, a powerhouse in the emerging TV business,[13] where she remained until 1963, when a former Baum & Newborn colleague, Tom Korman, formed his own agency and hired her as a talent agent.[14]Her first big score was actress Julie Harris, who was primarily a stage actress. To Mengers' surprise, Harris wanted to appear on an episode of Bonanza. Mengers contacted the producer who commissioned a specially written episode for Harris.[15] Mengers represented Anthony Perkins, who had not worked in the United States since Psycho (1960). She contacted producer Ray Stark and obtained Perkins a role in director René Clément's film Is Paris Burning? (1966).[15]
Some time in the late 1960s or early 1970s, she was hired by Creative Management Associates (CMA), a boutique agency owned by Freddie Fields. CMA's clients included Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and Robert Redford.[16] On December 30, 1974, Fields sold the agency to Marvin Josephson and his TV powerhouse, International Famous Agency (IFA), to become International Creative Management.[17]
Mengers represented such luminaries as Candice Bergen, Peter Bogdanovich, Michael Caine, Dyan Cannon, Cher, Joan Collins, Brian De Palma, Faye Dunaway, Bob Fosse, Gene Hackman, Sidney Lumet, Ali McGraw, Steve McQueen, Mike Nichols, Nick Nolte, Tatum O'Neal, Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, Barbra Streisand, Gore Vidal, and Tuesday Weld.[4] She retired from International Creative Management (ICM) in 1986 and came back for a brief stint at the William Morris Agency from 1988-90.
When the Manson family murders took place, Mengers reportedly reassured her friend and client, Barbra Streisand: "Don't worry, honey, stars aren't being murdered. Only featured players."[18]
Legacy
In the 1973 film The Last of Sheila, the character played by actress Dyan Cannon was reportedly based on Mengers.[4]In Barbara Walters' autobiography, Audition: A Memoir, she describes Mengers as "a legend in the business. Smart, tough, and funny, she is also brutally honest."[19]
Mengers expressed disapproval when she thought the character Shelley Winters played in Blake Edwards' S.O.B. (1981 film) was based on her. She made the public statement "An Alp should fall on their house". Edwards replied that was far preferable than having Sue Mengers fall on their house.[20].
Elizabeth Taylor based her character in the 2001 Made for television movie These Old Broads on Mengers.[21]
Marriage
On May 5, 1973,[22] she married Belgian writer-director Jean-Claude Tramont (May 5, 1930 – December 27, 1996). Barbra Streisand was her maid of honor.[23] Tramont died on December 27, 1996, aged 66, from cancer.[24]Death
Mengers died on Saturday, October 15, 2011, from pneumonia at her home in Beverly Hills, California. Her age was given as 79 by Boaty Boatwright, an agent at International Creative Management and a longtime friend. Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter posted a written tribute the following morning.[25]To see more of who died in 2011 click here
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