WASSERMAN, LEW

WASSERMAN, LEW (1913–2002), U.S. entertainment executive. Born Lewis Robert Wasserman in Cleveland, Ohio, to Russian immigrant parents, Wasserman worked as an usher   at a vaudeville theater during high school. After graduating in 1930, he worked as a promoter for the Mayfair Casino nightclub. The Music Corporation of American (MCA) talent agency hired him in 1936 as national director of advertising and publicity, and two years later Wasserman moved to Los Angeles. As vice president of MCA's motion picture division, Wasserman brought in such A-list celebrities as billy wilder , Bette Davis, Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly, and Ronald Reagan, and won greater control for his clients by doing away with the standard seven-year studio contract and earning them a percentage of the box office. By 1946 he had risen to president of MCA, and in the early 1950s Wasserman branched out with an MCA motion picture division. In 1958, Wasserman purchased a portion of Paramount Pictures' film library for $10 million, and then sold the broadcast rights to television stations for more than $30 million. MCA purchased Universal Studios and Decca Records in 1962, and soon found itself under the scrutiny of the Justice Department, which forced MCA to divest itself of its talent business. Subsequently, Wasserman became involved in politics, holding fundraisers for political campaigns, and courting presidential candidates; Wasserman was also active in donating to Jewish and Catholic charities. In 1973, Wasserman was named chairman of MCA, following Jules Stein's retirement. Soon after he launched the phenomenon of the "summer blockbuster" with such films as Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977). In the late 1970s and 1980s, MCA expanded its television stake by producing such programs as The Rockford Files, Columbo, Kojak, and Miami Vice. In 1990, MCA was sold to the Japanese electronics company Matsushita, which allowed Wasserman to maintain his chairmanship. Matsushita sold its stake in MCA to Seagram in 1995, which all but ended Wasserman's control of the company. That same year, Wasserman, in his trademark thick black frame eyeglasses, was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton. Wasserman has been the subject of many books, including When Hollywood Had a King by Connie Bruck (2003), as well as a documentary, The Last Mogul (2005). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: "Wasserman, Lew," in Newsmakers, Issue 3 (Gale Group, 2003); "Wasserman, Lew," in: International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, vol. 4: Writers and Production Artists (20004). WEBSITE: Lew Wasserman, Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com. (Adam Wills (2nd ed.)