[Deathwatch] Phil Gersh, Hollywood agent, 92

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Hollywood Agent Phil Gersh Dies at 92

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood agent Phil Gersh, whose client list
included such greats as Humphrey Bogart, Richard Burton, David Niven,
Harrison Ford and "Sound of Music" director Robert Wise, has died of
natural causes at the age of 92, his family said Tuesday.

Gersh, who died Monday at his Beverly Hills home, spent more than 60
years in showbusiness, becoming a leading figure in Hollywood's golden
years when the movie business thrived on glamour and passion, rather
than corporate boardroom decisions.

Gersh is credited with persuading director Billy Wilder to take a
chance on casting Bogart -- who became a close friend -- out of his
tough guy role and into a romantic role in "Sabrina." He also suggested
that Wise try his hand at a musical -- namely "The Sound of Music."

Born in 1911 to Russian immigrant parents who ran a New York City
delicatessen, Gersh moved to California after his sister married
Paramount executive Sam Jaffe. He attended UCLA, worked in the
Paramount prop department and then joined Jaffe's agency as a $15 per
week office boy.

He quickly became an agent in his own right, making a name for signing
young, upcoming directors such as Wise, Joseph Losey and Richard
Fleischer.

After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II, Gersh returned to
California in 1945 and reentered the agency business with Famous
Artists Agency. In 1949 he founded his own business, The Phil Gersh
Agency.

In the late 1970s, he was joined by his son Bob, who would represent
actors Cindy Williams, Dennis Quaid and Michael J. Fox. His other son
David left a career in law to join the agency in the late 1980s,
expanding the literary department of the agency with the founding of a
New York office in 1992.

The firm was renamed The Gersh Agency in the early 1990s. Gersh was
still coming into the office most days until March.

An avid art collector, Gersh was a founder of the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Beverly Hills
Fine Arts Committee. He was also a member of the board of directors of
the Motion Picture Television Fund.

In addition to his sons, Gersh is survived by his wife of 59 years,
Beatrice Aberle Gersh, his sister Pearl Sindell and five grandchildren.