Abe Lastfogel

Abe Lastfogel
Born	May 17, 1898
Died	August 27, 1984
Occupation	Talent agent
Spouse	Frances Armus

Abraham Isaac Lastfogel (May 17, 1898 – August 27, 1984) was one of the first employees and a long-time president of the William Morris Agency, a large diversified talent agency.^[1]

Early life

Lastfogel was the seventh son of a Jewish animal skinner who had fled Russia in 1889 to escape the pogroms. He was raised in a cold-water flat in New York.^{[2]: 34 [3]}

Career

The William Morris Agency hired Lastfogel in 1912 as an office boy. Finding success in the rapidly growing firm, Lastfogel moved to Hollywood in 1932 to manage WMA's Los Angeles office. He became chairman of the agency^[4] while William Morris Jr. served as president.

USO shows

During World War II, Lastfogel oversaw USO camp shows,^[5] which were wartime entertainment events featuring more than 7,000 performers seen by an estimated 200 million servicemen.^{[2]: 82 [6] [7]}

Personal life

In 1927, Lastfogel married Frances Arms, a former Vaudeville performer. They had no children.^[4]

Lastfogel died of a heart attack in 1984^[8] at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and was interred at the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.

References

1. "Abe Lastfogel, Agent, Dead; A William Morris Executive". The New York Times. 27 August 1984. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
2. Rose, Frank (1996). The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business (1st pbk. ed.). New York: HarperBusiness. ISBN 978-0-887-30807-9. OCLC 37128759.
3. Brook, Vincent. From Shtetl to Stardom: Jews and Hollywood: Chapter 1: Still an Empire of Their Own: How Jews Remain Atop a Reinvented Hollywood. Purdue University Press. p. 10.
4. Buckley, Tom (3 December 1973). "William Morris Agency Marks 75 Years of 10% vaudeville headliner when" (PDF). The New York Times. pp. 77, 85. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
5. "USO Camp Show Head Back from England: Lastfogel Arrives on Clipper After Entertainment Survey" (PDF). The New York Times. 17 December 1942. p. 42. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
6. Kahn Jr., E. J. (20 April 1946). "The Quiet Guy in Lindy's". The New Yorker. p. 35. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
7. Kahn Jr., E. J. (27 April 1946). "The Quiet Guy in Lindy's II". The New Yorker. p. 27. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
8. "Abraham Lastfogel - United States Social Security Death Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2 October 2015.

Further reading

• Rose, Frank. The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business. New York: HarperCollins, 1995. ISBN 978-0-887-30807-9 OCLC 37128759