Skip to content
226,923 profiles ranked

Lew Wasserman

American studio executive and talent agent (1913-2002) · United States · On the map · Founders · Died at 89

Lewis Robert Wasserman was an American businessman and talent agent, described as "the last of the legendary movie moguls" and "arguably the most powerful and influential Hollywood titan in the four decades after World War II".

Lew Wasserman is read about 189 times a day, in 12 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 23 August 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.

Something wrong?
Compare

A life in dates

2007Star on Hollywood Walk of FameAward2002Died3 June 20021995Presidential Medal of FreedomAward1974Jean Hersholt Humanitarian AwardAward1913Born22 March 1913

People around Lew

Family

Lew Wasserman

Partners

Is this everyone?

Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong. A marriage is drawn as ended only where its end is recorded, so a spouse drawn here may be a former one.

Correct this family

Also in Deutsch

Awards

Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame2007
Presidential Medal of Freedom1995
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award1974
Library of Congress Living Legend

About this person

His career spanned nearly eight decades from the 1920s to the 2000s; he started working as a cinema usher before dropping out of high school, rose to become the president of MCA Inc. and led its takeover of Universal Pictures, during which time Wasserman "brought about changes in virtually every aspect of show business". In 1995, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton. Several years later, he spoke of his ongoing work at Universal to Variety, saying, "I am under contract here for the rest of my life, and I don't think they would throw me out of my office - my name is on the building."

Country
United States
Category
Founders
Type
Founder
Status
Deceased
Dates
Lived 1913 to 2002 · aged 89

Where to find them