W. A. Rush; Talent Agent Managed Top Stars

Talent agent William Arthur Rush, who at one time managed the careers of such stars as Nelson Eddy, Jackie Gleason, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, died Sunday in Burbank of complications from a Thanksgiving auto accident, family members said Wednesday. He was 81.

Born in 1907 in Graysville, Pa., Rush came to Los Angeles in 1931 and quickly became West Coast manager for RCA Victor.

In the fledgling Los Angeles recording industry in the 1930s, Rush produced radio shows and recordings by Glenn Miller, Dinah Shore, Igor Stravinsky, Arthur Rubenstein and others.

In 1937, Rush left RCA and became an agent for Columbia Management of California, a CBS subsidiary, where he managed the careers of Mary Martin, Vladimir Horowitz, Orson Wells and others.

He formed his own talent agency in 1939, Art Rush Inc., from which he managed Nelson Eddy for 22 years. He also discovered and launched the career of tenor Mario Lanza.

Rush became Roy Rogers’ agent after he met the Western star in a Hollywood restaurant in 1941. Their collaboration was sealed with a handshake and the two men never signed a formal contract.

Managing Rogers and Dale Evans, and the Sons of the Pioneers, Rogers’ musical group, became the focus of Rush’s work. He helped the couple market and merchandise more than 400 products and establish more than 500 Roy Rogers Restaurants, in association with Marriott Corp.

Rush once called his 48-year collaboration with Rogers and Evans “the richest experience anybody could hope for in the entertainment world.”

Rogers and Evans could not be reached Wednesday.

Their son, Roy Rogers Jr., said Rush became a close family friend.

“He wasn’t just an agent,” the younger Rogers said. “We called him ‘Mother Rush’ because he took care of dad and the Pioneers.”

Rush is survived by two sons, Robert Nelson Rush and Dr. William Arthur Rush Jr. and two grandchildren. Mary Jo Matthews, Rush’s wife of 53 years, died last September.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Old North Church, Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood Hills.