COVER STORY : The Clout Is in the Client and Other True Tales of Women Agents : What’s life like these days for the women at Hollywood’s three major talent agencies? Well, things are better than expected, but that glass ceiling is still pretty darn thick

In 1982, Judy Hofflund became the first woman to work in the Creative Artists Agency mailroom--an opportunity that opened up when agent Cheryl Peterson protested at a company retreat that that legendary path of upward mobility was an all-male domain. The company line had been that the hours were long, the work very physical and deliveries of film cans had to be made in “bad” neighborhoods late at night. Hofflund managed nonetheless.

Like scores of men before her, Hofflund was ultimately promoted. For nine months, she served as assistant to CAA President Ron Meyer. After a stint on the literary end, she began working with actors and actresses and took on clients of her own. Young and impatient, Hofflund went on to form her own InterTalent Agency in 1988 and is now a partner at United Talent Agency. Eleven years later, the CAA mailroom is one-third female.

So are the ranks of the three major talent agencies--CAA, William Morris and International Creative Management. That may be a smaller percentage than at the TV networks, but it surpasses the 1:4 ratio of females to males on the vice presidential level and above in the motion picture divisions of most of the major studios.

“There’s more mobility in the agencies,” says William Morris senior vice president Joan Hyler. “Clout is determined by whom you represent.”

Successful female agents pull down salaries well into the six-figure range. A handful, including William Morris’ Bobbi Thompson, ICM’s Toni Howard and CAA’s Jane Sindell, have reached the rank of department head or, like Susan Smith and Joan Scott, started agencies of their own. Still, in its 95-year history, William Morris has yet to put a woman on its nine-member board of directors. According to dozens of male and female agents interviewed by The Times, parity remains a pipe dream.

“Part of the old-boy network has been stripped away,” says Jeff Berg, chairman of ICM. “But the fact remains that the three major agencies are operated by men. Many more women have entered the ranks--but it goes beyond numbers to attitudes.”

The departure of several women from CAA between November, 1991, and November, 1992, raised questions not only about that operation but about the agency business as a whole. Why, as the top three report, are only half as many training program applications received from women? Is there something in the agency climate--or in the female psyche--that leads them to bail out at a greater rate? Two decades after entering the “talent” ranks in significant numbers, what do women bring to Hollywood and just how much progress have they made?

“The entertainment industry doesn’t consciously hold women back,” responds CAA’s Ron Meyer. “But in a young, male-founded business such as this, women are still overcoming history.”

Deborah Miller, now a senior vice president at the Agency for the Performing Arts, discovered that reality in the mid-’70s when, a few years after arriving at William Morris, she was handed a “compliment” by then-president Sam Weisbord. “You’re doing a great job, dear,” she recalls him saying. “I didn’t think women had the stamina and the strength.” After rising to the post of vice president and head of the TV variety and talent departments, Miller was fired in 1990. “I was later informed that I’d been moved aside to make room for some of the young men,” she says. “Banging my head on that glass ceiling was an eye-opener.”

Though instances of overt discrimination are now relatively rare, gender remains a subtle but significant part of agency life. A number of social and professional factors enter in.

Guys, for starters, feel more comfortable with guys. For a time, William Morris hosted an annual all-male fund-raiser for the Big Brothers of America. Several years ago, CAA’s Bob Bookman organized a couple of get-togethers for the up-and-coming men in the agency before CAA Chairman Michael Ovitz and Meyer called a halt. Last year, Sony Chairman Peter Guber invited CAA’s “Young Turks” (Kevin Huvane, Jay Moloney, Michael Wimer, Bryan Lourd, Richard Lovett and David O’Connor) to his Aspen ranch--no female agents or wives included. Such Robert Bly-type bonding gives men a leg up.

“Most of us wouldn’t want to be there,” says Rosalie Swedlin, a former CAA agent who represented directors Barry Levinson and Martin Scorsese before leaving for a Universal production deal in November, 1991. “But, since information was shared and strategies formed, some women may have felt excluded. You can’t legislate social life, but more effort needs to be made to pair up men and women on the job.”

William Morris’ Mike Simpson, co-head of the West Coast motion picture department, agrees. “The real question is whether women get the same kind of nurturing on their way to the top,” he says. “And some men have a resistance to mentoring female protegees. It has to do not only with the comfort level, but with the recent rise in sexual harassment suits.”

Comfort was also a factor in Kim Basinger’s return to ICM this past March after her much-publicized loss in a multimillion-dollar breach-of-oral-contract suit. The actress, who had been with three agencies in three years, opted to sign with Andrea Eastman in part because they were friends.

“An agent-client relationship is like a marriage,” observes Eastman, who represents Billy Crystal and Stockard Channing. “While some people think that it’s better chemistry to pair a male agent with a sexy actress, there’s a special bond between women. A lot of common ground.”

Still, notes Jerry Katzman, president of the William Morris Agency, political considerations come into play. Though women do exercise considerable clout in the industry, perception has yet to catch up with reality.

“Once you get to the top level, there is an incorrect belief that a woman cannot do as much for you as a man can,” he explains. “Women have to fight to get their portfolios and even harder to protect them.”

Though superstar Tom Cruise stayed with CAA’s Paula Wagner over the years and the red-hot Tim Robbins is still with ICM’s Goldsmith, other female agents have seen clients jump ship when their careers take off. Brad Pitt, hailed for his performance in “A River Runs Through It,” left Triad-turned-William Morris agent Hilda Queally for a two-man team at CAA. Kevin Costner bolted former InterTalent agent J.J. Harris for Michael Ovitz at CAA. In 1992, after winning the Tony Award for “Lost in Yonkers,” Mercedes Ruehl left Susan Smith for ICM’s Sam Cohn.

Some blame the defections on the tendency of talent to abandon “small” for “large”--an agency with a roster of high-powered clients who can be “packaged” together in a project. (The premium put on size hit home in October when William Morris acquired Triad and the similarly mid-sized InterTalent disbanded, sending agents to UTA and ICM.)

Others are convinced the defections are gender-related. “When an actor or actress breaks into the big leagues, they often go from a person who takes their calls and nurtures them to an agent they believe will maximize their value,” maintains Cary Brokaw, chairman of Avenue Pictures. “It’s not, ‘Can you get me a meeting with this director?’ but ‘How far into seven figures can you get me?’ The job description changes--and men, as the elder statesmen of the business, are the beneficiaries.”

Toni Howard, head of ICM’s talent department, acknowledges that prejudices abound. “One female client told me she wanted a man agent on our team,” she recalls. “ ‘Since the town is a boys’ club,’ she said, ‘it would probably be helpful.’ ” Other female agents have had similar experiences. When Julia Roberts came to ICM from William Morris, Jeff Berg’s name was added alongside Goldsmith’s in the Celebrity Bulletin that advises the industry about the whereabouts of stars. Those privy to the internal workings of CAA point out that, in that agency’s highly collaborative system, Ron Meyer is as significant in Madonna’s career as her agent Jane Berliner.

Ironic, observe a number of the industry’s power players, since female agents often bring more to the table. Though a greater number of men come through the door, says William Morris’ Simpson, the women who apply for the training program tend to exhibit more “drive, dedication and direction.”

His colleague Jerry Katzman says women have a better eye for new talent. “While men can identify a black-haired, blue-eyed guy or a suave Italian type, they tend to ignore the less obvious,” he says. “Instead of asking, ‘What do the studios or the networks want?’ women spend time developing careers.”

Susan Smith, who discovered both Glenn Close and Marybeth Hurt, is a case in point. Having furnished her nine-agent agency with couches and antiques (banning all file cabinets from agent offices), she acknowledges the difference in style. “Women bring an important emotionality to a number-oriented business,” says Smith, whose clients include Brian Dennehy and Kathy Bates.

Maybe so, admits Jane Sindell, head of CAA’s movie literary department. But an increasingly female agency world would not be measurably different from the current one. “Having more women would be wonderful,” she says, “but would probably have no immediate impact on industry culture or movies made. Male/female distinctions are simplistic. In the end, after all, it’s a business.”

Sometimes traits traditionally associated with women can also hold them back. Swedlin, who headed CAA’s motion picture department with Jack Rapke and Rick Nicita, has no complaints about her stint at the company. Colleagues point out, however, that she assumed the role of “peacemaker” and carried a disproportionate amount of the administrative load.

“Whether it was related to gender or my obsessive-compulsive personality, it’s hard to say,” Swedlin says with a smile. “But I tended to take on stuff that took lots of time and provided little glory. There are a lot of women making major deals. I did as well. But the big question is: Are women more culturally suited than men to being care-givers?”

UTA’s Hofflund says yes. “Women, unfortunately, have tended to fall into the role of ‘servicers’--bringing clients information, sending them scripts, talking to them day after day,” she observes. “Male agents often like a second in command, someone in the trenches. I resisted that role.”

So did CAA’s Paula Wagner, who left the agency to start a production company with client Cruise at Paramount. “I have a reputation for being a tough dealmaker,” she states. “I like confrontation and can fight with the best of them. I resent the implication that women are passive and have been relegated to the ‘line’ jobs.”

That was a luxury not afforded the female pioneers in the business, which, before the advent of unions, was a rough-and-tumble arena founded by--and dominated by--men. Women such as Phyllis Jackson (representing Ian Fleming and Dr. Seuss) and Kay Brown (Arthur Miller) became entrenched in the literary end in New York during the 1950s but it wasn’t until the late ‘60s and early ‘70s that a significant number infiltrated the “talent” ranks.

“We came in as secretaries and assistants and slipped into the role of agents while no one was looking,” recalls Maggie Abbott, an executive assistant with the Silvio Berlusconi Communications Group who, after starting out as a secretary in William Morris’ Rome office in 1962, was an agent with Creative Management Associates for nine years. “Because there was less emphasis on deal-making than on career-building, we became valuable because of our relationships.”

William Morris’ Nicole David, a high school dropout and former actress (Elvis Presley’s “The Trouble With Girls”), believes she would have made poor corporate material when she started out. Forming her own agency with garment center emigre Arnold Rifkin in 1975 permitted her to sidestep the rules. “Arnold didn’t care that I laughed too loud and didn’t wear pearls,” she explains. “I never knew what it was to come in at the mailroom and make Jeff Berg coffee. For me, the kitchen is the pathway to my garage.”

Still, says David, who represents Whitney Houston and Patrick Swayze, responsibilities were divvied up along what may be construed as male/female lines. “Making the best deal in town is nice, but not half as satisfying as helping people realize their dreams,” she asserts. “Arnold, on the other hand, is into the hunt. That difference is what made us successful.”

Are women held to a different standard when it comes to negotiations? Producer Freddie Fields (“Glory”), arguably the leading agent of the early ‘70s, believes they are: “A woman has to be careful. If she’s forceful and hard-hitting, it can be a turnoff.”

ICM’s Elaine Goldsmith (Julia Roberts) agrees. “If a man is tough, it’s considered part of who he is, who he’s supposed to be. If a woman is aggressive they call her names. A double standard exists, but it doesn’t stop me. It’s something I’ve learned to live--and work--with.”

Not so, says William Morris’ Katzman. “I get calls about women and men, both,” he says, “from people who’d like them off the account. The only difference is the language they use--’bitch’ vs. ‘son-of-a-bitch.’ ”

Twelve- to 14-hour days, the women point out, breed the deepest of bonds. Still schisms can erupt in the face of limited opportunity and power. “Women are often much less supportive of women than men are,” says ICM’s Toni Howard. “Instead of focusing on clout within the industry, they measure themselves against other women. Some don’t want to work for female executives.”

J.J. Harris, agent for Scott Bakula and Drew Barrymore, claims that Sue Mengers, the highest-profile agent of the late 70s (see sidebar), was very much a part of the old boys’ club--serving as a mentor to a cluster of female agents but giving preferential treatment to their male colleagues. “Sue would bring men to important signing meetings, send them out on agency-related trips, invite them to dinners at her home,” she recalls. “That’s a problem endemic not just to the agency business, but to our culture as a whole.”

Though agency higher-ups maintain that there’s no male/female salary differential, many women are convinced they’re playing catch-up. Everyone starts at the same gate, they agree (mailroom jobs, for men and women alike, offer barely more than $200 a week while junior agents start around $30,000 across-the-board). The disparity sets in three to five years into a career when most agents-on-the-rise rake in well over $100,000 a year--before bonuses.

“Like actresses, we have to settle for market value,” says one high-powered female agent. “Management gets quotes on what women at other agencies make, which ultimately keeps us down.” Self-employed Patricia McQueeney gets a windfall from Harrison Ford’s multimillion-dollar picture deals. But, with the exception of a few at CAA, it’s the rare female agent who, like a dozen or so males, has broken the $1-million-a-year mark.

William Morris’ Katzman says that the company has achieved salary parity in the past five years. Within the decade, he predicts, two or three woman will be sitting on the board. The company’s female ranks were sorely diminished when four agents--Elaine Goldsmith, Toni Howard, Risa Shapiro and Alice (Boaty) Boatright--left for ICM in 1991, five weeks after the agency failed to renew the contract of their mentor Mengers. Still, Hyler and Bobbi Thompson (head of the directors division) have been reinforced by the arrival of the Triad contingent.

If some are critical of the fact that her partner Arnold Rifkin was chosen worldwide head of the William Morris motion picture department, David has no complaints: “I never wanted the job and they never offered it to me. Administration is not my forte, so they would have been wasting their money.”

ICM, by most reckoning, is a more even playing field--a less rigid corporate environment geared to the survival of the fittest. Though the agency has a team of strong, powerful women, outsiders have charged that many were bought rather than nurtured. “Half of our women agents have been groomed from within,” counters Berg. “Besides, what’s wrong with acquiring talent--male or female?”

CAA was dodging bullets in the wake of the departure of six female agents--Rosalie Swedlin, Paula Wagner, Tina Nides, Amy Bookman, Sharon Cicero and Donna Chavous--over the course of a year. Only two men left during that time. Ovitz points out that each of the six was replaced by a woman: four promoted internally and two hired from the outside. “I’d be happy to put our track record up against that of any other agency in the business,” he says. “We’ve tried real hard to bring women up through the ranks and are beginning to see the fruits of that effort.”

Though discrimination had nothing to do with Judy Hofflund’s decision to leave CAA four years ago (“The owners were young and I realized I wouldn’t be a partner anytime soon”), a host of others claim something is rotten in CAA’s I.M. Pei headquarters.

“There’s got to be something in that culture that discourages women from continuing to do what they want to do,” says one. “Those six didn’t leave by coincidence.” Another rival agent has his doubts. “Women seem to be cutting out of CAA like rats on a sinking ship,” he notes. “But I’m not sure they were driven out. Maybe they’re smarter than their male counterparts and have found a way to have a fulfilling life in this business without being part of the machine.”

To hear the women tell it, he’s not far off the mark. At least three--Wagner, Nides and Swedlin--say they were happy and well-treated in their previous incarnation but, with the advent of middle age, wanted more creativity and balance in their lives. Attending business dinners and screenings at night, traveling to locations, reading scripts over the weekends and being constantly on call made that impossible. Women such as ICM’s Martha Luttrell (Susan Sarandon, Kathleen Turner), and William Morris’ Hyler have hung in for nearly two decades. But, as agencies have become ends in themselves rather than steppingstones to jobs as studios executives or producers, a number of their colleagues have begun to question their choice.

“As an agent, you’re so busy . . . always tossing everyone else’s balls in the air,” says Tina Nides who, after 12 years at CAA, left for a production deal at Paramount. “Once I reached my early 40s, I realized I wanted more. Men tend to define themselves through their work. They’re less apt to give ‘lifestyle’ this kind of thought.”

Many of the male agents have wives with flexible jobs or who don’t work outside the home--a package harder to come by in a male mate. Early on, a man whom Susan Smith was dating asked her to choose between him and the business. “Naive enough to think there was always another fella out there,” she says, she opted for the latter. “I tell my women friends, ‘Don’t do my life.’ Though I love my work, I have trouble keeping some friends and a dog.”

More recently, potential client David Ogden Stiers (Col. Winchester in “MASH”) asked Smith whether she was married, fearing that a relationship would take time away from her career. “There’s not one client in my agency who doesn’t think that way,” she says. “They all want total devotion.”

Children further complicate the picture. Former InterTalent agents Hofflund and J.J. Harris had an on-the-premises nursery built for their daughters, 21-month-old Rosemary and 1-year-old Haley--an amenity also built into their deal at UTA. For most women, however, that isn’t an option. “For me, it was an ‘either-or’ situation,” recalls ICM’s Luttrell. “I didn’t want a nanny bringing up my child.”

“For a number of women in this industry the job is their child,” observes CAA’s Bob Bookman, whose wife, Amy, left the agency to start a family. “Those women who do choose to give birth are realizing that they can’t ‘have it all’ and be functioning, psychologically healthy people. Though people are pointing fingers at the agency, sometimes, as Freud said, a couch is just a couch.”

In the end, say industry insiders, Hollywood is just a microcosm of the rest of the world: A place in which men have been running things for a long time and women have influence, but not power.

“Without question, we should have more women in leadership roles in this industry, just as there should be throughout society,” Ovitz admits. “All of us could do a lot more. Still, in many ways, ours is a much more open business for women than the rest of corporate America. The challenge for women is to make their mark in a work environment that has always been defined by and geared toward men--and to redefine it in their own terms.”

Deborah Miller, as much ground as she’s covered since “complimented” by William Morris’ Weisbord in the mid-’70s, will have to wait for that chance. When her phone rang at 6 a.m. one day last October, she was informed that Marty Klein, the president of APA, had died of a heart attack. She, as a company vice president and one of the three West Coast department heads, hoped to rise in the ranks. But it wasn’t to be. Not she, but two of her male colleagues, the agent was told, were slated to head up the L.A. office.

“It takes us a lot longer to get to the top,” says Miller, who has since been appointed a senior vice president. “But, in fact, it’s happening. The foundation of this business is believing the impossible dream. I guess that applies to agents, as well to clients.”