Ovitz’s Talent Firm Loses Robin Williams
Former Hollywood super-agent Michael Ovitz has suffered another round of setbacks in his bid to vault to the ranks of top talent management as several sports stars and comedian Robin Williams defected from Ovitz’s management company in recent days.
Williams made the jump Wednesday, leaving Ovitz’s Beverly Hills-based Artists Management Group and headed only a few blocks away to Creative Artists Agency Inc., the agency Ovitz co-founded but which now is a rival.
An AMG spokesman was not immediately available for comment, but Williams’ departure deals a blow to Ovitz, who formed AMG in late 1998 after being pushed out as president of Walt Disney Co.
In addition to Williams’ departure, last week Jill Smoller, who handles the careers of tennis stars Pete Sampras and Serena Williams, Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Rick Fox and Olympic gold medal swimmer Summer Sanders, left AMG and took her clients to William Morris Agency.
AMG continues to represent Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio, and the filmmaking division, Artists Production Group, continues to develop movies.
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