Three Top Executives Leave William Morris in Shake-Up

The venerable William Morris Agency announced a management shake-up Friday that consolidates power under Chief Executive Jim Wiatt, prompting the exit of three prominent, longtime executives.

Out are Sam Haskell, the head of television who worked at William Morris for 26 years; Richard Rosenberg, who built the company’s successful music and concert division; and Chief Operating Officer Steve Kram, who helped push the firm’s international initiatives.

The 106-year-old Beverly Hills-based talent agency said the trio, who had an ownership interest in the company, left because of differences over the direction of the company. They sold back their shares in the firm for an undisclosed amount.

“This is something that the three of us have been talking about for quite some time,” Kram said. “It was all about differences over the direction and strategy of the company.”

Rosenberg put it this way: “This was a simple matter of having a lot of people allowed in the decision-making process, and now there are fewer people involved.”

Wiatt dismissed the notion that anyone had been “pushed out the door”: “There was some resistance over how we integrate the different divisions. And we were looking for a way to achieve much better cooperation among the different divisions.”

Long-standing differences came to a head when Wiatt wanted to promote his friend and lieutenant Dave Wirtschafter to the position of president, a title held by Wiatt, agency sources said.

A low-key literary agent who is more comfortable in a T-shirt than a tie, Wirtschafter followed Wiatt to William Morris from International Creative Management in 1999. Around the office, Wirtschafter is often shadowed by a golden retriever brought into the office by an employee.

Also promoted in the shake-up was Irv Weintraub who’ll take over as chief operating officer.

Norman Brokaw, 77, remains chairman of the company, where he has worked for six decades.

A company source said it was the elevation of Wirtschafter, the head of the motion picture division, that particularly riled Haskell, who ran the TV unit. He had spent his entire career at the firm, thriving in a culture in which division chiefs were allowed great autonomy.

Haskell declined to be interviewed. He has long been rumored to be interested in running for political office, and Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is a friend. In a statement Friday, Haskell said: “At some point, my final destiny lies in my home state of Mississippi.”

The new management structure -- with clear lines of authority -- is designed to erase the agency’s old-Hollywood style organization, in which the TV, motion picture and other divisions operated independently with little collaboration.

Today, there is far more interaction between these disciplines, as producer Jerry Bruckheimer has shown with his hit “CSI” crime dramas on CBS and blockbuster movies, including “Pirates of the Caribbean.” He is represented by Creative Artists Agency.

“For the last 30 or 40 years, William Morris has been very balkanized between Los Angeles and New York, and television and motion picture,” said Frank Rose, whose 1995 book “The Agency” chronicles the company that today represents actors Halle Berry and Russell Crowe and directors Tim Burton and Ridley Scott.

“It used to be that no motion picture star would do television unless their career was in a steep slide,” Rose said. “But now you’ll find them doing video games. There’s no clear boundaries anymore.”