LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Freddie Fields, who reigned as the personification of the free-wheeling, high-living Hollywood agent from the 1960s through the 70s, has died. He was 84.
He succumbed to lung cancer at his Beverly Hills home on Tuesday.
Although Fields went on to become a studio executive and film producer, he made his mark on the industry through the Creative Management Agency, which he co-founded with David Begelman in 1960. CMA -- which later evolved into the current Intl. Creative Management -- exemplified what at the time was called the New Hollywood.
From its headquarters on Beverly Boulevard, it boasted a glittering talent roster that included Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Michael Caine, Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand and Steve McQueen along with such directors as Arthur Penn, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Sydney Pollack, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Mazursky.
"It was a very high-energy environment, a very collegial place," said ICM chairman and CEO Jeff Berg, who joined CMA as a young agent. Freddie taught us a great deal about how to think and operate. He was extremely creative. He understood the needs of artists and how to manage the complexity of a career. All of us in the agency business owe him a huge debt."
Fields worked aggressively to ensure that his clients not only got the best projects but also were richly compensated with lucrative profit-sharing deals, often augmented with top-of-the-line perks.
When Fields first decided to go into business for himself, after 10 years at MCA, one of the first performers he pursued was Judy Garland, even though her career was then at a low ebb. He not only won her over, but he also persuaded her to take a supporting part in Stanley Kramers "Judgment at Nuremberg," which earned her an Oscar nomination, recharging her career. Together, Fields and Begelman helped engineer Garlands legendary 1961 Carnegie Hall concert and her CBS variety show, "The Judy Garland Show," which ran from 1963-64.
Realizing that Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox were developing dueling movies about office building fires, Fields intervened and persuaded the two studios to join forces on one project, "The Towering Inferno," which, naturally, starred such clients as Newman and McQueen.
Most notably, Fields helped forge the template for artist-owned production companies with the creation of First Artists in 1969. Initially, the company brought together Streisand, Newman and McQueen -- Sidney Poitier and Dustin Hoffman would join later -- to produce and star in their own films.
"We lived through a very exciting time together," Streisand said. "He was a very creative thinker. I always enjoyed his company. Its the end of an era."
Although the company lasted just five years before the actors went their separate ways, it left behind such films as Streisands "Up the Sandbox," Newmans "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" and Poitiers "Uptown Saturday Night."
Explaining its significance, Berg said, "Freddie found a way to raise capital around significant stars who were willing to gamble on the success of their films."
ICM was born in 1974 when CMA was sold to Marvin Josephsons International Famous Agency. Fields stayed on as president for just six months before taking off in a new direction as a producer based at Paramount.
His film credits include Jonathan Demmes "Handle With Care," Richard Brooks "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and Paul Schraders "American Gigolo."
In 1981, Fields was lured into the executive suite as president of the motion picture division at MGM. The move reunited him with Begelman, who was then serving as chairman and CEO of United Artists.
But within just a few years, Fields returned to filmmaking. The 1989 civil war movie "Glory" -- his last credit as a film producer -- earned five Oscar nominations and picked up two awards, including a supporting actor trophy for Denzel Washington.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
