Sue Mengers
Sue Mengers | |
---|---|
Hamburg, Germany | |
Died | October 15, 2011[1][2][3] | (aged 79)
Citizenship | American |
Occupation | Talent agent |
Spouse | Jean-Claude Tramont (m. 1973–1996; his death) |
Sue Mengers (September 2, 1932[4] – October 15, 2011) was a talent agent for many filmmakers and actors of the New Hollywood generation of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.[5]
Early life
Susi Mengers was born to a
Career
Mengers entered the talent agency business in 1955 as a receptionist at MCA.[5] She also worked for a while as a secretary for freelance theatrical agency Baum & Newborn. Eventually, she was hired as a secretary at the William Morris Agency, a powerhouse in the emerging television industry,[14]: 41 where she remained until 1963, when a former Baum & Newborn colleague, Tom Korman, formed his own agency and hired her as a talent agent.[14]: 42
Her first big addition to her books was actress
In the late 1960s, she was hired by
Shortly after the Manson family Tate–LaBianca murders, Mengers reportedly reassured Streisand: "Don't worry, honey, stars aren't being murdered. Only featured players."[15]
Personal life
On May 5, 1973, she married Belgian writer-director Jean-Claude Tramont at a chapel in Big Sur.[17][18] Barbra Streisand was her maid of honor, and Comte Bruno d'Oncieu was Tramont's best man.[14]: 50 [17] Tramont died on December 27, 1996, aged 66, from cancer.[19]
Death
Mengers died on Saturday, October 15, 2011, from pneumonia at her home in Beverly Hills, California, at age 79. Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter posted a written tribute the following morning.[20]
Legacy
- In the film The Last of Sheila (1973), the character played by actress Dyan Cannon was reportedly based on Mengers.[6]
- Mengers expressed disapproval when she thought the character Shelley Winters portrayed in the Blake Edwards' film S.O.B. (1981), was based on her. She publicly stated that "An Alp should fall on their house."[21][verification needed]
- television movie These Old Broads (2001) on Mengers.[22]
- In the Barbara Walters autobiography Audition: A Memoir (2008), she describes Mengers as "a legend in the business. Smart, tough, and funny, she is also brutally honest."[23]
- Mengers inspired the one-woman play I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers, written by John Logan, which opened on Broadway April 24, 2013, starring Bette Midler.[24]
- The character of Susie Myerson in the Amazon original series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017) was inspired by Mengers.[25]
- Jennifer Lawrence was attached to produce and star as Mengers in a biopic directed by Paolo Sorrentino for Apple Studios in 2021.[26]
- Mengers was portrayed in the 2022 series The Offer, about the making of The Godfather.
References
- ^ "United States Social Security Death Index, Sue Mengers, 2011". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
- Washington Post
- ^ According to the U.S. 1940 census, Mengers was born
Susi Mangars and her age is given as 7 in April 1940, which would correspond to 1932 as her year of birth
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1933
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Germany
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Daughter
Home in 1940: Utica, Oneida, New York
Street: Stueben Street
Inferred Residence in 1935: Hamburg, Germany
Residence in 1935: Hamburg, Germany
Citizenship: Alien
Sheet Number: 8A
Household Members:- Name Age
- George Mangars 33
- Ruth Mangars 31
- Susi Mangars 7
- ^ The New York Daily News obituary (p. 24, October 17, 2011: "Mengers claimed to be 78 [sic], but she was believed to be 81.") indicates Mengers may have been born as early as 1930.
- ^ a b c d Cieply, Michael (October 16, 2011). "Sue Mengers, Hollywood Agent, Dies at 79". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- ^ Time. March 26, 1973. Archived from the originalon 2007-11-20. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ^ Brook, Vincent. From Shtetl to Stardom: Jews and Hollywood. Purdue University Press. p. 10. Archived from the original on 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
- ISBN 978-0-8103-2201-1.
- ISBN 978-0-87477-266-1.
Born in Germany in the mid-1930s, she left with her parents in 1939 and settled in the Bronx.
- ^ Rosenfield, Paul (July 26, 1987). "Power players: Hollywood's Love-Hate Relationship With Agents". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Staff report". Los Angeles Times. April 7, 1988. Retrieved November 30, 2021.[permanent dead link]
- ISBN 978-1-56025-545-1.
- ^ "United States INS - Port of New York - Manifest of Alien Passengers aboard the S.S. Koenigstein from Antwerp" (Document). United States INS. August 13, 1938.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Abramowitz, Rachel (2000). Is That a Gun In Your Pocket? Women's Experience of Power in Hollywood (hardcover ed.). New York: Random House.
- ^ a b "Sue Mengers obituary". The Telegraph. October 21, 2011. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ Kemper, Tom (October 10, 2013). R. Daniel Wadhwani (ed.). "Sue Mengers –Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present". German Historical Institute. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ a b Haber, Joyce (May 9, 1973). "A Party Good for the Constitution". Los Angeles Times. p. 16.
- ^ Kaufman, Amy (October 16, 2011). "Sue Mengers, powerhouse Hollywood agent, dies at 79". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023.
- ^ "Death Index entry for Jean Claud Tramont, SS# 106-24-7005". Social Security. Archived from the original on 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
- ^ Carter, Graydon (October 26, 2011). "Remembering Sue Mengers: Everybody Came to Sue's". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- Playboy(Interview).
- ^ Keck, William (February 12, 2001). "Scandal's History for 'These Old Broads'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-307-26646-0.
- ^ Bette Midler on Her Return to Broadway. The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ Blake, Meredith (November 25, 2017). "Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein lend their fast-talking charm to Amy Sherman-Palladino's 'The Marvelous MRS. Maisel'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Fleming Jr, Mike (August 13, 2021). "Apple In Advanced Talks To Win Big Auction For Jennifer Lawrence-Sue Mengers Biopic Package". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
External links
- Sue Mengers at IMDb
- "Everybody Came to Sue's" article by Graydon Carter
- "Caftan Confidential" interview with Sue Mengers
- Sue Mengers' "Sabbatical from the Stars" L.A. Times article