Freddie Fields

Freddie Fields
Born Fred Feldman
(1923-07-12)July 12, 1923
Ferndale, New York, United States
Died December 11, 2007(2007-12-11) (aged 84)
Beverly Hills, California, United States
Nationality American
Occupation Producer, agent
Spouse(s) Edith Fellows
(m.1946–1955; divorced; 1 child)
Polly Bergen
(m. 1957-1975; divorced; 3 children)
Cherie Latimer
(m. 1976-1977; divorced)
Corinna Tsopei
(m. 1981-2007; his death)
Children Kathy Fields

Freddie Fields (July 12, 1923 – December 11, 2007),[1] born Fred Feldman, was an American theatrical agent and film producer.

Biography

Born to a Jewish family,[2] he was the brother of band leader Shep Fields. Fields was a partner in the First Artists Company with Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Sidney Poitier, and Barbara Streisand.[1] First Artist was unique in that it owned the films it produced.[3] Fields and partner David Begelman founded the international talent agency Creative Management Associates (CMA).[3][1] At CMA, Fields and Begelman pioneered the movie "package", where the talent agency put their stars, directors and writers together on a single project.[4] CMA developed numerous agents including Sue Mengers, Mike Medavoy, Sam Cohn, and Jeff Berg (who became president in 1969).[3] While at CMA, he was involved with numerous blockbuster films including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, American Graffiti and Star Wars. CMA was instrumental in the development of such stars as Jack Carter, Judy Garland, Woody Allen, Henry Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Peter Sellers, Steve McQueen, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Burt Bacharach, Neil Young, and into the 1980s promoted the likes of Richard Gere and Mel Gibson. He played a key role in the merger of CMA with the International Famous Agency to form International Creative Management (ICM).[1] He later served as president of MGM and United Artists.[1]

Personal life

Fields has been married four times. He was survived by his wife, former Miss Universe 1964, Corinna Tsopei, and by three children by his former wife, actress Polly Bergen.[5][6] He also was married to actress Edith Fellows, who died June 26, 2011. Kathy Fields is their child.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 USA Today: "Legendary producer/agent Freddie Fields dies" by John Rogers December 12, 2007
  2. ↑ Variety: "Secret lunch honors Ladd" by Bob Verini September 27, 2007
  3. 1 2 3 Variety: "Agent Freddie Fields dies at 84. Industry vet paved the way for super-agents" by Richard Natale December 12, 2007
  4. ↑ Eller, Claudia; Dutka, Eliane (August 9, 1995). "Begelman, Ex-Columbia Chief, an Apparent Suicide". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ New York Times
  6. ↑ Timesonline.co.uk
  7. ↑ New York Times
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