Larry Auerbach, a longtime agent at William Morris Agency and the former USC Film School Dean, has died. He was 95.
Auerbach spent nearly 50 years at WMA – a career that began while he was still in high school. He transitioned out of the New York office’s mailroom to booking small theaters and nightclubs before launching the office’s rock music department.
He was also the man who booked Elvis Presley’s first network TV performance in 1956 and worked with Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin and Sammy Davis Jr. His clients included Alan Alda and Aaron Spelling, and he was the person who packaged and sold “The Cosby Show.”
Auerbach ran the motion picture division for William Morris in New York, helping to bring forth such films as “The French Connection,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “Fiddler on The Roof,” “Moonstruck,” and “Last Tango in Paris.”
He then moved to Los Angeles and ran the television department. His shows included “The Patty Duke Show,” “That Girl,” “The Mod Squad,” and “Chico and the Man.”
Auerbach left the agency in 1992 and joined the USC School of Cinematic Arts as its Executive Director and Associate Dean of Student Industry Relations. In this capacity, he helped connect students with professionals in the TV and movie industry. He retired from USC in 2018.
Larry Auerbach was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He is survived by his sons, David, Bruce and Stephen, as well as by six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Auerbach’s wife Carole died in 2010. A memorial service will be announced.
