The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman (2005)

4/18/07

Movie: The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman (2005)

Documentary probing the life of Lew Wasserman (1913-2002), super-agent, studio head, and financel force behind presidents from Kennedy to Clinton. One of the more interesting aspects of Wasserman's life was his association with Ronald Reagan, one of his very first clients whom he helped segway into his leadership position in the SAG, and whose later political ambition he extensively underwrote. The movie makes the point that Wasserman and Reagan broke many industry rules in the early 50's when transitioning from film to television dominance (at one point Wasserman's company's produced 60% of the programs on network television), but in so doing enabled both Lew to outlast the other moguls, and (quite likely) Reagan's eventual presidency. Lew's story is especially interesting to hear given his ironic media shyness and failure to leave any substantive writings behind, however the documentary itself is unremarkable save for getting Jimmy Carter to be one of it's talking heads.