 |
| Fear the StormTater! He will mash the stuffing out of you |
I usually don't stray far from writing about the point of this blog, but I will say that tonight I went to a memorial service for my former boss of two years, Ed Limato, who passed away July 3rd and the experience was everything it should have been. Ed would be proud. If you Google his name, you'll see a lot of press about him. I worked for him during a tumultuous time, while after being President of one talent agency for over 15 years, he sued and took them to court because they wanted him to retire. He won in a landmark decision and we went to another agency. He was as big a star as his clients and was revered accordingly throughout the industry (there were 300-400 people there tonight including a bevy of celebrities). I didn't even address him as Ed until after a year working for him, it was always "Mr. Limato." Among other things, he was famous for his annual Oscar Party and I had the honor to plan his final 'soiree for the stars' in 2007. Anyway, tonight at the service Elton John gave an emotionally charged performance of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down" and several of his major clients gave eulogies, reminiscing about Ed and how much they missed him. Each actor spoke of Ed as being a paternal influence in their life. He guided, fought for, taught and above all protected those close to him. If you know the stereotype about Hollywood Talent Agents than you know how incredibly different Ed was from the gold standard. There will never be another one like him, he was undeniably a legend. He treated his clients and assistants as family and called us his 'kids' (there were at least 20 of his former assistants there tonight). Working for Ed as a naive 23 year old was my first job out of college and a large part of me grew up under his watchful eye and profane mouth (he was a legendary courser). One of his clients said that "he lived a dream and he allowed us to live in it as well" and I feel that speaks of my experience with him as well.
Out of the many stories I have of him, one of my favorite occurs after I told him I was leaving to work for a director because I wanted to be a writer (leaving Ed was rare because almost all of his assistants worked for many years to become an career agent under his tutelage). He was certainly sad to see me go (do know that he got over it quickly), but on the way out the door he sauntered past me chuckling and in his deep but cordial growl said, "Goodnight Hemingway" and strolled away with a smile.
It is one of many legendary lines that will stick with me for the rest of my years. To say the least he had a huge influence on me and tonight I was reminded of his indelible influence in my life, and I suppose as part of my catharsis I want to write about him here. He was one hell of a man to work for sometimes but he had a good heart and he genuinely cared for us and I know he's in a better place.
Rest in peace Mr. Limato,
Hemingway
(other names you may have called me include "#3, Walk Walk, Wayne, Wendall, Speak up no one will ever hear you, What's your number? You! Get in here!! and occasionally, Walker).
No comments:
Post a Comment