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]
Susi Mengers was born to a Jewish family in Hamburg, Germany, the daughter of George and Ruth Mengers (née Levy).[5][6][7] Several years of birth have been published,[8][9][10][verification needed][11] and while she was living, reporters stated "she won't say just when" she was born.[12] In 1938, she arrived at age five in New York with her parents on the ship S.S. Koenigstein from Antwerp.[13][verification needed][14]: 39 Neither of her parents spoke English at the time.[15] Settling in Utica, New York, her father became a traveling salesman.[16] After her father's suicide in a Times Square hotel, she relocated to the Bronx with her mother, who took a job as a bookkeeper.[14]: 40
Careeredit
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 Julie Harris, who was primarily a stage performer. To Mengers' surprise, Harris wanted to appear on an episode of Bonanza. Mengers contacted the producer, who commissioned a specially written episode for Harris.[14]: 43 Mengers represented Anthony Perkins, who had not worked in the United States since Psycho (1960). She contacted producer Ray Stark and obtained for Perkins a role in director René Clément's film Is Paris Burning? (1966).[14]: 43
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]
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]
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 was portrayed in the 2022 series The Offer, about the making of The Godfather.
Referencesedit
^"United States Social Security Death Index, Sue Mengers, 2011". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
^"Ms. Mengers claimed to be 78, although some sources listed her age as 79 or 81." Chmielewski, Dawn C.; Kaufman, Amy (October 17, 2011). Sue Mengers, Hollywood talent agent, dies in Beverly Hills. Archived 2016-03-10 at the Wayback MachineWashington 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.
^ abcdCieply, 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.
^ abc"Sweet and Sour Sue". Time. March 26, 1973. Archived from the original on 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.
^Sue Mengers 1938-. Contemporary Newsmakers (Report). Gale Research Co. 1985. ISBN 978-0-8103-2201-1.
^McBride, Joseph (1983). Filmmakers on filmmaking: The American Film Institute seminars on motion pictures and television, Volume 1.. J.P. Tarcher. 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]
^Biskind, Peter (2004). Gods and monsters: Thirty years of writing on film and culture from one of America's most incisive writers. Nation Books. 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.
^ abcdefghiAbramowitz, Rachel (2000). Is That a Gun In Your Pocket? Women's Experience of Power in Hollywood (hardcover ed.). New York: Random House.
^ ab"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.
^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.
^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.
^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.