Marty Bauer, United Talent Agency Co-Founder, Dies at 74

Marty Bauer, a co-founder of United Talent Agency, has died, Variety has confirmed. He was 74.

“The entertainment industry has lost a unique and accomplished executive — and UTA has lost one of its founders,” UTA said in a statement. “Marty Bauer helped reshape the agency business. He was a fierce advocate for artists and a force in the creative community. We pay tribute today to his life and legacy and our thoughts are with his family.”

Bauer spent the first part of his career as a representative for William Morris Agency and then ran the Bauer-Benedek agency, which was established in 1986. By January 1991, Bauer and entertainment lawyer Peter Benedek merged their agency with Leading Artists, officially founding UTA. With Creative Artists Agency, International Creative Management and William Morris dominating the industry, Bauer and team saw a chance to come together and bolster their prominence. Early clients included Lawrence Kasdan, Brian De Palma, Steven Soderbergh and Joel and Ethan Cohen. In June of 1996, UTA partners appointed Bauer to the position of co-chairman and president, which he served as until October 1997. He went on to a newly-created, temporary position as senior counselor for the agency.

Come 1998, Bauer’s UTA exit led to the establishment of The Bauer Company, a management and production banner.

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“I very much feel I’m in a much better place to service my clients than when I was running a talent agency, where my time and energies were diverted elsewhere,” Bauer told Variety at the time of his career step. “And I’ve always wanted to be more in the creative side of the business.”

Over his career, his roster of clients included producer Martin Bregman, writers Dan Pyne, Chris Crowe, Vincent Patrick and John Mankiewicz, Alan Alda and John Avildsen. Bauer is survived by his two sons, Josh and Matthew, and his ex-wife Barbara Bauer.

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Larita Shotwell

Update: 2024-04-14

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