Larry Auerbach

Larry Auerbach was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in Beverly Hills, CA.  Auerbach detailed his 47-year association with the William Morris Agency, where he started part-time in the mailroom.  He talked about his move out of the mailroom and his work booking talent in small nightclubs and theaters.  He described his booking of musical talent on early television shows, including such talents as Sam Cooke, Sammy Davis Jr., and Elvis Presley.  Auerbach described fully the circumstances by which he got Presley his first television exposure on the series Stage Show .  He discussed representing Alan Freed and how the “payola” scandals ruined Freed’s career. He also talked about the packaging of the unusual Mitch Miller series Sing Along With Mitch that featured on-screen lyrics for sing-alongs and was a big commercial hit.  He talked about representing such television figures as Alan Alda, Beatrice Arthur, Agnes Nixon, and Aaron Spelling.  Finally, he described in great detail the creation and packaging of the 1980s sitcom hit The Cosby Show .  Auerbach then talked about his “second career” teaching at USC.  The interview was conducted by Dan Pasternack on May 21, 2003.