Richard Leibner, a pioneering talent agent who represented such notable broadcast news journalists as Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer, Mike Wallace, Andy Rooney, Norah O’Donnell, Ed Bradley, Morley Safer and Fareed Zakaria, died today at his home in New York City. He was 85.
His death was announced by UTA vice chairman Jay Sures in a memo to staffers obtained by Deadline.
Leibner began his agency career in the 1960s as co-founder, with Nate Bienstock, of the New York-based firm N.S. Bienstock, which was acquired by UTA in 2014. Leibner retired in 2021.
“Richard will be remembered as the agent who transformed the news business,” Sures wrote in the memo. “Decades ago, he made it his personal mission to see that big name news stars should be treated and compensated like traditional movie and television stars. Over the years, he signed and represented some of the best and brightest and most iconic names including Dan Rather,...
His death was announced by UTA vice chairman Jay Sures in a memo to staffers obtained by Deadline.
Leibner began his agency career in the 1960s as co-founder, with Nate Bienstock, of the New York-based firm N.S. Bienstock, which was acquired by UTA in 2014. Leibner retired in 2021.
“Richard will be remembered as the agent who transformed the news business,” Sures wrote in the memo. “Decades ago, he made it his personal mission to see that big name news stars should be treated and compensated like traditional movie and television stars. Over the years, he signed and represented some of the best and brightest and most iconic names including Dan Rather,...
- 4/9/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Richard Leibner, the prominent talent agent who transformed the TV news business by guiding the careers of such renowned broadcast journalists as Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer, Mike Wallace, Andy Rooney and Norah O’Donnell, has died. He was 85.
Leibner died Tuesday at his home in New York, UTA vice chairman Jay Sures announced. The agent started out in the 1960s at New York-based N.S. Bienstock, which was acquired in 2014 by UTA.
Leibner also signed and represented the likes of Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, Bob Simon, Steve Kroft, Bill Whitaker, Chuck Scarborough, Paula Zahn, Brian Stelter, Daniel Schorr and Fareed Zakaria before he retired in December 2021 after 58 years in the business.
“Decades ago, he made it his personal mission to see that big name news stars should be treated and compensated like traditional movie and television stars,” Sures told staffers in a memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
Born in Brooklyn,...
Leibner died Tuesday at his home in New York, UTA vice chairman Jay Sures announced. The agent started out in the 1960s at New York-based N.S. Bienstock, which was acquired in 2014 by UTA.
Leibner also signed and represented the likes of Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, Bob Simon, Steve Kroft, Bill Whitaker, Chuck Scarborough, Paula Zahn, Brian Stelter, Daniel Schorr and Fareed Zakaria before he retired in December 2021 after 58 years in the business.
“Decades ago, he made it his personal mission to see that big name news stars should be treated and compensated like traditional movie and television stars,” Sures told staffers in a memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
Born in Brooklyn,...
- 4/9/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
April 5 marks the sombre anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s untimely death, which occurred thirty years ago when the Nirvana frontman tragically took his own life at the tender age of 27.
At the time of his passing, Cobain seemed to have the world at his fingertips. He had recently tied the knot with singer Courtney Love, now 59, and was a proud father to eight-month-old daughter Frances. Additionally, he had achieved immense success with Nirvana, boasting two chart-topping studio albums.
Kurt Cobain
However, on April 5, 1994, Cobain’s life came to a violent and abrupt end, leaving music fans devastated and his loved ones shattered with grief. In fact, his tragic death led to a heated battle between Billboard and 60 Minutes.
Kurt Cobain’s Untimely Demise Led to an Unexpected Battle Between Billboard and 60 Minutes Kurt Cobain with Courtney Love and their daughter
Kurt Cobain’s death rattled everyone in the world,...
At the time of his passing, Cobain seemed to have the world at his fingertips. He had recently tied the knot with singer Courtney Love, now 59, and was a proud father to eight-month-old daughter Frances. Additionally, he had achieved immense success with Nirvana, boasting two chart-topping studio albums.
Kurt Cobain
However, on April 5, 1994, Cobain’s life came to a violent and abrupt end, leaving music fans devastated and his loved ones shattered with grief. In fact, his tragic death led to a heated battle between Billboard and 60 Minutes.
Kurt Cobain’s Untimely Demise Led to an Unexpected Battle Between Billboard and 60 Minutes Kurt Cobain with Courtney Love and their daughter
Kurt Cobain’s death rattled everyone in the world,...
- 4/5/2024
- by Subhojeet Mookherjee
- FandomWire
Exclusive: Few people embody the act of balancing legacy media with the digital frontier quite like Bill Owens.
As the executive producer of 60 Minutes, he is the caretaker of a broadcast TV franchise well into its sixth decade, one of the few pieces of programming outside of NFL football capable of drawing mass tune-in. He is also aiming to deliver news about topics like the 2024 election, China, Gaza, the southern U.S. border, Cillian Murphy, and many more in a way that Gen Z cord-nevers can engage with it.
“I really do want to meet viewers where there’s interest,” he told Deadline in an interview in the show’s headquarters on Manhattan’s Far West Side. “We’re not trying to grab people on social media or TikTok by being something that 60 Minutes isn’t. We want to use the same language, we don’t want to do silly things.
As the executive producer of 60 Minutes, he is the caretaker of a broadcast TV franchise well into its sixth decade, one of the few pieces of programming outside of NFL football capable of drawing mass tune-in. He is also aiming to deliver news about topics like the 2024 election, China, Gaza, the southern U.S. border, Cillian Murphy, and many more in a way that Gen Z cord-nevers can engage with it.
“I really do want to meet viewers where there’s interest,” he told Deadline in an interview in the show’s headquarters on Manhattan’s Far West Side. “We’re not trying to grab people on social media or TikTok by being something that 60 Minutes isn’t. We want to use the same language, we don’t want to do silly things.
- 2/29/2024
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
If anyone should be able to engineer a reunion of “Saturday Night Live” alumni, it should be Dan Aykroyd.
A member of the show’s first cast of “Not Ready for Prime-Time Players,” Aykroyd was also among the first to jump from “SNL” to Hollywood and continues to tour with a band based on The Blues Brothers group he and John Belushi originated on the NBC mainstay.
But Aykroyd’s new project takes “SNL” formers to decidedly new terrain.
Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon and “Cheers” alumni George Wendt (who made a name on “SNL” as the character Bob Swerski of the Chicago Superfans), have teamed up to lead subscribers of the streaming outlet Fox Nation through a history of drinking. In “A History of the World in Six Glasses,”which debuted this week, the comic sextuplet examines some of the political and cultural ramifications in the rise of beer,...
A member of the show’s first cast of “Not Ready for Prime-Time Players,” Aykroyd was also among the first to jump from “SNL” to Hollywood and continues to tour with a band based on The Blues Brothers group he and John Belushi originated on the NBC mainstay.
But Aykroyd’s new project takes “SNL” formers to decidedly new terrain.
Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon and “Cheers” alumni George Wendt (who made a name on “SNL” as the character Bob Swerski of the Chicago Superfans), have teamed up to lead subscribers of the streaming outlet Fox Nation through a history of drinking. In “A History of the World in Six Glasses,”which debuted this week, the comic sextuplet examines some of the political and cultural ramifications in the rise of beer,...
- 1/10/2024
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Sacha Baron Cohen is reportedly set to revive one of his most beloved characters for an upcoming live comedy tour.
Variety reports that the “Borat” star is in the midst of putting together a new standup tour, part of which will feature Ali G, the dim-witted London rapper whose absurd interview questions frustrated and flummoxed the likes of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, late “60 Minutes” curmudgeon Andy Rooney, and Victoria and David Beckham.
A source close to Cohen, however, denied rumours that Cohen was working on a new movie, as he’s ceased all film and TV-related work in accordance with the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes. “As a SAG and WGA member he is supporting the ongoing strike alongside his fellow writers and actors,” the source told Variety.
Read More: Sacha Baron Cohen Calls Donald Trump A ‘Genuine Gangsta’ In Hilarious Ali G Open Letter
Ali G was Cohen’s first breakout character,...
Variety reports that the “Borat” star is in the midst of putting together a new standup tour, part of which will feature Ali G, the dim-witted London rapper whose absurd interview questions frustrated and flummoxed the likes of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, late “60 Minutes” curmudgeon Andy Rooney, and Victoria and David Beckham.
A source close to Cohen, however, denied rumours that Cohen was working on a new movie, as he’s ceased all film and TV-related work in accordance with the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes. “As a SAG and WGA member he is supporting the ongoing strike alongside his fellow writers and actors,” the source told Variety.
Read More: Sacha Baron Cohen Calls Donald Trump A ‘Genuine Gangsta’ In Hilarious Ali G Open Letter
Ali G was Cohen’s first breakout character,...
- 8/11/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Protomartyr are gearing up to release their new album, Formal Growth in the Desert, and as the latest preview, they’ve shared the new single, “Elimination Dances.”
In a statement, vocalist Joe Casey said “Elimination Dances” is named after a chapter from a 1950s teen dance manual and refers to a game where “you get tapped out when you lose the dance,” which felt like a metaphor for surviving everyday life. He added, “You might as well keep dancing until the tap comes.”
On the track, a tense guitar riff builds tension as Casey describes how the dance intertwines with the uncertainty we encounter each day. “Terms of service aren’t so clear,” he yelps. “Pale youth is my replacement/ That’s how elimination dances/ Through this life of mine.”
The accompanying music video features dancer Kota Yamazaki and was directed by Yoonha Park. In a statement, Park explained the...
In a statement, vocalist Joe Casey said “Elimination Dances” is named after a chapter from a 1950s teen dance manual and refers to a game where “you get tapped out when you lose the dance,” which felt like a metaphor for surviving everyday life. He added, “You might as well keep dancing until the tap comes.”
On the track, a tense guitar riff builds tension as Casey describes how the dance intertwines with the uncertainty we encounter each day. “Terms of service aren’t so clear,” he yelps. “Pale youth is my replacement/ That’s how elimination dances/ Through this life of mine.”
The accompanying music video features dancer Kota Yamazaki and was directed by Yoonha Park. In a statement, Park explained the...
- 4/26/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
In the last 20 years, headshot photographer Andy Rooney has seen trends come and go. The latest? Since January this year, almost every client he’s shot — well over 100 — has wanted to fashion themselves as a “Yellowstone” cowboy.
“Almost everybody I’ve shot so far in the past few months has been shooting those looks as an addition to whatever they’re shooting,” Rooney told IndieWire. “Even people I wouldn’t even have thought would vibe with that. Everybody wants that.”
Welcome to The Sheridan Effect. Right now, everybody wants a part of Taylor Sheridan and his ever-growing roster of Western-themed shows that began with “Yellowstone” and now includes spinoffs “1883” and “1923” and the upcoming “Land Man,” “Bass Reeves,” and “6666.” (Not to mention “Mayor of Kingstown” and “Tulsa King.”) However, it goes much deeper than acting work; the Sheridan Effect is shaping everything from corporate strategies to government policy.
Sheridan Takes...
“Almost everybody I’ve shot so far in the past few months has been shooting those looks as an addition to whatever they’re shooting,” Rooney told IndieWire. “Even people I wouldn’t even have thought would vibe with that. Everybody wants that.”
Welcome to The Sheridan Effect. Right now, everybody wants a part of Taylor Sheridan and his ever-growing roster of Western-themed shows that began with “Yellowstone” and now includes spinoffs “1883” and “1923” and the upcoming “Land Man,” “Bass Reeves,” and “6666.” (Not to mention “Mayor of Kingstown” and “Tulsa King.”) However, it goes much deeper than acting work; the Sheridan Effect is shaping everything from corporate strategies to government policy.
Sheridan Takes...
- 4/4/2023
- by Tony Maglio and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
I have to admit that when I see the name Opie, I immediately think of Mayberry, Andy Griffith and Ron Howard before he shaved. Now I understand that shock jock Anthony Cumia was fired last week by Sirius Xm for being, I think the technical term is, a tweeting moron. His on-air partner Greg Hughes — known to all by the same moniker as Sheriff Taylor’s kid — is said to be “devastated.”
Take heart, Opie — I promise, your Anthony will be back. Just remember what happened to Andy Rooney.
In the late winter of 1990 David Burke, the newly appointed president of CBS News, suspended Rooney, who was 71 at the time and the most popular cast-member of Sunday Night Live — I mean 60 Minutes — for three months. The trouble had begun a few weeks earlier, during a year-end special, when the curmudgeonly commentator expressed his opinion that “too much alcohol, too much food,...
Take heart, Opie — I promise, your Anthony will be back. Just remember what happened to Andy Rooney.
In the late winter of 1990 David Burke, the newly appointed president of CBS News, suspended Rooney, who was 71 at the time and the most popular cast-member of Sunday Night Live — I mean 60 Minutes — for three months. The trouble had begun a few weeks earlier, during a year-end special, when the curmudgeonly commentator expressed his opinion that “too much alcohol, too much food,...
- 7/8/2014
- by Jeremy Gerard
- Deadline Film + TV
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