Larry Auerbach, Longtime WMA Agent and USC Film School Dean, Dies at 95

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He also booked Elvis Presley’s first network TV performance and sold “The Cosby Show” to NBC

Professor Larry Auerbach, director/producer George Lucas, and USC School of Cinematic Arts dean Elizabeth M. Daley attend the dedication of the 20th Century Fox sound stage at the USC School of Cinematic Arts on March 29, 2011 in Los Angeles, California
Professor Larry Auerbach, director/producer George Lucas, and USC School of Cinematic Arts dean Elizabeth M. Daley attend the dedication of the 20th Century Fox sound stage at the USC School of Cinematic Arts on March 29, 2011 in Los Angeles, California (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images))

Larry Auerbach, a longtime agent at William Morris Agency and the former USC Film School Dean, has died. He was 95.

Auerbach spent nearly 50 years at WMA – a career that began while he was still in high school. He transitioned out of the New York office’s mailroom to booking small theaters and nightclubs before launching the office’s rock music department.

He was also the man who booked Elvis Presley’s first network TV performance in 1956 and worked with Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin and Sammy Davis Jr. His clients included Alan Alda and Aaron Spelling, and he was the person who packaged and sold “The Cosby Show.”

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