Ted Ashley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
August 3, 1922
Ted Ashley | |
|---|---|
 Publicity photo of Ted Ashley | |
| Born | Theodore Assofsky August 3, 1922 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | August 24, 2002 (aged 80) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations | Talent agent, Media executive |
| Years active | 1936–1988 |
| Known for | Founder of Ashley-Famous Chairman of Warner Bros. |
| Spouses | Connie Sitomar
(m. 1945, divorced)Joyce Easton
(m. 1978, divorced)Page Cuddy
(m. 1987; death 2002) |
| Children | 4 |
| Family | Nat Lefkowitz (uncle) |
Ted Ashley (August 3, 1922 – August 24, 2002) was a talent agent and media executive. Founder of the Ashley-Famous talent agency, he was later chairman of the Warner Bros. film studio from 1969 to 1980.
Ashley was born to a poor Jewish family in Brooklyn in 1922 as Theodore Assofsky.[1][2] He graduated from Franklin K. Lane High School.[1] At the age of 14, he went to work at the William Morris Agency where his uncle, Nat Lefkowitz, worked as a general manager (Lefkowitz would later rise to become president and then co-chairman of the William Morris Agency).[3] At the age of 20, he became an agent for the agency and changed his name to "Ashley" as it sounded dignified and English.[1] In 1945, despite the ire of his uncle, he started his own talent agency, Ted Ashley and Associates.[1]
In 1950, he was joined by William Morris agent Ira L. Steiner and the agency was renamed the Ashley-Steiner Agency.[4][5] In 1962, he purchased the Famous Artists Agency from Charles K. Feldman and renamed the agency Ashley-Steiner-Famous Artists.[6] In 1964, Steiner resigned to form his own film production company and the agency was renamed Ashley-Famous.[7] In 1967, the agency was sold to Kinney National Company in exchange for $12,750,000 in Kinney stock.[1] Ashley made the sale for personal reasons, indicating that he did not want to be an agent anymore. In an interview, Ashley said, “There's something undermining to one's sense of one's self about that whole relationship” (referencing the agent and client partnership).[1]
In 1969, Kinney head Steve Ross acquired the cash-strapped film company Warner Bros.-Seven Arts at Ashley's suggestion. The purchase was made and Ashley was appointed CEO of the movie studio where he served until 1981. Beginning with the unexpected success of the concert documentary Woodstock (1970), the company started scoring box office hits again, reestablishing Warner Bros. as a major studio. He then became vice chairman of Warner Communications until his retirement in 1988.
