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Lew WassermanLew Wasserman (March 15, 1913 - June 3, 2002) was a Hollywood agent and studio executive credited with first creating and then taking apart the studio system in a career spanning more than six decades. Born the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants in Chicago, Wasserman started out as a booking agent for the Music Corporation of America under Dr. Jules Stein, its founder. Under his watch MCA branched out into representing actors and actresses in addition to musicians and in the process created the studio system driving up prices for studios. As an agent Wasserman's MCA came to dominate Hollywood representing stars like Bette Davis and Ronald Reagan, who Wasserman later helped become Screen Actors Guild president. Following the rising postwar popularity of television and the resulting near bankruptcy of many studios Wasserman bought Universal Studios from Decca in 1958 and merged it with MCA in 1962. He ran the combined company for nearly 30 years before selling it to Japanese consumer electronics conglomerate Matsushita Electric in 1990. He made an estimated three-hundred fifty million dollars off the sale and remained as manager until Seagram bought a controling interest in 1995. He served on the board of directors until 1998. Lew Wasserman died in Beverly Hills. Wasserman, Lew Wasserman, Lew Wasserman, Lew
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