The LA Jewish Journal’s prolific “Hollywood Jew” columnist, Danielle Berrin, offered a thoughtful essay on the recent deaths of two powerful Hollywood women, Edith “Edie” Wasserman (JTA obituary), “wife of” mogul Lew Wasserman and “super-agent” Sue Mengers.
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Berrin wrote that although Wasserman’s position in Hollywood “was akin to American royalty, she realized her power through her marriage.” Mengers, she said was a career woman who, “as a pioneering female in the male-dominated entertainment agency business of the ’70s…didn’t so much channel male power as co-opt it.”
Berrin contrasted the two nicely:
“Both inhabited a world of lights, legend and seemingly ludicrous wealth….But to celebrate only their sparkle belies the many sacrifices they made along the way….
“Wasserman and Mengers were disparate emblems of success, working their way through life according to a self-styled system of metrics.
“Who was the more successful woman? To answer the question is to miss the point.”
The Eulogizer highlights the life accomplishments of famous and not-so-famous Jews who have passed away recently. Write to the Eulogizer at eulogizer@jta.org.
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