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Sue Mengers |
People We Remember |
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Mengers with Barbra and Ryan
O'Neal |
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Hollywood Agent |
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Hollywood agent Sue Mengers represented Barbra Streisand during the 70s & 80s
Barbra remembers
Sue Mengers:
"She
was one of a kind, acerbically
funny, witty, brash, tough but
cuddly, a powerful woman in a
man's world."
(Source: barbrastreisand.com) |
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Signed Barbra to All
Night Long
August 16, 2011 |
The Hollywood Reporter
has announced the passing
of Hollywood über-agent
Sue Mengers. She died on Oct. 15 at her
home in Beverly Hills. She
was 79.
Mengers represented Barbra
Streisand during the 70s &
80s. She is considered
responsible for Barbra's
appearance in the 1981
film, All Night Long,
one of the more
controversial projects of
Barbra's career.
 Mengers
was married to director
Jean-Claude Tramont at the
time he was shooting
All Night Long. When Lisa Eichhorn
was fired from the
production, Mengers
convinced Barbra to step
in and play the part of
Cheryl Gibbons. It
was not a role written for
Barbra and certainly not a
solid leading lady part.
It was a showcase film for
Gene Hackman.
Many in
Hollywood speculated that
Barbra took the role
simply as a favor to her
agent. After all, playing
Cheryl Gibbons would give
Barbra a bit of screen
time – a warm-up before
the arduous task of
starring and directing
Yentl. Her commitment
to All Night Long
would only require about 6
weeks of her time.
Unfortunately,
All Night Long
never found an audience
despite desperate
marketing efforts that
touted Barbra's
performance as a comic
tour-de-force. The comedy
was lackluster and the
story was dark. All
Night Long was pulled
from general release
almost as quickly as it opened.
As for Barbra and Sue
Mengers, they parted
professional company
shortly after All Night
Long. Was there a spat
over money and agent
commissions as some have
speculated? Though Barbra
never publicly discussed
what happened, Mengers
eventually told her side
of the story, according to
research provided by
Allison J. Waldman in
The Barbra Streisand
Scrapbook: "Mengers,
interviewed years later in
the Los Angeles Times,
revealed the true nature
of her split with
Streisand: Mengers was
dead set against Barbra
doing Yentl."
Whatever occurred between
agent and client, Sue
Mengers and Barbra
Streisand ended their
professional relationship
around the time of
Yentl. Time eventually
did heal old wounds and
the two have remained
personal friends over the
years. |
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