William Morris Agency

The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent agency in show business". In April 2009, WMA announced it would merge with the Endeavor Talent Agency to form William Morris Endeavor. William Morris Endeavor was renamed WME-IMG in 2013, then Endeavor in October 2017. History Early history In 1898, William Morris (born Zelman Moses), a German-Jewish immigrant to the US, posted a cross-hatch trademark above an office door in New York City four "X's", representing a W superimposed on an M and went into business as William Morris, Vaudeville Agent. By the time WMA formally incorporated in New York State on January 31, 1918, Morris' son William Morris Jr. and his assistant Abraham Lastfogel, who started out as an office boy and after becoming a talent agent in his own right, entered into a business partnership with Morris Sr.