Berle Adams's mother died when he was 18 months old.
23 Facts About Berle Adams
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2.
Berle Adams became attracted to late night remote radio broadcasts of America's swing bands, including those of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, Bob Crosby, Glenn Miller, and Benny Goodman.
3.
Berle Adams left the music business temporarily, married his neighborhood sweetheart Lucy Leven, and began selling life insurance door-to-door.
4.
Berle Adams talked his way into a job for Varsity Records, promoting the tiny company's little-known artists for space on the city's jukeboxes against stars recording for industry giants like RCA Victor and Decca.
5.
Berle Adams was hired by GAC, where he studied the one-night band booking practices of GAC's Joe Shribman and determined to become an agent.
6.
Berle Adams booked road dates for Glenn Miller, Woody Herman, Charlie Spivak, Claude Thornhill, Nat King Cole, The Andrews Sisters, Joe Venuti, and Jimmy Dorsey.
7.
In 1944, Berle Adams established the Champagne Music and Preview Music publishing companies and the next year he formed the Mercury Radio and Television Company, which became Mercury Records, with partners Irving Green, Ray Greenberg, and Art Talmadge.
8.
In 1947, Berle Adams left Chicago for Los Angeles, for health reasons.
9.
Berle Adams resigned from Mercury Records and moved with wife Lucy and their children, Helen and Richard.
10.
Berle Adams soon became the booking agent for singer Kay Starr.
11.
Berle Adams was hired in 1950 by Lew Wasserman to join MCA, where he remained for 20 years.
12.
Berle Adams began by booking for television and appearances in Las Vegas such stars as Jane Russell, Dinah Shore, Phil Harris, Jack Carson, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
13.
Berle Adams signed stand-up comic Bob Newhart, booked him into clubs, and soon sold "The Bob Newhart Show" to NBC.
14.
Berle Adams became the MCA agent for Jack Benny, Rosemary Clooney, Eddie Fisher, Dinah Shore, Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear, Andy Williams, Dorothy Dandridge, Canadian comedians Wayne and Shuster, Charles Laughton, and Alfred Hitchcock.
15.
Berle Adams convinced Marlene Dietrich to star in a revue that would cross the country in 16 weeks.
16.
Berle Adams negotiated MCA's contract to represent the new American Football League and in 1963 helped long-time MCA colleague David A Werblin acquire the New York Titans franchise of the AFL from former announcer Harry Wismer.
17.
Berle Adams visited each of the domestic and foreign offices and successfully reduced the number of offices to eight.
18.
Berle Adams negotiated the purchase of Leeds Music, and established a new MCA music company, UNI Records.
19.
Berle Adams convinced Ethel Merman, Danny Kaye, Gene Kelly, and Fred Astaire each to appear in television specials.
20.
In 1973, Berle Adams joined the William Morris Agency and during a short interval directed marketing events surrounding Hank Aaron's 715th home run, surpassing the career record of Babe Ruth.
21.
Berle Adams joined Cancer Research Associates, the support group of the University of Southern California's Norris Cancer Center and Hospital, and in 1985 he became the organization's president.
22.
Berle Adams's cousin was Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block.
23.
In 1995, Berle Adams self-published his autobiography, A Sucker for Talent.