Lee Gabler, a famed TV agent who served as co-chair of
CAA, died from a brain injury on 6/3. He was 84.
Gabler’s career began in the early ’60s in the mailroom at NYC’s
Ashley Steiner Famous Artists agency, where he worked in the variety-show department covering
The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1970, after Ashley Famous had morphed into
ICM, Gabler had risen to EVP of the television department.
Twelve years later, In 1982, he made the move to CAA’s TV department, which he transformed into one of the most powerful talent departments in Hollywood, reaching a record 52 TV shows on air in one year.
Gabler was named co-chairman and managing partner of CAA in 1996. He closed out his quarter-century tenure at CAA in 2007 to consult with
Worldwide Pants, the production company founded by
David Letterman, whose 1993 move from
NBC to
CBS Gabler had orchestrated.
Along with Letterman’s
The Late Show, Gabler helped bring to fruition
The Mary Tyler Moore Show,
The West Wing,
House,
CSI,
Band of Brothers,
Mad Men,
24,
Everybody Loves Raymond,
ER and
American Idol, among many others.
Gabler is survived by his wife of 35 years,
Elizabeth, the president of
Sony’s
3000 Pictures; his sister,
Melina; daughters
Annalise and
Jennifer; and four grandchildren.
