Hollywood agent and film producer Freddie Fields died of lung cancer 11 December 2007. Born in Ferndale, New York, in July 1923, he was the son of a Catskill Mountains resort owner. After serving in the US Coast Guard, he began his show business career working for New York booking agent Abby Greschler, whom he helped sign some huge acts, including Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. In 1946, Hollywood talent agency MCA lured him to the West Coast. His roster of clients included Henry Fonda, Judy Garland, Steve McQueen, and Barbra Streisand, and then he moved on to head production at MGM and United Artists studios.
Fields co-founded Creative Management Associates in 1960 with the late David Begelman. The firm was the forerunner of today’s International Creative Management, one of the world’s biggest talent agencies. He was an innovator of the “back-end deal,” in which top stars gave up their upfront paychecks in return for a percentage of a film’s ticket sales.
In 1980, Fields took over production at MGM and UA, spending two years as COO of MGM Film Co., and then another two as president of worldwide production at MGM/UA Entertainment. He didn’t enjoy the jobs, and vowed to never take another studio position.
Fields moved on to life as an independent producer, working mostly with Paramount.
His genre productions include Millennium (1989), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and Wholly Moses! (1980).
Fields married actress Polly Bergen in 1957 (they divorced in 1975), and then Corinna Tsopei (who was the 1964 Miss Universe) in 1981. His is survived by Tsopei, three children (Kathy Fields Lander, Pamela Kerry Fields, and Peter William Fields), four stepchildren (Andrew Zax, Steven Zax, Daniella Zax, and Paris Zax), and four grandchildren.