Hitchcock Chronology: Lew Wasserman

March

Financial woes at Warner Bros. result in the studio halting production on all new projects for 90 days and studio executives are later asked to take a salary cut of up to 50%. This prompts Hitchcock to ask his agent Lew Wasserman to shop around for a new contract with a different studio — Wasserman eventually secures a lucrative deal with Paramount Studios on the proviso that Hitchcock adapts a story from a collection they've optioned by writer Cornell Woolrich as his first film.^[1]

April

Hitchcock, Lew Wasserman, Herman Citron and James Stewart meet at the end of April to discuss who should play the role of Madeleine/Judy in Vertigo. Wasserman favours rising star Kim Novak instead of the pregnant Vera Miles.^[2]

December

With filming on Vertigo completed, Alfred Hitchcock and Alma spend Christmas holidaying in Miama and Montego Bay, along with a brief trip to Cuba. They are accompanied by Lew Wasserman and his wife.^[3]

November

28th - Over dinner at Chasen's Restaurant with Alma and Lew Wasserman, Hitchcock offers Tippi Hedren the lead role in The Birds.^[4]

July

10th - Hitchcock meets with Universal executives Edd Henry and Lew Wasserman to pitch Kaleidoscope as an alternative to making Topaz. During further meetings in the following days, Wasserman and Henry reject the proposal. Topaz in green lit with a budget of $4,000,000 — the largest budget of any Hitchcock film.^[5]

December

10th - Hitchcock meets with Universal heads Lew Wasserman and Edd Henry to pitch Frenzy as his next project, based on Arthur La Bern's 1966 novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square. Wasserman and Henry agree, but with a budget cap of $2.8m.^[6]

August

The Hitchcocks celebrate their 75th birthdays at a special party organised by Lew Wasserman at Chasen's Restaurant. Among the guests are Cary Grant, Laraine Day, Paul Newman and François Truffaut.^[7]

June

3rd - American talent agent and studio executive Lew Wasserman dies aged 89.

References