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This documentary from Barry Avrich tells the life story of the powerful Hollywood player Lew Wasserman, and is based on all new material rather than relying on the numerous books that detail the man's history.

Wasserman's long-time friend Jack Valenti once said of the man, " If Hollywood was Mt. Olympus, then Lew Wasserman was Zeus." Indeed, he was a force that set in motion the way deals are made even today.

The son of Jewish immigrants from Russia, Wasserman was born in a Cleveland slum in 1913. His career in show business began as an usher in a house of vaudeville. He spent a brief period of time as a publicist for the reputed Cleveland mobster and eventual Las Vegas casino magnate Moe Dalitz. He even married the daughter of one of Dalitz's soldiers. Edie Beckerman was the daughter of Henry Beckerman, a man who was indicted for embezzlement and arson, though he was found not guilty in the end.

In the year 1939, Wasserman was running the up and coming motion picture unit of the Music Corporation of America. As time passed, Wasserman transformed this combination agency/studio into an organization that dominated both movies and television. One of his earliest clients, Ronald Reagan, was to be important in Wasserman's abilities to influence the industry. Wasserman was able to pull all the right strings in order to have Reagan elected SAG president, which in turn allowed MCA to circumnavigate SAG rules that prevented agencies from also being production companies. As a result, MCA's Revue Prods was able to shape the direction of television in its early days. Eventually, MCA was broken apart due to the fact that the government believed it to be in violation of antitrust laws.

Wasserman remained an important figure in the industry until MCA's Japanese owners pushed him out in the early 1990s. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

Vital statistics for The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman Director Barry Avrich Distributor ThinkFilm Rating Unrated Running Time 110 minutes Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture