Sam Gores
Encyclopedia
Sam Gores is the Chairman of Paradigm Talent Agency
located in Beverly Hills, California
. His clients include Laurence Fishburne
, Andy García
, Academy Award Winner Philip Seymour Hoffman
, The Black Eyed Peas
, and Katherine Heigl
.
Gores is described by clients as "the most un-agent agent in the business" and was honored by The Black Eyed Peas
, also Paradigm clients, with the Peapod Leadership Award, describing him as a "mentor and inspiration in their career." AskMen.com ranked Gores #8 on its list of Top Ten Hollywood Agents.
Sam is the brother of billionaires Tom
and Alec Gores
and is married to American actress Jensen Buchanan
.
. At 16, he became a butcher and by 18, he joined the meat-cutters union and secured a promising future in the grocery business.
However, Gores soon realized his true passion was for the stage, so he entered the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
after performances in Annie Get Your Gun
and Inherit the Wind
. He later studied at the Academy's West Coast School in Pasadena, California
, becoming a member of the institution's first graduating class. By then he had realized that his true calling was not as a player on stage but, rather, behind the scenes, which led him on the path to becoming an agent to creative talent.
In 1986 SGA acquired The Jack Fields Agency and changed its name to Gores/Fields. The agency expanded further the following year, bringing ATM & Associates into the fold. Gores next set his sites on a literary division.
During the years 1992 and 1993 he forged pacts with two other agencies to create the agency now known as Paradigm. Since then, the firm has grown to more than 200 employees.
In late 2004, at a time when other major agencies were cutting back, Paradigm announced the acquisition of Writers & Artists Agency and further additions of several key executive agents from rival talent agencies, along with the stunning acquisition of Music-industry heavyweight, Monterey Peninsula Artists. A three-decades-old leader in the world of music talent booking, Monterey has won Pollstar Magazine's Agency of the Year Award 9 times in the past 15 years.
designed MCA Inc. campus, built in 1932, where conference rooms honor the legendary entertainment moguls Jules Stein and Lew Wasserman
, who occupied the space. Paradigm is now a full service agency with offices in New York, Monterey and Nashville, representating clients in areas such as motion pictures, television, music, artist marketing, motion picture financing, book publishing, literary rights, theatre, physical production, interactive media, stand-up comedy, commercials, personal appearances and corporate events.
Paradigm's clients include Academy Award-winning actors Philip Seymour Hoffman
, Adrien Brody
and Chris Cooper
, as well as Katherine Heigl
, Michael Cera
, Gary Oldman
, Mariska Hargitay
, Mark Harmon
, and musical artists including Dave Matthews Band
, Coldplay
, Toby Keith
, Aerosmith
, Phish
, Will.I.Am
, The Dead
, Robert Plant
, Alison Krauss
, and Fergie.
, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
and the Recording Academy. He also serves on the board of Trustees for The Academy of Dramatic Arts. Gores is also an active participant in Conservation International
and is involved in Hand in Hand, which builds schools in Israel for both Jewish and Arabic children, with the goal of promoting understanding and acceptance of all people, regardless of religious heritage.
Paradigm Talent Agency
Paradigm is a full service entertainment agency based in Beverly Hills, with offices in New York, Monterey and Nashville, and is considered be one of the "Big Five" US talent agencies...
located in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
. His clients include Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
, Andy García
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
, Academy Award Winner Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
, The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
, and Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
.
Gores is described by clients as "the most un-agent agent in the business" and was honored by The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
, also Paradigm clients, with the Peapod Leadership Award, describing him as a "mentor and inspiration in their career." AskMen.com ranked Gores #8 on its list of Top Ten Hollywood Agents.
Sam is the brother of billionaires Tom
Tom Gores
Tom Gores is an American billionaire with an estimated current net worth of $2.4 billion dollars. He appears on the Forbes list of 2011 World's Billionaires. On June 1, 2011 he became the owner of the Detroit Pistons.-Biography:...
and Alec Gores
Alec Gores
Alec E. Gores is an American businessman who made his fortune through leveraged buyouts of technology firms. His personal wealth was estimated at roughly $1.5 billion by Forbes magazine in 2008.-Early life and education:...
and is married to American actress Jensen Buchanan
Jensen Buchanan
Jensen Buchanan is an American actress, best known for portraying Sarah Gordon Buchanan #1 on One Life to Live....
.
Background
Sam Gores was born in Nazareth, Israel and raised alongside two brothers and three sisters. His mother was of Lebanese descent and his father Greek. When he was 14, his family sold their worldly possessions to buy eight one-way tickets to the United States, settling in Flint, MichiganFlint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
. At 16, he became a butcher and by 18, he joined the meat-cutters union and secured a promising future in the grocery business.
However, Gores soon realized his true passion was for the stage, so he entered the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
after performances in Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun may refer to:*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1946 musical play*Annie Get Your Gun , a 1950 film version of the 1946 musical*Annie Get Your Gun , 1946, with Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton...
and Inherit the Wind
Inherit the Wind
Inherit the Wind may refer to:* Inherit the Wind , a 1955 play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee* Inherit the Wind , directed by Stanley Kramer; starring Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, and Gene Kelly...
. He later studied at the Academy's West Coast School in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, becoming a member of the institution's first graduating class. By then he had realized that his true calling was not as a player on stage but, rather, behind the scenes, which led him on the path to becoming an agent to creative talent.
Professional career
Gores' first agency job lasted two years, although he made the choice to not draw any salary during his entire tenure. Five years and two agencies later, Gores opened his first agency, SGA Representation, Inc.In 1986 SGA acquired The Jack Fields Agency and changed its name to Gores/Fields. The agency expanded further the following year, bringing ATM & Associates into the fold. Gores next set his sites on a literary division.
During the years 1992 and 1993 he forged pacts with two other agencies to create the agency now known as Paradigm. Since then, the firm has grown to more than 200 employees.
In late 2004, at a time when other major agencies were cutting back, Paradigm announced the acquisition of Writers & Artists Agency and further additions of several key executive agents from rival talent agencies, along with the stunning acquisition of Music-industry heavyweight, Monterey Peninsula Artists. A three-decades-old leader in the world of music talent booking, Monterey has won Pollstar Magazine's Agency of the Year Award 9 times in the past 15 years.
Paradigm Talent Agency
Paradigm formed in 1992 after the Gores/Fields Agency merged with STE Representations; Robinson, Weintraub, Gross & Associates; and Shorr, Stille & Associates. The agency's Beverly Hills office is located on the landmark Paul WilliamsPaul Williams (architect)
Paul Revere Williams, FAIA was a Los Angeles-based, American architect. He practiced largely in Southern California and designed the homes of numerous stars including Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz, Lon Chaney, and Charles Correll...
designed MCA Inc. campus, built in 1932, where conference rooms honor the legendary entertainment moguls Jules Stein and Lew Wasserman
Lew Wasserman
Lewis Robert "Lew" Wasserman was an American talent agent and studio executive, sometimes credited with creating and later taking apart the studio system in a career spanning more than six decades...
, who occupied the space. Paradigm is now a full service agency with offices in New York, Monterey and Nashville, representating clients in areas such as motion pictures, television, music, artist marketing, motion picture financing, book publishing, literary rights, theatre, physical production, interactive media, stand-up comedy, commercials, personal appearances and corporate events.
Paradigm's clients include Academy Award-winning actors Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
, Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody is an American actor and film producer. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist . Winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 at age 29, he is the youngest actor to do so...
and Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper (actor)
Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
, as well as Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
, Michael Cera
Michael Cera
Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...
, Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
, Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
, Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon is an American actor who has been starring in American television programs and films since the mid-1970s, after a career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS series NCIS.-Early life:Harmon was born Thomas...
, and musical artists including Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
, Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, Toby Keith
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel , best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin, plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of...
, Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
, Will.I.Am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
, The Dead
The Dead
The Dead may refer to:* The dead, those who have experienced death* 'The Dead' , by Rupert Brooke* "The Dead" , by James Joyce* The Dead , adapted from Joyce's story* James Joyce's The Dead, Broadway musical...
, Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
, Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
, and Fergie.
Public Advocacy
Sam Gores is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was founded in 1946, just one month after network television was born. It is a nonprofit organization devoted to the advancement of telecommunications arts and sciences and to fostering creative leadership in the telecommunications industry...
and the Recording Academy. He also serves on the board of Trustees for The Academy of Dramatic Arts. Gores is also an active participant in Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
and is involved in Hand in Hand, which builds schools in Israel for both Jewish and Arabic children, with the goal of promoting understanding and acceptance of all people, regardless of religious heritage.