LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Berle Adams, the co-founder of Mercury Records and a long-time agent died in Los Angeles on Tuesday after a long illness at the age of 92 Variety reported.
Born in Chicago, Adams got his start in the industry as an independent agent, setting up his own P.A. and booking bands locally. Adams then joined General Artists where he worked with artists such as Art Tatum and Coleman Hawkins before leaving to found the Berle Adams Agency.
After 1944, Adams moved to the publishing side the business, founding Champagne Music and Preview Music and then co-founding Mercury Records with Irv Green, Art Talmade and Ray Greenberg.
Adams moved to Los Angeles during the 1950s where he worked at MCA where he booked for artists such as Dinah Shore and Dean Martin and eventually branched into television as well.
After a 20-year stint at MCA, Adams joined the William Morris Agency for a brief tenure during which time he launched their sports division.
After departing WMA, Adams went on to found several additional companies, including BAC Inc, which distributed television programs, including the Emmys internationally and served as an executive producer for several feature films.
Adams is survived by two children; a son and a daughter, four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, Variety said. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
