Kohner Agency Lays Off Its Talent Agents Due To “Profound & Unprecedented Economic Pressures”

EXCLUSIVE: The Kohner Agency is downsizing. Its three talent agents have been laid off. The talent department will stay open to service existing contracts and collect commission only.

Owner and President Pearl Wexler stresses that the agency, which has been in business for almost 90 years, is not closing. Its literary department is staying put, and Wexler herself will continue to represent acting and literary clients.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must announce a restructuring of our talent representation team, necessitated by the profound and unprecedented economic pressures currently facing the broader entertainment industry,” The Kohner Agency said in a statement to Deadline, which you can read in full below.

The post-Covid, post-Peak TV industry consolidation has been particularly hard on smaller, boutique talent agencies, which have found it hard to survive with a marquee, signature client who commands a big, steady paycheck as a star on an established series. Agencies that shut down in the past couple of years include A3 and KMR.

Founded by Paul Kohner in 1938, The Kohner Agency is among the oldest in Los Angeles with Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Maurice Chevalier, Billy Wilder, Henry Fonda, John Huston, Ingmar Bergman, Lana Turner and Liv Ullmann among its early clients.

Wexler has owned and run the agency for the past 25 years.

Here is the statement:

For nearly nine decades, The Kohner Agency has stood as a pillar of the entertainment community, founded in the late 1930s as one of the oldest talent agencies in Los Angeles and built on a bedrock of fierce advocacy, boutique dedication, and deep artistic stewardship. Throughout our history, we have navigated changing landscapes by staying true to our core mission: protecting and nurturing the finest talent in film, television, theater, and literature.

It is with a heavy heart that we must announce a restructuring of our talent representation team, necessitated by the profound and unprecedented economic pressures currently facing the broader entertainment industry.

This decision was agonizing, and we do not take lightly the impact it has on colleagues who have been valued parts of our professional family. We are incredibly grateful for their hard work, dedication, and contributions during their time with the agency, and we sincerely wish them the very best in their future endeavors.

Moving forward, the Kohner Agency leadership will be overseeing the transition to ensure continuity for our clients as we steer the agency through these challenging times.