Larry David became a client of business manager Matt Lichtenberg in 1984, shortly after David landed a writing job on “Saturday Night Live.” David wasn’t looking for representation at the time, but Matt Lichtenberg cornered him outside the Improv comedy club in New York and insisted that David take him on as a manger.
A year later, when David was let go from “SNL,” he began a four-year run in which he “did not earn a penny.” The memory of how Lichtenberg kept him on as a client and kept paying his bills in those lean years caused David, the wildly successful co-creator and showrunner of “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” to choke up slightly when he presented Lichtenberg on Wednesday with the kudo as Business Manager of the Year at Variety‘s Business Managers Breakfast presented by City National Bank.
Back in the late 1980s, “I called him up and said, ‘Look, you’re wasting your time with me. Nothing’s going to happen. My mother’s told me this a thousand times,’” David recalled telling Lichtenberg. “Let’s just end this business relationship. We’ll still be friends. I don’t care. It’s not a big deal.”
But Lichtenberg wouldn’t cut David loose. When asked why, Lichtenberg told David that he could see his talent and influence in the fact that other top-tier comedians flocked to David’s standup performances. When David told the crowd that his association with Lichtenberg “is one of the few relationships that I never had any regrets about,” his voice caught ever so slightly, adding poignancy to the moment. “Going with him turned out to be one of the smartest decisions I’ve made in my life,” David added in closing.
Lichtenberg explained to the crowd the steps in his personal and professional life that led the native New Yorker to relocate to Southern California’s “sun-kissed beaches” to specialize in handling business affairs for comedians. He channeled the timing and delivery of his clients with a witty observation about how he’s not used to being in the spotlight.
Accepting the Business Manager of the Year award, “pretty much it encapsulates everything I don’t like to do,” Lichtenberg said. “I don’t like wearing a suit. I don’t like being the center of attention. I don’t like public speaking. I don’t like eating breakfast, and I really don’t like asking my clients to do me a favor. I try and never ask my clients do me a favor.”
Larry David with longtime business manager Matt Lichtenberg at Variety’s Business Managers Breakfast.
Variety via Getty Images
Lichtenberg emphasized the importance of trust and having long relaitonships with clients, as he does with David and other comics including Will Ferrell and Lewis Black.
“Here we are a room full of seemingly smart people, and I ask myself, what differentiates smart people from successful people? Successful people know that to succeed, you need to surround yourself with smart people,” Lichtenberg said. “As business managers, we wake up every day seated at a table at a high stakes poker game. We’re all in, betting everything we have that we and everyone who works for us do everything right that day and that no mistakes are made. And God forbid, if a mistake happens, it’s small and it can be easily fixed.”
FX chairman John Landgraf was the event’s keynote speaker. He spoke in detail about the state of the industry in particular the changing protocols for talent compensation (an urgent consideration for the audience). He drew a sharp contrast between the tech giants that have barreled into entertainment over the past decade and established Hollywood studios with deep roots in storytelling.
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“We’re not in it for the algorithm to help us basically replicate a whole bunch of the successes. We’re in it for the out-of-the-box, extraordinary innovation that is ‘The Bear,’” Landgraf said, referring to FX’s Emmy-winning comedy series. “And I never know where that’s going to come from. It’s going to come out of nowhere. That’s the magic of this industry that never changes.”
The power and influence that the entertainment industry wields was the focus of opening remarks from Kelly Coffey, CEO of City National Entertainment, Private Banking and Wealth Management.
“The global entertainment and media sector continues to grow, and it contributes a staggering $2.8 trillion annually,” Coffey observed. “This includes film, television, theater, and digital media, each shaping narratives and cultural values. The music industry alone now generates almost $30 billion in revenue globally, demonstrating resilience and adaptability, which we all need to think about today as things change fueled by the streaming and supported by a growing base of physical media fans.”
Those eye-popping numbers underscore why creative talent who work tirelessly often on a project-by-project basis need expert financial guidance more than ever before.
“But beyond the numbers, entertainment fosters global connections and understanding that transcends borders and brings people to through universal stories and sounds, which we all need today,” Coffey said. “Business managers have challenging and diverse roles, and we see it up close at City National. Whether they’re managing investments, negotiating deals, overseeing real estate, planning for the future, they balance countless priorities every single day.”