Climbing the Ladder, In His Own Way
Elliot Roberts, an agent at William Morris, witnessed Geffen steaming open other letters – Geffen’s way to get jump-starts on the goings-on in the company. To Geffen, it was drive and ruthlessness; to others, it was appalling. To Roberts, however, it was thrilling. Soon enough, Geffen was climbing the talent agency ladder.
Elliot Roberts backstage at Wembley Stadium September 14th, 1974. Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot / Redferns / Getty Images
As the music industry was changing by the mid-‘60s, and pop was making more and more money, William Morris started bringing in the kind of long-haired musicians that the agency had most likely despised only a few years earlier. But Geffen was the right guy to deal with such emerging talent. “Stay with people your own age,” senior agent Jerry Brandt told him. “Go into the music business.”