Jack Rollins Celebrates 100th Birthday
Jacob Rabinowitz was the son of a Brooklyn garment worker. Not content to follow in his father’s footsteps, he shortened his name to the less-Hebraic “Jack Rollins,” set his sights on show business and succeeded in becoming one of the most-respected personal managers and producers in the history of show business.
In 1951, Rollins opened a management company to launch the career of a young singer named Harry Belafonte, who was flipping burgers in Greenwich Village at the time. Rollins devoted himself to Belafonte, literally grooming the singer for stardom by selecting the open-collared shirt and tight black pants that would become Belafonte’s signature look. Belafonte followed Rollins’ advice, his career took off, and, in 1954, he left Rollins and went with another firm — not unlike how fictional singer Lou Canova would jettison personal manager Danny Rose for a bigger firm in Broadway Danny Rose.
Despite the sting of Belafonte’s abrupt departure, Rollins remained adamant about working intimately with his clients. As he explained it, “I have to work with people who fulfill me emotionally.” Rollins derived a paternal gratification from discovering and nurturing nascent talent, and he had a remarkable eye and ear for spotting the future stars of comedy, music, motion pictures and television.
His first clients after Belafonte were Mike Nichols and Elaine May, whose brilliant comic sketches influenced many who followed, including a young comedy writer named Woody Allen, who approached Rollins about writing material for the duo. Rollins said they wrote their own stuff, but he sensed that Allen might find a more satisfying outlet as a performer — something the painfully shy Allen at first resisted.
Rollins always preferred a small, select roster of clients, with nothing more than a handshake to seal the deal. Those fortunate few have included such unique and diverse talents as: Allen, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Joan Rivers, Nichols and May, Tony Bennett, Jim Carrey, Cavett, Diane Keaton, David Letterman, Klein, Martin Short, Jimmy Tingle, Brickman, Paula Poundstone, Storm, Melissa Manchester, Louise Lasser, Steven Wright and Andrea Martin.
The late Charles Joffe joined the company in 1952 and became Jack’s partner in the early ’60s. It’s often said that Rollins handled the creative side while Joffe took care of the business end, but that’s a more simplistic take on their dynamic than was actually the case. Nevertheless, Joffe is widely credited with getting clients more involved in motion pictures, rather than playing clubs and making records.
Rollins & Joffe found a San Francisco street mime named Robin Williams and turned him into the star of the wildly successful Mork & Mindy, which led to his impressive career in film. Rollins also saw a young stand-up named Billy Crystal and helped him become yet another major star of both the small and big screen.
The “emotional fulfillment” clearly goes both ways. Many have spoken of Rollins’ sage advice on the material they performed, their wardrobe, their personal lifestyle, helping them through emotional and financial crises and even being best man at their weddings. Allen said, “He’s to the profession of theatrical management what poetry is to prose.”
