ALL-STAR PLAYERS : A Scouting Report on 50 of the Town’s Top Agents : OLD GUARD : Talk about hustle, “Broadway Danny Rose,” move over.

Whatever else they are, most of Hollywood’s best agents are extremely wary of the public eye. With rare exception, they prefer to exert their power in private, leaving potentially corrosive publicity to their clients and to high-profile studio executives like Michael Eisner (Disney) or Barry Diller (20th Century Fox).

“Exposure has caused us nothing but trouble,” explains the top officer of one large talent agency. “It’s just better if you don’t write about us at all.”

Be that as it may, Calendar set out to identify--if not precisely to rank--some of the most powerful agents in Hollywood today.

The following guide is based partially on public documents, and still more on extensive interviews with producers, studio executives, casting directors, agents and clients--most of whom requested anonymity as sources, for the obvious reasons. Agents on the list were asked to confirm or respond to its principal points, and most complied--with the notable exception of the CAA agents.

Birthdates or ages were included wherever they could be reliably determined. As might be expected, some agents flatly declined to discuss the matter.

The list isn’t a ranking, but a sampler: Some very important agents aren’t included in order to make room for others who just might become important in the next few years.

THE PINNACLE. Don’t call them. Take it very seriously indeed if they call you. To become a studio chief or a network head -- and they’ve been asked -- would probably be a step down for a small handful of agents at the top.

Michael S. Ovitz. (CAA) b. Dec. 14, 1946. Boyish, sandy-haired--but widely acknowledged as the most powerful agent in town. President and co-founder of CAA. Eludes publicity. A student of Japanese management techniques, Ovitz insists on military-like discipline and seamless communal effort by his agents. (“I call them the Moonies of the agency business,” says one top producer.) Strength: master packager (assembling whole movies and TV shows, rather than simply representing clients). Likes to regard himself as a movie- maker more than an agent. Said to have turned down several offers to head up production for big studios. At industry gatherings, Ovitz is the one surrounded by chief executives. Works constantly. Lunches at Jimmy’s or the Palm: How else to keep an eye on his sub-agents between 1 and 3? Often looks tense and anxiety-ridden. Don’t be fooled: He is in control. Major misfire: “Legal Eagles,” a big-budget flop loaded with CAA clients. Had a hand in hits like “Tootsie” and “Ghostbusters.” Ovitz dealt heavily with Frank Price at Universal before studio head Price resigned. Currently close to United Artists chief Tony Thomopoulos. One of five young agents fired by William Morris in 1975, when Morris executives learned that the group was planning to split off and form a rival agency. (He likes to claim it was all a mistake: Ovitz really didn’t plan to join the secession!) CAA was thus born. Sophisticated collector of contemporary art. Valley boy, attended Birmingham High School in Van Nuys. Schoolmate of Sally Field and junk-bond king Michael M. Milken. Martial arts enthusiast. Close friend of Disney Chairman Eisner. Homes in Brentwood and north of Malibu. As Ovitz told one industry executive: “Nobody understands me. All I want to do is make some money and relax.”

Clients: actors Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Dan Aykroyd; directors Sydney Pollack, Ivan Reitman, Peter Hyams, Michael Crichton, Colin Higgins, John Milius, Willard Huyck; writer Gloria Katz.

Jeffrey S. Berg. (ICM) b. May 26, 1947. Chairman of ICM. Sharp mind, sharp tongue. Extremely intense. Even close friends sometimes find his manner intimidating. “The agency has taken on his style,” says one producer. Born in L.A., lives in Santa Monica. Graduated UC Berkeley in 1969 and soon went to work for superagent Freddie Fields (now a producer) at what was then known as Creative Management Associates in the literary department. Had to tame big egos that clashed when ICM was formed in a mega-merger of CMA and International Famous Agency, each having picked up other shops along the way. (He’s tired of hearing the old rap about ICM being like a big federation of boutiques; the troops pull together these days.) Strong on writers and directors. Plays tennis. Active in Democratic politics (Jim Wiatt, his chief lieutenant at ICM, was an aide to Sen. John Tunney for six years). Brother Scott is an author (“Max Perkins”). Wife, Denise, is a psychologist. “Better than Ovitz” when it comes to pure deal-making skill, says one Fox executive. Berg never gives up. His tenacity got “Terms of Endearment” made when nobody wanted to hear about movies with mother-daughter relationships, let alone cancer. Pushed producer Michael Mann’s “Crime Story” to New World Entertainment when Universal found it too expensive: Given the so-so ratings, Universal isn’t expressing regrets.

Clients: directors Jim Brooks, William Friedkin, Michael Mann, Paul Mazursky, Robert Towne, Paul Schrader, Walter Hill, John Schlesinger, Jim Cameron, Ridley Scott, Bernardo Bertolucci, Mark Rydell.

Sam Cohn. (ICM) b. 1929. Always referred to, with an appropriate air of reverence, as “the legendary Sam Cohn.” Hollywood is in awe of his New York cachet. Don’t even bother trying to call: Nobody gets Cohn on the phone until he’s good and ready. Born in Altoona, Pa. Military school. Princeton. Yale Law. Practiced a little law, then went to work for CBS where, by some accounts (probably apocryphal), became the first man in show biz to wear moth-eaten sweaters in the office. Produced a little TV, hooked up with struggling General Artists Corp. in the 1960s. Grabbed up the classiest New York actors, writers and directors and never let go. The magic words are loyalty and passion . Holds court at the Russian Tea Room. Loves Broadway. Isn’t crazy about L.A. Such a negotiator: People on this coast are still trying to figure out how he got Columbia to pay $9.5 million for the rights to “Annie.”

Clients: directors Woody Allen, Robert Benton, Bob Fosse, Mike Nichols; actors Sigourney Weaver, Meryl Streep; writer Nora Ephron (“Heartburn”).

Ronald M. Meyer. (CAA) b. Sept. 25, 1944. The reigning king of hot on-screen talent. Co-founder and one of the three top players at CAA. Deceptively casual. Lives in Malibu, sports a perpetual tan (“Looks like a laid-back surfer, not an agent”). But Meyer never lets up. Courted Sly Stallone, his principal client, on the beach at the Kahala Hilton in Hawaii. Tough moment: commiserating with Stallone over the early-morning reviews when “Rhinestone” opened in New York. “Sly is more than a client. He’s a friend.” Grew up in L.A. One of the Young Turks who left Morris to found CAA. Tenacious. Classic agent height: Not too tall. Drives a 1983 Ferrari coupe registered to CAA.

Clients: actors Sylvester Stallone, Jessica Lange, Goldie Hawn, Jon Voight, Cher, Michael Douglas, Michael Keaton, Whoopi Goldberg.

William Haber. (CAA) By some accounts, the most powerful agent in TV. “Packages” TV shows by bringing writers, directors, actors and producers together. With Ovitz and Meyer, a member of CAA’s Big Three. Especially close to Aaron Spelling, for whom the agency has packaged many TV shows and movies (Spelling calls the agency an “extra-mural creative staff”). Quick to offer fired network executives help in finding new jobs--so they can start buying programs again. Touch of class: When “Life With Lucy” flopped, Haber gave up CAA’s packaging fee, i.e., the agency’s cut (sometimes around 5%) of all revenues ever paid for the show by networks and syndicators. “Golden Girls,” assembled for Witt/Thomas/Harris, is one of his winners. Marathon runner. Spends time in Europe. Drives a white Mustang.

Clients: producers Aaron Spelling, Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions; writer Barbara Benedek (“The Big Chill”).

MOVIE MAVENS: Maybe you’ve never heard of these people. But they and a select few fellow top movie agents are well known indeed along Hollywood’s corridors of power. Their calls get through. Their clients get work. Their films get made.

Martin Bauer and Peter Benedek. (Bauer Benedek) Bauer, b. Aug. 7, 1946. Benedek, b. March 11, 1948. Small office, low overhead, superpower clout. Some production executives think this is an embryonic CAA. Bauer used to work in the Morris office; Benedek was a lawyer for Michael J. Fox, and became Fox’s agent, supplanting the Gersh Agency. Masters of the good cop/bad cop routine. According to Hollywood lore, Benedek’s usually the one in the white hat. (“I’ve heard that. People need their myths,” says Bauer.) Once upon a time, Bauer was Sam Cohn’s business affairs lawyer. Later sold “Thy Neighbor’s Wife,” Gay Talese’s literary sexploration, for $2.5 million to United Artists. The idea was to make three movies out of it. The films never materialized, but Talese made out well. Barbara Benedek, Peter’s wife, co-wrote “The Big Chill” with Lawrence Kasdan--also a client.

Clients: actors Alan Alda, Michael J. Fox, Anthony Michael Hall; directors John Avildsen, Lawrence Kasdan, Brian DePalma.

Bill Block. (ICM) b. April 2, 1954. Known as a guy moving up fast at ICM. Big list writers and directors. Very ambitious. Some industry insiders predict he’ll run a major agency if a studio doesn’t get him first. Certified preppy: Collegiate School, then Columbia. Block’s family owned (but sold) Dunhill Tailors, a fashionable New York clothier. Block wheels and deals in sartorial splendor--favors the traditional English look, cuff links in the office--but wasn’t interested in the family business. Joined the Irv Schecter Co. agency, then on to ICM. “Great signer” of new clients. Block isn’t a hand-holder; just zeroes in on The Deal. Impulsive, impatient and a very eligible bachelor, according to friends.

Clients: director Randa Haines (“Children of a Lesser God”); writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter Parkes (“WarGames”), Jim and John Thomas (“Predator”).

Ed Limato. (Morris) VP-motion pictures. One of the best lists of actors in town, mostly because he knows how to baby his talent. Sort of like a personal manager. “Sam Cohn-ish,” says a Fox executive. That means Limato sticks with his clients through thick and thin. New Yorker. Just about the only Morris agent who doesn’t have lunch at the Grill any more--because smoking is taboo. Chalk up another Limato find if young Matthew Modine turns out to be a big hit in Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket.”

Clients: actors Andrew McCarthy, Richard Gere, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, Keith Carradine, Judy Davis, Matt Dillon; director Franco Zeffirelli.

Jack Rapke. (CAA) b. April 28, 1950. Rapidly developing a top list of directors and writers. NYU film school. Smooth. Politic. Known for superb taste, and relentless aggression. “Jack could probably sign my mother,” laments a rival. Likes to spot young talent and develop it. With ICM’s Block, possibly one of the two most powerful agents under the age of 40. Recruited, like much of CAA, from Morris.

Clients: directors Robert Zemeckis, Martin Brest, Alan Metter; writers-directors John Hughes, Chris Columbus, Harold Ramis.

Rick Nicita. (CAA) Known as the “women’s agent,” because his list is heavy with established actresses like Jane Fonda and Sally Field. An integral part of the CAA “human wave” assaults on talent and studio executives. Married to fellow CAA agent Paula Wagner. CAA grabbed him from Morris: Morris supposedly took back Nicita’s company car in short order, so he walked across Beverly Hills to CAA (the new agency supplied him with a Jaguar). NYU. Like Rapke, spots them young and nurtures. Style: “Very warm.”

Clients: actors Fonda, Field, Sissy Spacek, Rosanna Arquette, John Lithgow, Chevy Chase; directors David Lynch, Richard Lester, John Byrum.

Paula Wagner. (CAA) Used to be a struggling actress, represented by agent Susan Smith. Smith gave her three tough choices: Do regional theater, get a new agent or become an agent yourself. Wagner took No. 3 and became a star at CAA. Now she represents much of the “Brat Pack.” Married to fellow agent Nicita.

Clients: actors Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Tom Cruise, Eric Stoltz.

Geoffrey Sanford. (Sanford-Beckett) b. Feb. 23, 1942. Quintessential industry insider. Married to producer Midge Sanford (“Desperately Seeking Susan,” “River’s Edge”). Former CMA agent, son of an MCA agent. Very demanding of his clients, mostly writers. “They’ve got to live up to his expectations,” says a friend. (“That was pre-therapy. I’m a lot less demanding of myself and others now,” comments Sanford.) Partnered with Brenda Beckett, whose father John was chairman of Transamerica when the conglomerate owned United Artists--and suffered through “Heaven’s Gate.” Much muscle comes from Sanford’s links with CAA: They occasionally include his clients in big-name film packages. Extremely literate. Sanford’s been working toward a Ph.D. in philosophy at UCLA.

Clients: writers Richard Price (“Color of Money”), Ron Shelton (“Under Fire”), Nicholas Kazan (“At Close Range”).

John Ptak. (Morris) b. Sept. 23, 1942. VP motion pictures. One of the quiet powers. Some people think Ptak discovered Australia--he caught on early to Peter Weir and Mel Gibson. San Diego-born. Intellectual type. UCLA film school. One of six administrators (including Universal Pictures chairman Thomas Pollock) who set up the American Film Institute in the 1960s. Ptak started as Orion executive Michael Medavoy’s assistant, when Medavoy was an agent with IFA. To ICM, then Morris (having struck out as a producer in between). John Updike’s “Witches of Eastwick” was his book. Deeply involved with making “Jaws,” “Fletch,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Gallipoli,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Airplane!”

Clients: directors Peter Weir, Costa-Gavras, Bruce Beresford; producer National Lampoon.

TELEVISIONARIES: A breed apart, TV agents work in mysterious ways. They don’t just push clients, they sell whole shows--and that’s where the agencies make their big money.

Jerry Katzman. (Morris) b. April 21, 1937. Has a grand slam on the network schedules next season. Between 8 and 9 on Thursday night, all three broadcasters carry fare packaged by Katzman’s crew: “Cosby” (NBC), “Sledge Hammer” (ABC) and “Tour of Duty” (CBS). Heads the TV operation. Easy to overlook, because he doesn’t operate with the same flair as CAA’s Haber and spends much time overseeing a flock of Morris TV agents. Biggest franchises: Viacom and New World. Katzman covers NBC, deploys Len Rosenberg at ABC, Hal Ross at CBS.

Clients: producer/distributors Viacom, New World.

Morton L. Janklow. (Janklow Associates) b. May 30, 1930. High-powered go-between for Hollywood and the New York literary scene. Very close to CAA chief Ovitz. Works with CAA to turn blockbuster novels (“Rage of Angels,” “Princess Daisy,” “Hollywood Wives”) into TV miniseries. Started as a corporations attorney, backed into the agency biz when he represented friend William Safire’s book of the Nixon Administration. Gave fledgling CAA muscle a decade ago by letting the brand-new Hollywood agency make deals for his big-name writers. A connoisseur of art, advises the Whitney, Guggenheim and Princeton University museums. Dotes on daughter Angela, contributing reporter for Vanity Fair.

Clients: writers Sidney Sheldon, Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, Danielle Steele, Barbara Taylor Bradford.

Robert Broder. (Broder/Kurland/Webb) Hates being called a packager, but admits to picking up those fat packaging fees on occasion. His shop is powerhouse for half-hour comedy, the art form of the 1980s. Very close to NBC. Played a big role in putting together “Cheers” and “The Tortellis,” had a finger in “Newhart,” “Moonlighting” and other shows you’ve heard a lot about. “Tough, tough negotiator.”

Clients: the writer-producer Charles brothers, James Burrows, Glenn Caron, Earl Pomerantz, David Duclon, Don Bellisario.

John Henry Rowland Perkins II. (CAA) b. July 10, 1934. Folks just call him “Rowland.” Television packager. Takes the mild-mannered approach. By some accounts, he’s the most relaxed super-agent in town. But Perkins has his moments: He was in the middle of the brouhaha that split the CAA crowd off from Morris. By one account, Morris elders at the time declined to make him head of the television department. A cabal of fellow agents applied for a bank loan to start their own agency around him. Somebody from the bank, according to the lore, called Morris officers for a credit reference--and the the rest is agency history. Home-grown: USC and UCLA.

Clients: writer Sidney Sheldon, director George Schaefer.

Lee Gabler. (CAA) TV packager. CAA’s NBC maven and Haber’s right arm. Career’s on a second wind. Gabler was a key TV agent at ICM, but went out on his own and faded a bit. “All of a sudden he’s dynamite” at CAA, says a top studio executive. Behind the scenes, he helped engineer New World Entertainment’s big push into TV production by assembling shows like “Rags to Riches,” an NBC series that came on during mid-season and is sticking around next year.

Lee Rosenberg. (Triad) Co-founded Triad in 1985. Strong TV packager, but wants to make the agency a power in movies too. Close to Tri-Star (just got celebrated record producer Clive Davis a big Tri-Star movie deal). Harvard-educated. Driven. Bicycles through Europe in the summers. Plays tennis and negotiates with equal enthusiasm. Always wears a suit when doing business (“and the tie isn’t loosened”).

Clients: writers Paul Brickman (“Risky Business”), Alvin Sargent (“Ordinary People”), director John Badham (“Saturday Night Fever,” “WarGames”).

Alan Berger. (ICM) b. May 30, 1950. Fresh from Morris, where he was a fair-haired boy. Shooting for a fast rise at ICM, which has been much weaker in TV. Heads the TV department. New Jersey-born. Five years in the ad business. Grabbed some clients from Morris when he left.

Clients: directors Bob Butler (“Hill Street Blues”), Donald Wrye (“Amerika” miniseries); producer-writer Steve Tisch.

THE OLD GUARD: Hey, these people hustle. These people have heart. “Broadway Danny Rose,” move over.

Lee Stevens. (Morris) b. March 10, 1930. When Lorimar-Telepictures chairman Merv Adelson married Barbara Walters, Stevens gave the bride away. “A gentleman.” President and CEO of Morris and 33-year veteran with the agency. Stevens loves being an agent, but holds the most corporate job in the business: He’s ultimately responsible for Morris’ TV receivables (the money that rolls in year after year when you package shows) and real estate investments (“Huge,” says one senior Morris agent). Profit-sharing from those ventures is the glue that holds Morris together. Very close to Paramount chief Frank Mancuso and Warner Bros. chief Bob Daly.

Clients: network anchors Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings; actors Walter Matthau, Carol Channing.

Norman Brokaw. (Morris) b. April 21, 1927. Co-chairman of the Morris board. Joined the agency as a trainee at age 16. Been trying to add Gary Hart to a roster that is already heavy with ex-Washingtonians. Brokaw’s been around. Handled Marilyn Monroe. Bill Cosby has been with him for nearly a quarter century. Helped package “The Cosby Show,” and assured the agency’s financial fortunes for years to come.

Clients: actor Bill Cosby; writer/celebrities Al Haig, Donald Regan, Gerald and Betty Ford, Armand Hammer, Larry Speakes, Priscilla Presley.

Gersh Family. (Gersh Agency) Phil, the father (of uncertain age), works with sons David, 39, and Bob, 36. Claim to run the second oldest agency in Hollywood--having started in 1936 or 1937, nobody’s sure which--after 89-year-old Morris. Still lots of stars and directors, and a big roster of film editors, directors of photography and other off-screen talent. It hurt to lose Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford lately. (Fox jumped to Bauer-Benedek, Ford is working without an agent.) Avid collectors, all, of contemporary art.

Clients: actors Dennis Quaid, Kathleen Turner, Mark Harmon, Leonard Nimoy; directors Joe Dante, Arthur Hiller.

Leonard Hirshan. (Morris) b. Dec. 27, 1927. Oversees the movie department, filling the shoes of the late, great Stan Kamen. (Morris lost movie clients after Kamen died last year.) NYU. 36 years with Morris. Worked his way up from the mailroom in New York. Impatient at having to keep telling newcomers how the town works. Client Clint Eastwood is an agent’s dream: Churns out the money-makers for Warner Bros., year in and year out. Hirshan’s biggest deal lately: “Leonard Part VI,” Bill Cosby’s upcoming Columbia film.

Clients: actors Eastwood, Jack Lemmon, Shelley Long, John Malkovich.

Irving (Swifty) Lazar. (Lazar Agency) b. March 28, 1907. Main claim to fame is his annual Oscar-night party of A-list celebrities. Still gets the million-dollar books. (“ $1.25 million for Yoko Ono,” admonishes Swifty.) Fordham. St. Lawrence University law. Got into the agency business way back in the 1930s. A pet project of the moment: Angie Dickinson’s autobiography.

Clients: director Richard Brooks; writer/celebrities Larry McMurtry, Richard Nixon, David Eisenhower, Gloria Vanderbilt.

Martin Baum. (CAA) b. March 2, 1924. Loves to tell how he once sold a dead actor. Seems hard-selling Baum got the deal all wrapped up, only to find out his actor-client had died six months before. Forged a close relationship between CAA and Cannon. (It was great while it lasted.) New Yorker. Lots of history: A one-time Broadway agent, Baum went on to produce movies (“Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,” “Killer Elite”), and later merged his own agency with CAA.

Clients: director Richard Attenborough, actress Bo Derek.

Frederick Specktor. (CAA) b. April 24, 1933. The other old hand at CAA. Active in Democratic politics. Beverly Hills High School, USC and UCLA. CAA spirited him away from Morris, complete with clients.

Clients: actors Robert DeNiro, Bruce Dern, Danny DeVito, Taylor Hackford, Jeff Bridges; director Stan Dragoti (“Mr. Mom”).

SPECIAL SITUATIONS: Some agents have a “calling card,” that one big client you just can’t ignore. Others have great relatives. And still others have a special angle worth knowing about.

J. Michael Bloom. (Bloom Agency) “The best kids in New York,” one Hollywood casting director says of Bloom’s young character actors. Offices on both coasts, but lives here. Started in New York with commercials, then theater. Represents full-grown stars, too.

Clients: actors Bob Hoskins, Rip Torn, Timothy Dalton.

Joan Hyler. (Morris) b. Nov. 29, 1946. The queen of “crossover,” Hyler put rock star David Bowie on Broadway in “Elephant Man,” TV actress Lisa Bonet into the movies with “Angel Heart,” and was working to bring artist Andy Warhol into mainstream movie-making (possibly by filming Tama Janowitz’s book “Slaves of New York”) shortly before he died. One of the first female VPs in the motion picture department at Morris.

Clients: actors Jane Alexander, Peter O’Toole, Rutger Hauer, Candy Bergen, Karen Allen; singer/actor Bob Dylan.

Iris Burton. (Burton) “The best kids in L.A.,” according to the casting folks. Started Henry Thomas of “E.T.”

Clients: actors Kirk Cameron (“Growing Pains”), River Phoenix (“Stand by Me).

Sandy Bressler. (Bressler, Kelly) b. Jan. 20, 1937. If you want Jack Nicholson, you talk to Bressler. Sandy and Jack hooked up in the California Air National Guard, and never let go. Local boy. UCLA.

Clients: actors Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid.

John Gaines. (Agency for Performing Arts) Age 49. Absolutely hates being called “the funniest agent in Hollywood,” even though some insiders think he is. Certainly handles the funniest people. (“But I’ve got lots of serious dramatic clients,” insists Gaines.)

Clients: actors Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, John Candy, Mary Tyler Moore.

Rosalie Swedlin. (CAA) Heads the agency’s literary department, and has the ear of CAA chief Ovitz. “He trusts her judgment implicitly,” says one executive who with close ties to the agency. Married to producer Bob Cort.

Clients: writers Philip Kaufman (“The Right Stuff”), Babaloo Mandel (“Splash”), Joe Eszterhas (“Flashdance”).

Susan Smith. (Smith-Freedman) A casting director’s dream: One-stop shopping for those solid, middle-level actors who always work. (Her motto: “I may not have the people who get movies made. But movies don’t get made without my people.”) Good English connections. Has a house over there.

Clients: actors Peter Coyote, Tom Hulce, Marlee Matlin, Brian Dennehy.

Anthony Krantz. (CAA) June 16, 1959. Television packager. Mom is writer Judith Krantz, whose novels (“Mistral’s Daughter,” “Princess Daisy”) have been turned into miniseries by CAA. Dad is producer Stephen Krantz (“Cooley High,” “Mistral’s Daughter,” “Princess Daisy”).

Arnold Rifkin. (Triad) Super-packager: The guy to hire when you want to do it all. In one year, Rifkin had barely blossoming star Bruce Willis signed to produce movies, star in Seagram’s ads and make records for Motown. Quintessential New Yorker. Used to be a furrier.

Clients: actors Willis, Ed Harris; actor/writer Sam Shepard.

Hildy Gottlieb. (ICM) Very well-connected to director Walter Hill: They’re married. On top of which, she represents Eddie Murphy.

Clients: actors Eddie Murphy, Molly Ringwald, Jeff Goldblum.

Tom Ross. (CAA) Came from the music department of ICM about three years ago, bringing the likes of ZZ Top and Bette Midler with him. Hurt ICM. Made CAA a music power overnight. Very casual. “A backstage kind of guy. He’s been on the road. You’d see him backstage in Tallahassee eating stale cold-cuts.”

Clients: musician/actors Madonna, Prince, Bette Midler, Neil Diamond.

John Sykes. (CAA) Former MTV executive, came to CAA last year with a mandate to help rock music clients cross over into movies. Fresh from New York, classy dresser. “Very much part of the new breed of Giorgio Armani-style agents” says one record company executive. Hasn’t been in place long enough to deliver big results from the cross-over strategy yet.

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: A next-wave sampler.

Rima Bauer. (Writers & Artists) b. Dec. 2, 1957. Trolls the universities for new talent. Strong on young screenwriters. (Agency owner Joan Scott handles the more established names like actors Elizabeth McGovern and Danny Glover.)

Clients: writers Greg Widen (“Highlander”), Monte Merrick (“Boy’s Life”).

John Burnham. (Morris) b. March 1, 1953. Tight with Paramount production chief Ned Tanen. Fashionable dresser. Beverly Hills High, then UCLA. Grew up in Hollywood with the Dino, Desi and Billy crowd. Earned a law degree in night classes. Brought “Untouchables” producer Art Linson to Morris.

Clients: producer Linson; writers Buck Henry, Michael O’Donahue and Mitch Glazer (“Saturday Night Live”); director/producer David Anspaugh (“Hill Street Blues); actors Diane Keaton, Carrie Fisher; singer Belinda Carlisle.

Danny Halstead. (Bauer-Benedek) July 12, 1962. Young Halstead sold a cop-and-his-dog script called “K-9,” by two first-time writers, to Universal for $350,000 up front, with more to come later. If they gave Oscars for deal-making. . . .

Rick Jaffa. (Morris) b. May 8, 1956. Part of the “Texas subculture” at Morris (Waxahatchie, via SMU and USC business school). Specializes in young writers you-never-hear-of-until-its-too-late, and now you can’t afford ‘em. “Studio executives and producers call because they know he’s always got something tucked in the top drawer.”

Clients: writers Mick Garris (“Amazing Stories”), Robert Pool (“The Big Town”).

Michael J. Menchel. (CAA) b. July 22, 1954. Swims with the middle-level studio executives--the production chiefs of the 21st Century. Passive-aggressive. Nice personality attracts talent. Menchel was smart enough to start chasing Oliver Stone before everybody else in town started doing it. Drives a 1983 Porsche coupe. (The copper color isn’t so hot; but it was a showroom model and Menchel got a deal.)

Clients: directors Stanley Lathan (“Miami Vice”); actor James Belushi.

Michael Simpson. (Morris) b. Jan. 29, 1951. Another part of the Texas gang at Morris. (Seven years in Austin, but lived all over as an Air Force brat.) “They talk laid-back, but in fact they’re very high-pressure,” says one screenwriter. U of Texas. USC. Head of motion picture packaging. Young Morris agents are said to “look up” to Simpson.

Clients: actors Tom Hanks, Kris Kristofferson; writers Warren Skaaren (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Beverly Hills Cop II”), Nicholas Meyer (“Star Trek IV”).

Carey Woods. (Morris) b. May 6, 1957. Stan Kamen’s last assistant, broke out on his own by selling a script titled “Next of Kin” to Lorimar in a million-dollar package. NYU and a USC law degree. Dapper. Confident. A journeyman movie packager for all of the agency’s client list.

Jeremy Zimmer. (ICM) April 17, 1958. One of the most vigorous young salesmen in the business, i.e., Zimmer pushes his wares. Isn’t shy about violating the no-publicity taboo. Zimmer raised eyebrows in the business when he let PBS film him in action for a television special. Specializes in the project-you’ve-gotta-have-this-week, e.g., represented the books behind MGM/UA’s upcoming “Bright Lights, Big City” and Fox’s “Less than Zero.” Drips sarcasm. Telephone as weapon. Got his start managing parking lots in Boston.

Clients: (“Just say he wants to represent Steven Spielberg,” Zimmer suggests, with all due modesty.)