How did an office with fold-up card tables as desks and cars shared between its employees become the number-one talent agency in LA?

Back in 1975, five rebellious agents decided to leave William Morris and start their own company, with a completely different environment. So Michael Ovitz , Ron Meyer, William Haber, Michael Rosenfeld and Rowland Perkins founded the Creative Artists Agency with minimal resources, and a commitment to a team-player work ethic. They cut three TV deals in the first week, and thus their success began. By the '80s, CAA was unique in demanding from studios a share of the product in addition to the 10% that agents typically receive in a contract. Former William Morris agent David Geffen accused CAA of disrupting the whole Hollywood economy as a result of these share requests and rising actors’ salaries. Within the next decade, CAA was doing more than star-dealing. The agency became a multi-media one-stop-shop involved in advertising, investment banking, consulting, and representing corporate clients. This LA powerhouse, recently relocated from Beverly Hills to a ginormous Century City building, reps the crème de la crème of actors, musicians, writers, and athletes, including Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt, Lindsay Lohan, The Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Stephen King and David Beckham. The corporate line-up has changed but CAA’s celeb-wielding ability remains the same. Recent additions include marketing clients Motorola and Coca-Cola, and hot directors such as Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu of Babel fame. —Margo Fortuny