Back in 1898 when New York City was still a mess of cobblestones, a spry German Jewish immigrant founded "William Morris, Vaudeville Agent." Vaudeville soon paved the way for silent film, and the young agency grew to represent Charlie Chaplin, Mae West and the Marx Brothers.

In 1922, the founder’s son, William Morris Jr., opened a Los Angeles office. As the decades passed, the talent agency acquired a plethora of film, television, and music stars: Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Will Rogers, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cosby, Louis Armstrong, Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys have all graced the halls. The current movie-star roster includes Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Travolta and Eddie Murphy. These days, William Morris is the world’s largest talent and literary agency, getting busy in offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, Miami Beach, London and Shanghai. In addition to the famous motion picture and music divisions, the agency is active in Broadway theatre, television, book publishing, corporate consulting, and sports marketing. We'd like to know what they don't do.—Margo Fortuny