The Match Game

When B’nai B’rith International needs a headliner to attract
people to a fundraising dinner, it knows where to turn.

Los Angeles-based Celebrity Connection, founded 20 years ago
by Barry Greenberg, is the exclusive coordinator for all of B’nai B’rith’s fundraising
dinners in the United States.

Greenberg, 51, is a pioneer in the celebrity brokering
business, which involves finding, matching and hiring celebrities to make
appearances on behalf of organizations.

While celebrity brokering is still a small industry, it’s
growing fast as America becomes ever more obsessed with celebrity. Curiously,
virtually all the major players in the field are Jewish.

“Initially, Celebrity Connection was conceived as a
clearinghouse for celebrity participation in charity,” recalled Greenberg, who
previously worked for Jewish nonprofit organizations, including B’nai B’rith
and the Jewish National Fund, and currently is vice president of Temple Israel
of Hollywood. Greenberg teaches a course titled “The Role of Celebrity in
Public Relations” at the USC Annenberg School of Communications.

Celebrity Connections brokers deals for celebrities and
receives 10 percent on top of the contracted price. The company has experienced
dramatic growth, especially in the last six years, with satellite offices in Germany
and Spain in addition to its Los Angeles headquarters.

“We spend a lot of time educating prospective clients not
only about the specialized service we provide, but about the entire process of
matching the right celebrity with the right client,” he said.

For example, efforts to fight Parkinson’s disease saw
funding increase after actor Michael J. Fox got involved, while AIDS awareness
benefited from the advocacy of actress Elizabeth Taylor. Some actors,
musicians, comedians and sports stars may appear for charities for a nominal
fee, while others charge tens of thousands of dollars for commercials or
endorsements.

While Celebrity Connection is the oldest and biggest firm in
the industry, another key player is Celebrity Source in Los Angeles.
Established in 1988 by Rita Tateel, who has a background in Jewish communal
service, Celebrity Source also is a full-service firm, which often arranges
video or satellite celebrity if celebrities can’t attend an event in person.

Another player in the field is Mark Goldman, founder and
principal of the Oxnard-based Damon Brooks, a boutique firm in the niche market
of celebrities and athletes who have overcome disabilities. Goldman books them
for charitable appearances, public relations promotions and motivational
speaking engagements.

Celebrities’ managers and agents appreciate the role
celebrity brokers play in pairing their clients with worthy causes — and
earning their clients some publicity to boot.

Movie producer Larry Brezner, who also manages Billy Crystal
and Robin Williams, lifts a stack of letters, invitations and requests that
clutters the desk of his Beverly Hills office.

“This is just one day’s mail,” Brezner said, shaking his
head as he fanned the solicitations from charitable organizations that range in
size from local medical clinics to well-known national associations.

For the most part, however, Brezner already knows his stars’
predilections and preferences. He also estimates that if celebrities agreed to
support every worthy cause that came their way, “they would spend 90 percent of
their time doing nothing else.”

Crystal, for example, “throws his energy into big projects,
like the planned Performing Arts Peace Center at the Hebrew University, to
which he has personally donated $1.5 million,” Brezner said. “He is the
recipient of the Scopus Award, and was also the guest of honor this [month] at
the Simon Wiesenthal [Center’s] Museum of Tolerance annual dinner, which was
attended by every major studio head in the business.”

He added: “Virtually every celebrity with whom we work has a
big heart. Most of them are very grateful for the good fortune they have had in
their careers, and for getting paid to do what they love to do anyway. So they feel
an obligation to give back to the community.” Â