Sue Mengers

People remembered her withering wit, feared her negotiating prowess, envied her client list, respected her uncanny intelligence. Sue Mengers, who died Oct. 15 at 79, was one of the first great female Hollywood power agents. But she was also a loyal friend and an inspiring teacher.

My first meeting with Sue was in 1981, when I was interviewing to be her second secretary. As she interrogated me, I found myself stealing glances at photographs of Sue with her many clients–Barbra Streisand, Candice Bergen, Ali MacGraw, Sidney Lumet, to name a few. The interview was interrupted by phone calls from studio heads and clients. I marveled at how she switched gears, smoothly taking each call, then resuming her lecture about what she expected from her secretary: one’s heart and soul.

That was what Sue gave her clients, never accepting no when she wanted to hear yes, teaching me day after day, deal after deal, that nothing matters more in business or in life than passion and tenacity. Like nearly all trailblazers, Sue had an exacting personality; she fired me at least a dozen times during my 18-month tenure, but she always gave me another chance to be fired again.

Rosenfelt is the producer of 13 films, including the Twilight series