Remembering DGRW’s Flo Rothacker

A day after a shooting last year, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said something that really stuck with me. “In the Jewish tradition, when someone passes, we say: ‘Zichronam Livracha, May Their Memory Be a Blessing,’” she explained. “It is not a comfort, it is a call to make sure what was good in someone’s life doesn’t end with their death. Because a memory doesn’t become a blessing on its own. It becomes one when we carry forward what was best in them. Their courage, their kindness, their sense of duty, their love for others. And even now, we see that beginning. The people who knew them best are already carrying that blessing in the stories they share, in the silence they keep, in the depth of a loss they hold together. That kind of love doesn’t disappear, that kind of service doesn’t end.” 

I was reminded of this explanation upon the news of the death of Flo Rothacker, legendary theater agent and the “R” in DGRW. She died on Monday of kidney failure at age 71.

“Flo was everything an agent should be,” stated Kathleen Chalfant. “She saw me through the journey of Wit as a friend, advocate, counselor on all possible fronts. She was a wonder and the world is a poorer place now that she is gone.”

Flo was that special type of person who radiated warmth. She had a booming voice and a gregarious personality. She had a knack for making you feel welcome with just a look. 

When I began my career, I was very young and extremely aggressive. My job was to break news and I was good at it. Many times, I ignored press agent denials and contacted talent agents (or actors) directly. Not surprisingly, several talent agents were nasty to me. But not Flo. Flo was always happy to speak about her people. She thought of them as family. Of course, she never wanted me to release information before a deal was done, but she chose to utilize honey as opposed to vinegar in order to accomplish her goals. 

Flo took me to events and introduced me to important people. I attended a Barry Manilow concert with her, Alice Ripley and another DGRW employee. I travelled to Philadelphia in a snowstorm with her and Jim Wilhelm (the “W”) to see the Wicked tour because they had clients in it. There are countless other examples. Flo loved the theater, dessert, clothes shopping and, most of all, her people. And all of that was made clear within an hour of knowing her.

One day, I had a casting scoop involving her then client Douglas Sills. She urged me not to report on the unfinished deal, fearing it would derail negotiations. It was before a Jewish holiday and I told her I would give her a bit, but I wanted to write it prior to going offline. “Did you know Doug is Jewish?” I remember her asking me. “Do you really want to do this to your people?”

I have never been sure why Flo took such a liking to me. Maybe that was just her. She was tough as nails when she needed to be—I know some general managers and producers who can share stories—but her default was kindness. And she liked to take people under her wing early in their career.

“I got my first lead on Broadway when I was 19,” Marcia Mitzman Gaven said. “I didn’t know any agents and I didn’t know how the process worked. I just started knocking on doors showing my Equity principal contract to people, asking if they’d represent me. Flo was one of the first people who was kind enough to open her door. She had a huge heart and a true passion for theater and respect for actors. When Flo believed in you, it was ‘all in,’ 100%.”

Flo didn’t get to be an agency head right away. She began her career as an assistant at Ann Wight Representatives in 1980. 

“She would always tell me the reason she took the job was because it was within walking distance of Bloomingdale’s and she could go shopping on her breaks,” her old friend Robert Meier told me. 

After a year she rose to Theatrical Division Head, perhaps benefitting from the type of mentorship she later showed others. In 1986, she moved to MMG Model, Talent & Celebrity Management. Two years later, she co-founded DGRW. 

“Flo was my first mentor and the person who taught me what it truly meant to be an agent—to advocate fiercely, listen deeply, and always care about the person first,” former DGRW agent Nicole Wichinsky said. “Her warmth, sass, wisdom, and heart have stayed with me throughout my career, and always will.”

In addition to Chalfant, Ripley and Sills, Flo’s clients at DGRW included Paige O’Hara, Sandy Duncan, Valarie Pettiford, the late Phyllis Newman, Brian Stokes Mitchell, the late Ken Page, Dan Lauria and fight director Rick Sordelet.

Over the years, I’ve tracked talented actors whose careers never took off. When it isn’t poor audition skills or a bad reputation holding them back, it’s almost always their representation. They don’t have Flo. Flo was always out there trying to make sure everyone knew how valuable her people were. Through her constant promotion of Rick Sordelet’s work, I learned what a fight director was.

Sordelet met Flo in 1992 at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; one of her clients was the director of a piece he worked on. According to Sordelet, fight directors were not represented by agents then, but she expressed interest in representing him.

“When I got my first Broadway show, which was Beauty and the Beast, I dropped off a rose at DGRW and said I needed her help,” Sordelet explained. “And God was I happy that she was on my side of the phone during negotiations; she was brilliant. Never once did I ever hear her or hear of her being nasty or snippy or cruel. She was always fun and personable. People who negotiated with her would talk about her gentle velvet glove that would come pounding down on their head as she negotiated for all of us.”

Not only that, but she advocated for more than just her client. “She changed what happens with fight directors,” Sordelet added. “Because of Flo Rothacker, fight directors now enjoy title page billing, a bio, and a weekly [fee]. We didn’t get that before her. She made a contribution to my entire profession as well as my career.”

She negotiated over 2000 contracts. She taught master classes. She was a master class. But about two decades ago, not long after we first met, she left it all behind. She moved with her then husband to his native Tennessee and transitioned away from entertainment. Upon their divorce, she moved back near her family in Virginia, working at Walmart in human resources for eight years before retiring.

Over the years, Flo checked in with me. She seemed to always know when I needed it. Last year, she saw a picture of me in my usual glitter sneakers and messaged me to say she loved them because they shined “just like [me].”

I saw her last a few years ago when she was in NYC for Wilhelm’s memorial. Before the memorial, I asked her if she was going to speak. She said they had not originally given her a speaking slot, but she requested one by telling them she knew she’d “be speaking all night anyway.” A day after the memorial, a large group came to visit with her at the Marriott Marquis. It was so mobbed it took me a long time to speak with her. But, when I did, she was the old Flo. Though physically weakened from long-term dialysis and other health issues, her spirit remained bright. She introduced me to everyone I did not know. She commented on both my memorial outfit and the clothes I was wearing that night. She insisted on taking a picture together, which I wish I had now.

At that point, she was the last of the original DGRW four. Now none are living, but the firm’s name remains the same, with her blessing. Agent Matt Redmond, who joined DGRW well after Flo’s departure, serves as its president. She told me how happy she was to see him doing well. Redmond relayed that she kept in touch, remaining supportive always. Flo was far removed from her showbiz days but was still proud of everything she accomplished and everything we who shone in her light achieved.

Her memory will forever be a blessing to me and so many others. We see that beginning. Sills sent me a message about Flo that was part description of the woman and part letter to her. Rather than cut it, I will leave you with it in its entirety:

“Flo was one of a kind, a flurry of energy and ideas. She made all the light bulbs in the room jealous–warm, smart and ambitious. Flo was full of passions. She loved Broadway and the people who make theater here. She thrived on making a difference in her clients’ lives and seeing her people soar was the pot of gold she sought. She was generous with her time and energy to causes that she believed in. And as an agent, she was a tough negotiator, resourceful, persistent and fearless–an amazing partner for an actor. She’s responsible for very significant beautiful highlights of my life, for which I was sure to thank her whenever we chatted after she left New York. I could hear her voice energize and pitch higher when she heard how important she’d been to me and when she heard how grateful I was, because she loved her time contributing to the people, the business and the art of theater. She just adored theater and theater people, especially Broadway and the people who make it. Flo’s devotion to her family and friends was the other tent pole in her life. That was clear and definite and inspiring. We lost a loving soul. I have admired the perseverance and force of will she had in facing her many challenges. She’s the friend and agent I would wish for every actor. I will never forget her infectious love for the work and beauty of this artistic life. Who’s like her? Damn Few. Thank you Flo. Enjoy your new life. You deserve it. Love, Douglas.”