# Rick Nicita

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{{short description|Entertainment executive and producer}}
{{Infobox person
 | name             = Rick Nicita
 | image            = 
 | imagesize        = 
 | caption          = 
 | birth_name       = Charles Richard Nicita
 | birth_date       = {{bda|1945|12|15}}
 | birth_place      = [Mount Vernon, New York](/source/Mount_Vernon%2C_New_York)
 | death_date       = 
 | death_place      = 
 | occupation       = Talent agent; producer<br>former [Creative Artists Agency](/source/Creative_Artists_Agency)<br>{{nowrap|co-chairman and managing partner}}
 | years_active     = 1968–Present
 | spouse           = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Wallis Nicita||14 Nov 1983|reason=div}}
* {{marriage|[Paula Wagner](/source/Paula_Wagner)|27 October 1984}}
}}
 | children         = Jesse (b. 1979), Zachary (b. 1987)
}}

'''Rick Nicita''' (born '''Charles Richard Nicita'''; December 15, 1945) is an American entertainment executive, [talent agent](/source/talent_agent), and motion picture/TV producer. Nicita is a former co-chairman and managing partner of [Creative Artists Agency](/source/Creative_Artists_Agency).

==Career==
===William Morris Agency===
Before turning exclusively to [production](/source/Filmmaking) and consultation in 2017,<ref>{{cite magazine|date=13 January 2017|title=Rick Nicita Retires Management Shingle To Focus On Producing|url=https://deadline.com/2017/01/rick-nicita-closes-management-business-mel-gibson-kurt-russell-sally-field-kate-hudson-still-producer-1201885988/|magazine=[Deadline Hollywood](/source/Deadline_Hollywood)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> Rick Nicita spent five decades as a professional [talent agent](/source/talent_agent) and manager starting May 1968 with the [William Morris Agency](/source/William_Morris_Agency) (WMA), [New York City](/source/New_York_City), and later transferring to WMA's [Beverly Hills](/source/Beverly_Hills) offices in 1976. At WMA, Nicita started in the [mailroom](/source/mailroom) and earned his full agenting position over time, a traditional rite of initiation.<ref>{{cite news|date=3 November 2011|title=The Secrets of Hollywood Agency Mailrooms|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-mailroom-secrets-caa-icm-uta-wme-257222|publisher=[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter)|access-date=15 December 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607003400/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-mailroom-secrets-caa-icm-uta-wme-257222|archive-date=7 June 2019}}</ref>

In a 2003 interview, Rick Nicita detailed his early days with William Morris: "I had dropped out of [Fordham Law School](/source/Fordham_Law_School) when I realized that very little of the study and practice of law interested me. I spent many weeks trying to figure out what I wanted to do--- not what I ''should'' do, or what was easiest, or what society wanted me to do, but what I ''wanted'' to do. I always loved movies so I decided that I would be in the movie business. I called a fraternity brother who was temporarily working at William Morris and asked him to help me get a job there. I didn't even know what an agent ''did''. I loved it the minute I started."<ref>{{cite news|date=4 March 2003|title=Q&A: One of Hollywood's Top Agents|url=https://magazine.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2003/03/04/q-a-one-of-hollywoods-top-agents/|publisher=Wesleyan University Magazine|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref>

===Creative Artists Agency (CAA)===
Rick Nicita left the William Morris Agency in 1980 to join then four year-old [Creative Artists Agency](/source/Creative_Artists_Agency), this after being hand-selected by CAA's leadership of the time, which included founders [Michael Ovitz](/source/Michael_Ovitz) and [Ronald Meyer](/source/Ronald_Meyer).{{sfn|Ovitz|2018|p=107}} Nicita was later named co-chairman of CAA and then managing partner, all of this within the historical era in which CAA was considered the world's dominant talent agency.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=4 October 2007|title=A Hollywood Agency With Star Power|url=https://money.cnn.com/2007/09/28/magazines/fortune/hollywood_agent.fortune/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018035359/http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/28/magazines/fortune/hollywood_agent.fortune/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 18, 2007|magazine=[Fortune](/source/Fortune_(magazine))|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Stewart|first=James B.|date=6 August 2016|title=Power, Ambition and Betrayal In Hollywood: James B. Stewart On "Powerhouse"|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/books/review/powerhouse-creative-artists-agency-james-andrew-miller.html|url-access=subscription|newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref>

During his time with CAA, Rick Nicita maintained a client list that included [Francis Ford Coppola](/source/Francis_Ford_Coppola),<ref>{{cite magazine|date=9 December 1997|title=Coppola Bids Bye-Bye to CAA|url=https://variety.com/1997/scene/people-news/coppola-bids-bye-bye-to-caa-1116679703/|magazine=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> [Al Pacino](/source/Al_Pacino),<ref>{{cite news|date=9 April 2012|title=Al Pacino, Garry Marshall Sign with Newly Minted Manager Rick Nicita (Exclusive)|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/al-pacino-garry-marshall-sign-newly-minted-manager-202118261.html|website=[Yahoo! News](/source/Yahoo!_News)|via=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=29 March 1993|title=Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Database: Al Pacino, 1992|url=http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/link/065-1/|publisher=[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](/source/Academy_of_Motion_Picture_Arts_and_Sciences)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> [Rob Reiner](/source/Rob_Reiner),<ref>{{cite news|date=30 July 2008|title=Power Agent Changes Hats|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jul-30-fi-nicita30-story.html|newspaper=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> [Bette Midler](/source/Bette_Midler),{{sfn|Ovitz|2018|p=205}} [Mick Jagger](/source/Mick_Jagger),<ref>{{cite magazine|date=24 November 1983|title=Mick Jagger: He's Hot, He's Sexy and He's Alive|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mick-jagger-hes-hot-hes-sexy-and-hes-alive-2-91569/|magazine=[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> [David Lynch](/source/David_Lynch),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lynch|first1=David|last2=McKenna|first2=Kristine|year=2018|title=Room to Dream|url={{GBUrl|WJAlDwAAQBAJ}}|publisher=[Random House](/source/Random_House)|isbn=978-0-399-58920-1}}</ref> [Christopher Walken](/source/Christopher_Walken),<ref>{{cite book|last=Rose|first=Frank|year=1995|title=The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business|url={{GBUrl|sKwDcGnGKj8C}}|publisher=[Harper Business](/source/HarperCollins)|isbn=978-0-887-30807-9}}</ref> [Debra Winger](/source/Debra_Winger),<ref>{{cite news|date=5 November 2010|title=Debra Winger Drops Back In|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/magazine/07Winger-t.html|url-access=subscription|publisher=[The New York Times Magazine](/source/The_New_York_Times_Magazine)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> [Tom Cruise](/source/Tom_Cruise),<ref>{{cite news|date=7 December 2006|title=Name Dropping|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-12-07-0612070045-story.html|newspaper=[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> [Anthony Hopkins](/source/Anthony_Hopkins),<ref>{{cite magazine|date=27 November 2008|title=CAA Loses Two Oscar Winners: Anthony Hopkins To Endeavor; Best Foreign Language Film Writer/Director To UTA|url=https://deadline.com/2008/11/caa-loses-two-oscar-winners-anthony-hopkins-to-endeavor-best-foreign-language-film-writerdirector-to-uta-7597/|magazine=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref>[Nicole Kidman](/source/Nicole_Kidman),<ref>{{cite book|last=Thomson|first=David|year=2008|title=Nicole Kidman|url={{GBUrl|ARZSoLqiWkYC}}|publisher=[Vintage Books](/source/Vintage_Books)|isbn=978-0-307-48879-4}}</ref> [Kurt Russell](/source/Kurt_Russell),<ref>{{cite magazine|date=5 March 1993|title=The $7 Million Man: Kurt Russell Earns Megabucks For His Starring Role In ''Stargate''|url=https://ew.com/article/1993/03/05/7-million-man/|magazine=[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> and [Sally Field](/source/Sally_Field).<ref>{{cite magazine|date=30 May 2017|title=A Hollywood Power Couple's Tailored New York Apartment|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/hollywood-power-couple-tailored-new-york-apartment|magazine=[Architectural Digest](/source/Architectural_Digest)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref>

===Morgan Creek and RPMedia===
Rick Nicita left Creative Artists Agency in 2008 to become [Morgan Creek's](/source/Morgan_Creek_Entertainment) Co-chairman and [COO](/source/Chief_operating_officer).<ref>{{cite magazine|date=29 July 2008|title=Nicita Departs CAA for Morgan Creek|url=https://variety.com/2008/scene/markets-festivals/nicita-departs-caa-for-morgan-creek-1117989714/|magazine=Variety|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> Nicita departed Morgan Creek in 2011,<ref>{{cite magazine|date=5 January 2012|title=Rick Nicita Speaks About Morgan Creek Exit|url=https://deadline.com/2012/01/rick-nicita-speaks-on-his-exit-from-morgan-creek-210542/|magazine=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=5 January 2012|title=Rick Nicita Exiting Morgan Creek (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rick-nicita-morgan-creek-278797|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> later returning to talent representation<ref>{{cite news|date=18 December 2015|title=Sylvester Stallone Signs With Manager Rick Nicita|url=https://sg.style.yahoo.com/sylvester-stallone-signs-manager-rick-204118552.html|publisher=[Yahoo! Lifestyle](/source/Yahoo!)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> via his self-created RPMedia shingle. (RP is an [acronym](/source/acronym) for "Rick and Paula").<ref>{{cite news|date=1 November 2012|title=Hollywood Player Joins the Club on Broadway|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/theater/paula-wagner-turns-to-producing-on-broadway.html|url-access=subscription|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Rick Nicita is the son of Frances (née Scapolito) and Charles Nicita.<ref>{{cite news|date=6 May 2009|title=Frances M. "Fran" Nicita, 88, died May 3|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2009/05/06/frances-m-nicita-88/|newspaper=[Portland Press Herald](/source/Portland_Press_Herald)}}</ref> Nicita was born in [Mount Vernon, New York](/source/Mount_Vernon%2C_New_York). He and his family moved to [Larchmont, New York](/source/Larchmont%2C_New_York) in 1952, where he graduated from [Mamaroneck High School](/source/Mamaroneck_High_School), class of '63. Nicita later attended [Wesleyan University](/source/Wesleyan_University), graduating class of '67.

In 1969, Rick Nicita married [casting director](/source/Casting_(performing_arts))/producer [Wallis Nicita](/source/Wallis_Nicita) (née Lindburg).<ref>{{cite book|last=Nashawaty|first=Chris|year=2018|title=Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story|url={{GBurl|fBQ4DwAAQBAJ|pg=PA117}}|page=117|publisher=[Flatiron Books](/source/Macmillan_Publishers)|isbn=978-1-250-10597-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=2 June 2014|title=Documentary Shines Light On Wallis Nicita '67 and Other Great Casting Directors|url=https://www.conncoll.edu/news/news-archive/2014/documentary-shines-light-on-wallis-nicita-67-and-other-great-casting-directors.html|publisher=[Connecticut College](/source/Connecticut_College)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=April 4, 1999|title=Virginia H. 'Jean' Lindburg|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1999/04/14/obituaries/20fea4d3-2ec6-4b31-b854-1f19c6212c80/|newspaper=[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)|quote=Survivors include two children, John Lindburg of Washington and Wallis Nicita of Los Angeles; two brothers; and two sisters.}}</ref> They divorced in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|date=14 Nov 1983|title=California Divorce Index, 1966-1984|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPPL-8P6|url-access=registration|website=[FamilySearch](/source/FamilySearch)|access-date=15 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|year=2007|title=Charles R Nicita and Wallis J|url=http://www.ancestry.com|url-access=registration|website=[Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com)}}</ref> They have a son, Jesse, born 1979.

In 1984, Nicita married fellow CAA talent agent, [Paula Wagner](/source/Paula_Wagner). Wagner later moved into producing when she and former client, Tom Cruise, formed [Cruise/Wagner Productions](/source/Cruise%2FWagner_Productions).<ref>{{cite news|date=8 December 2006|title=Fine Print: Tom Party|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/fine-print-08-12-2006/cid/1595586|publisher=[The Telegraph (India)](/source/The_Telegraph_(India))|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=29 April 2006|title=The Trouble With Tom|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/the-trouble-with-tom-20060429-gdnfxa.html|newspaper=[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> For many years, Rick Nicita and Paula Wagner were cited in the international media as "Hollywood's Power Couple".<ref>{{cite news|date=29 April 2006|title=Tony-Winner Marissa Jaret Winokur To Perform At Garry Marshall Theatre 2nd Annual Founder's Gala|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Tony-Winner-Marissa-Jaret-Winokur-To-Perform-At-Garry-Marshall-Theatre-2nd-Annual-Founders-Gala-20181106|publisher=[BroadwayWorld](/source/BroadwayWorld) (Los Angeles)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=9 April 2012|title=Are Power Couple Rick Nicita, Paula Wagner Going Into Business Together?|url=https://www.thewrap.com/are-power-couple-rick-nicita-paula-wagner-going-business-together-36900/|publisher=[TheWrap](/source/TheWrap)|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> Nicita and Wagner remain married. They have a son, Zachary, born 1987.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Ovitz |first=Michael |year=2018 |title=Who Is Michael Ovitz?: A Memoir |url={{GBUrl|11hwDwAAQBAJ}} |publisher=[Portfolio/Penguin](/source/Penguin_Group) |isbn=978-1-591-84554-6}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=1131362|name=Rick Nicita}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicita, Rick}}
Category:1945 births
Category:Film producers from New York (state)
Category:American talent agents
Category:Living people
Category:American mass media company founders

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rick Nicita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Nicita) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Nicita?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.