Thursday, May 7, 2009
It was with great sadness that I read about the death of the legendary super-agent Sam Cohn. I had very few encounters with the man, but the first one was memorable.
It was 1993 and working at the PR firm Dennis Davidson Associates in New York, when I got the call. “I have Sam Cohn on the line,” said the voice. “Can you hold for him?” “Absolutely,” I said. While I was waiting, I tried to imagine why an important man like Sam Cohn would want to talk to me.
The voice came back. “It might be a while,” she said, extremely politely. “Would you mind staying on the line?” Was she kidding? For a chance to talk to a legend like Sam Cohn?
The voice came back. “I’m really sorry,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“Um, he’s not here.”
It took a little while for this to sink in.
“Are you saying that Sam Cohn called me and he’s not there?”
There was a long pause.
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“I’m very sorry.”
This was something new. Imagine! Sam Cohn could call people without having to be there.
“Don’t worry about it at all,” I said, and it was over.
I sat for a while thinking about what had just happened.
“Now that’s power,” I thought.
