LOS ANGELES, CA – September 24, 2013

Entertainment industry veteran and talent manager Larry Thompson received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 12th Annual Talent Managers Association Heller Awards on Thursday night, September 19, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Thompson has guided the careers of over 200 stars in 45 years including Drew Barrymore, William Shatner, Cicely Tyson, Joan Rivers, Sonny & Cher, Mariska Hargitay, Alan Thicke, David Hasselhoff, and Cindy Crawford.

 

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“What he doesn’t know, he goes out and learns and then he embraces it totally,”  Rivers explained to the Heller Award audience. “Agents see you for what you do at the moment; managers see you for what you could do.” 

 

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Shatner was also on hand and presented Thompson with the award. The evening is named in honor of Seymour Heller, who represented legends such as Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Glen Gray and, perhaps most famously, Liberace. 

 

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Thompson, who is known for witty sayings such as "If you didn't invite me to the take-off, don't invite me to the crash” and "You can learn to be lucky,” shared some of his trademark wisdom with the event’s attendees. He advised everyone, “I’ve learned that you can’t get hit by lightning if you’re not standing out in the rain.”

 

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The event was a prime highlight during a career week for Thompson. His film Liz & Dick was nominated for two Emmys (Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or Movie and Outstanding Make-up for a Miniseries or Movie). He and his daughter, Taylor, attended the Primetime Emmys ceremony the following Sunday at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

 

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Thompson, who penned the best-selling motivational book SHINE and produced over two dozen films, is currently in pre-production on the feature film Missing Mona Lisa, a romanticized telling of the fact-based story of how a simple Italian man stole the masterpiece while working at the Louvre in 1911.