Talent agent Deborah Coleman dies

BOSTON, March 28 (UPI) -- Deborah Coleman, who started her own New York talent agency and went on to represent top stars from Imogene Coca to Jean Stapleton, has died at age 97.

The New York native died of a heart attack Feb. 16 in Boston, Variety reported Wednesday.

Coleman founded the talent agency that bears her name in the 1930s.

"She had the respect of every great producer from the '40s to the '80s," said Gerald Freedman, a former client who is now dean of drama at the North Carolina School of the Arts. "They knew her to be a woman of integrity and someone who had an eye for talent."

Coleman started out representing producer Leonard Sillman. Over time her client list included George Balanchine, Dick York and Hal Linden, in addition to Stapleton and Coca.

A member of Actor's Equity, the Screen Actor's Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, she had her hand in TV shows such as "Your Show of Shows" and "All in the Family," and Broadway's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "No, No Nanette."

She is survived by a daughter and three grandchildren.