MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Wally Amos, who died earlier this week, started the Famous Amos cookie brand. But before that, Amos was in charge of making other people famous. He was a talent agent at the William Morris Agency, crossed paths with some of the biggest names in music. NPR's Andrew Limbong has more.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Wally Amos put out a book in 2001 called "The Cookie Never Crumbles." It's part memoir, part business advice, par, inspirational self-help. And the first 50 pages or so are filled with a who's who of famous musicians from the '60s - Herb Alpert, Helen Reddy, Hue Masekala...
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
LIMBONG: ...Whom Amos personally signed to the William Morris Agency. Amos started there by working in the mail room. He had just quit his job as a manager at Saks Fifth Avenue. He asked for a raise. They said no, so he left. He took a pay cut to start at the bottom of William Morris but quickly worked his way up from handling packages to handling talent. Here he is talking about his career to NPR in 2002.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
WALLY AMOS: I was the first agent to book Simon and Garfunkel. I was the first agent to book The Supremes.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO")
THE SUPREMES: (Singing) Baby, baby, where did our love go?
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
AMOS: I worked with Marvin Gaye.
LIMBONG: The Marvin Gaye connection is interesting because after six years of working in the music department at William Morris, Amos was ready to leave. He asked to be promoted to either the film or TV departments, but the higher-ups said no. In his book, Amos wrote, quote, "the agency felt that executives at film and TV studios were just not ready to do business with a Black agent." So he left. And when Amos needed some money to start Famous Amos in 1975, Marvin Gaye was an early investor, putting in $10,000 into the company.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "COME GET TO THIS")
MARVIN GAYE: (Singing) Oh, baby, come here.
LIMBONG: Now, this is mid-'70s Marvin Gaye, arguably Marvin Gaye at the height of his powers, but it was also at the height of his money problems. But in the David Ritz book, "Divided Soul: The Life Of Marvin Gaye," his sister, Jeanne Gaye, says, quote, "his only sound investment was with Wally Amos."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "COME GET TO THIS")
GAYE: (Singing) So petite, oh, candy sweet.
LIMBONG: But Amos' deepest musical connection might have been with his kazoo. In 1980, Amos came to NPR studios in Washington, D.C., for an interview.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That is, of course, Wally Amos, who also provided musical accompaniment.
AMOS: The kazoo. The kazoo is the official instrument of the cookie.
LIMBONG: The famous Panama hat and flower shirt that he wore on a lot of the branding of his Famous Amos cookies were being entered into the Smithsonian. But he felt that the kazoo was an integral part of the overall fit, so much so that this is how the interview ends.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have a cookie.
AMOS: (Chewing) Sounds good. (Playing kazoo) Let's be patriotic (laughter).
LIMBONG: Andrew Limbong, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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