UTA has hired Douglas Edley to bolster its touring and personal appearances division, the agency said Monday. Edley joins the agency from Gersh, where for 16 years he worked with comedians like Bo Burnham, Jordan Peele of “Key & Peele,” Ben Bailey, Tim Minchin and Brian Posehn.
He also represented clients from other disciplines, such as chef Fabio Vivani for public appearances, booking them jobs at clubs, colleges and events. Edley will bring most of his clients with him, including Burnham, Peele, Paul Reiser and Posehn.
Word of his move to UTA started trickling out through his clients. Henry Cho, recently posted the news on Facebook while many of his other clients, including Mo Mandel, have noted the change on their personal websites.
“Congrats to my agent, Doug Edley, who will now head the touring division at UTA,” Cho wrote.
Also read: Former WME Partner Brian Swardstrom Joins UTA
UTA hopes Edley can help grow its touring division, which is a part of the agency ripe for expansion. Most of Hollywood’s larger agencies are looking to grow their businesses beyond traditional film and TV representation, and touring, along with music, sports and fashion, complement the existing businesses well.
UTA has hired several agents from rival firms in the past couple weeks, bringing in Brian Swardstrom and Danie Streisand from WME last week.