Musical Agencies

Three United Talent Agency partners known for their comedy rosters have jumped ship to join Endeavor in what could be the most notable agency defection in some time.

Nick Stevens, Lisa Hallerman and Sharon Sheinwold notified UTA of the leap at about 10 p.m. April 4th through an attorney, according to Deadline Hollywood Daily’s Nikki Finke.

Stevens client Ben Stiller confirmed that he is joining his agent at Endeavor.

"I think Nick Stevens is a unique entity in this business: an agent with integrity, a point of view and, most of all, humanity," Stiller said in a statement quoted by the paper. "I would be with him if he was working out of the Sunglass Hut at the Beverly Center."

Other artists represented by the defecting agents include Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Jason Lee, Patrick Dempsey, Judd Apatow and many "Saturday Night Live" cast members. None has officially announced they will leave UTA.

UTA Chairman Jim Berkus told the Times that longstanding tension between Stevens and other partners prompted the split, adding that Stevens voluntarily left rather than step down from the agency’s board as part of a management "restructuring."

Berkus and senior partners Tracey Jacobs and David Guillod will oversee UTA’s talent division for the time being, according to the Times.