Barbara Skydel Dies

Barbara Skydel of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment died June 10 in New York after a long battle with cancer.

Skydel’s decades-long career began at Premier Talent Agency working with agency pioneer Frank Barsalona. While there, Skydel worked her way to executive VP and then partner, becoming the first female principal at a major agency by the mid-1980s.

Skydel joined William Morris Agency as senior VP in 2002 when the company acquired Premier Talent and remained through William Morris’ merger with Endeavor last year.

Skydel worked with a number major artists including virtually all the inaugural British Invasion bands in the ’60s to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Geldof, Sebastian Bach, Suzanne Vega, The Clash and many others.

Skydel and Barsalona were also featured in a 1988 Pollstar executive interview discussing the strategies that made Premier Talent one of the most respected agencies in the industry.