Irving Paul Lazar

[1][2] While practicing bankruptcy law during the early 1930s, he negotiated a business deal for a vaudeville performer Ted Lewis, and realized the income potential for acting as an agent.

[1] In addition to Bogart, Lazar became the agent representing other celebrities, including Lauren Bacall, Truman Capote, Cher, Joan Collins, Noël Coward, Ira Gershwin, Cary Grant, Moss Hart, Ernest Hemingway, Gene Kelly, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Madonna, Walter Matthau, Larry McMurtry, Vladimir Nabokov, Clifford Odets, Cole Porter, William Saroyan, Irwin Shaw, President Richard Nixon and Tennessee Williams.

[3] Later in his career, Lazar became equally famous (and influential) throughout the entertainment industry for his Oscar Night celebrity gala parties in the Hollywood and Beverly Hills area.

Being seen at "Swifty's Party" was acknowledged as equally important as making an appearance at the official Governor's Ball, if the celebrity wished to remain on the A-list.

During this period, Lazar was also well known for his comically oversized, thick-framed black glasses, which combined with his short stature and bald head created an iconic signature appearance.

Swifty Lazar also appeared, thinly disguised as Irving "Sneaky" LaSalle, in George Axelrod's 1956 take on Dr. Faustus, the play Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?

Lazar was parodied on The Muppet Show as Fozzie Bear's agent, Irving Bizarre, who was so short that he appeared only as a top hat atop a pair of shoes.

With regard to another representation of Lazar in a major theatrical release, actor Burgess Meredith modeled his screen character after the talent agent in the American 1978 psychological horror film Magic.

"I tried", the actor stated in a 1978 interview with The New York Times, "to get his cool, understated manner, his sharp clothes, and most of all, his way of speaking softly so that you've got to lean over to hear what he's saying".