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Had her loving parents had their way, Betty McCormick would likely be a fine math teacher in La Crosse, Wisconsin today. The lure of the theater took her life in another direction. Betty's first-grade performance as Pandora in "Pandora's Box" sealed her fate. "I knew what I wanted then." Betty soon learned that there was more to theater than being on stage. Never one to leave a need neglected, she did the hair and makeup, created show programs, worked with sets and lighting, and props. She even had her own Midwest version of viral marketing, making banners and writing and performing skits at pep rallies. The show went on through high school until the practical matters of securing finance, from working in the cafeteria to student loans, grants, and winning scholarships needed attention.
Leaving La Crosse, Betty went on to earn her BFA in Theatre from Clarke College and, following a summer acting scholarship at UCLA, completed an MFA degree in Theatre Set Design from Ohio State. After graduation, she performed in several hundred commercials, voice-over jobs, modeling, print work, and industrial films throughout the Midwest, all obtained through self-marketing and self-promotion. There was no manager or agent to help guide. With organization, attention to detail, and a restless energy, "I went through every category in the Ohio cities' phone books and made up 3x5 index cards of every possible contact. For some, I had to persuade them to, for the first time, hire a woman instead of a man." Persistence and dedication were working and building experience in the "business" of show business. Betty helped organize the first Tri-State AFTRA Local and as a volunteer, created their Talent Directory. She taught acting classes and presented her students in showcases. Prolific networking and willingness to help all comers, Betty was sought after by talent buyers and casting people seeking actors and models. If she could draw talent from her classes for these jobs, great, but if not she would find them somewhere. She began to notice that connecting talent with people who wanted to hire them was deeply satisfying. The next incarnation of Betty McCormick had naturally evolved.
Betty opened a talent agency, Creative Talent Company, the first such full-service agency in Columbus, Ohio, and soon after, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Built upon her thousands of index cards of talent buyers, production companies, ad agencies, and performers of every stripe, "Our motto was, 'We'll find whoever you need, whenever, however, and wherever!'". It was difficult hearing the talent complain about driving hours to be put on tape by another talent agency in the area. Betty found a solution and developed an informal affiliation of multiple talent agents, The Midwest Talent Network, a one-stop service, for sharing talent and opportunities amongst talent agencies in the Midwest. Instead of driving to be put on tape by another agency, each talent would audition and be put on tape in Betty's or other agent's office and sent to the agent of record for that opportunity. This saved the talent time and money, increasing their chances to work and the buyers of talent were happy with more talent to choose from. Over time, however, Betty found the busy office and the large staff was separating her from the hands-on interplay with people that she had so enjoyed at the start. Booking over a thousand people each year and having to deal with so many from both the talent and the buyers' side began to take its toll. Just being a conduit between these two factions had distanced her from the one-to-one relationships with her clients that had been so personally rewarding. The "People Helper", as Larry Parke dubbed her, wanted to get back to helping close up. "I decided to work for a smaller select group of talent."
Betty sold the agency and became a Talent Manager. "I started managing individual careers of hand-picked actors because I believed in their potential and I liked each of them personally. I loved my participation in building their careers. The bustling agency was replaced with a single associate manager and a more intimate setting where Betty could mentor and guide her clients in the personal manner that she missed. The new operation began in Ohio but Hollywood beckoned from afar. 1997 Los Angeles saw the birth of Midwest Talent Management Inc. With a few talent from the Midwest, Betty embarked on winning the hearts and minds of the show business capital of the world. There is more to the name "Midwest Talent" than the obvious. As a born and raised Midwesterner, Betty brings those solid family values, unwavering loyalty, and stoic work ethic to every task.
Betty was an early adopter of the power of the Internet for her myriad pursuits. Starting in 1985 with 7 networked computers, Betty began developing websites and online tools for the use of herself and her clients. Some continue today with sites such as ActorsUpdate and ShowMyMedia, a suite of tools free for her clients to streamline their professional needs. She also built the first website of the Talent Managers Association, talentmanagers. Betty is an active member of the TMA and usually on the Board of Directors. She is proud to be a part of an organization that maintains the highest level of credibility for the profession of Personal Talent Management. "I want to be proud to say I am a talent manager." and the work of the TMA helps its members do that. Betty gives the same passion and tenacity to building the prestige and efficacy of the organization as she has done for her own manifold career path.
Betty's management style is informed by her experience in every aspect of the business. As she puts it: "In my years as a talent manager, I have come to understand that all the energy I spent trying to go in every direction, to do everything, to be everything, was because I had no one to help focus my talent and energy. I jumped in with no guidance, learning from scratch. I needed help not to become really good at many things but to be great at the one thing I was born to do. I needed someone to find my best gift, no matter how many I might have, and guide me. I needed a manager." This is the manager Betty is to the many wonderful, talented people represented by Midwest Talent Management.
