John Kimble, who had a long career as a Hollywood talent agent at Writers & Artists, Kimble/Parseghian, DHKPR, Triad Artists and William Morris Agency, has died. He was 79 years old.

Kimble died Sunday in Dallas, where he retired in 2022 to be close to his family, former CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said. She was his assistant at Triad from 1985 to 1990 and they remained good friends, she said.

Kimble replaced Henry Winkler when he was cast as The Fonz in Happy days in 1974; Jane Curtin when she was hired by Saturday evening live in 1975; Joan Collins when she joined Dynasty in 1981; George Clooney during his landing emergency in 1994; And Matthew Perry when he signed up for Friendsalso in 1994.

Over the years, Kimble’s clients also included Julie Andrews, Ann-Margret, Sara Gilbert, Emilio Estevez, Brooke Shields, Lea Thompson, Cary Elwes, Linda Hamilton, Delta Burke, Victoria Principal, Nell Carter, Rachel Ward and Meredith Baxter .

Kimble was born in Kingsville, Texas on August 1, 1945, and grew up in Uvalde, Texas, where in high school he performed in theater productions, served as student council president, and played on the team. soccer.

After graduating from the University of Texas at El Paso with a degree in theater, he moved to New York to continue his acting studies and was eventually offered a contract at Screen Gems – but he decided to represent actors instead.

He began his agency career working with Joan Scott at Writers & Artists, then started his own company, John D. Kimble Inc., with one employee, Tim Angle, in July 1977.

A year later, Kimble and his fellow talent agent Gene Parseghian merged their companies to create Kimble/Parseghian in the Fisk Building at 250 W. 57th St. in New York, and their first client list included William injuredPamela Reed, Kevin Bacon, Griffin Dunne, Martin Short and Andrea Martin.

Building on their success, Kimble moved to California to open an office in Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, Los Angeles-based talent agents Arnold Rifkin and Nicole David (of Rifkin-David) and New York-based Jeffrey Hunter merged with Kimble/Parseghian to create DHKPR.

Kimble would remain in Los Angeles while Parseghian would remain in New York.

In 1984, DHKPR merged with literary agency Adams-Ray-Rosenberg and musical talent representatives Regency Artists to create Triad. As an associate, Kimble brought his skills to nurturing and developing talent and being a tough but fair negotiator.

In 1991, Triad was purchased by William Morris and Kimble would serve as head of its television talent department. He resigned in 2002 to focus on the creative side of the business.

His love for design and collecting led him to open Kimble-Wallach, an antiques and home decor store in Beverly Hills. He also partnered with Meridith Baer Home, a luxury staging and interior design company.

Survivors include his niece, Kimberly (and her husband, Jeffrey); his nephew Steven (and his wife, Kristin); great-niece and great-nephew Ashley and Austin; and great-grandnephews Carson, Riley and Wes.

Her older sister, Barbara, died in 2017.

“John loved his family and friends,” his family said in a statement. “He had a profound impact on the lives and careers of many people throughout his storied career. He was larger than life and will leave a lasting legacy on a company he helped build.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Briscoe Animal Rescue Center in Uvalde; PO Box 1650; Uvalde, Texas 78802 (phone number 830-591-9229).