ENTERTAINMENT
Diplomatic Agent
I GOING PLACES
WEEK OF April 22-28
COMEDY
Rick Brode pulls no punches, until
he sits down at the negotiating table.
MIKE ROSENBAUM
Staff Writer
tart asking Rick Brode
questions and you quick-
ly realize that he is no
politician. "Yes!" "no!"
"definitely!" "absolutely
not!" are the answers which come out
of his mouth. Yet, as one of the Detroit
area's foremost entertainment and
sports attorneys, Brode knows that he
must practice diplomacy on the job.
During a recent interview in his
Penobscot Building office, Brode ex-
plained the difference between his
personality and his working
demeanor.
"In a negotiation I'm not
representing myself. Here I'm
representing myself. But in there I'm
representing somebody else. It's a
very delicate procedure and I never
like shutting the door, I never like giv-
ing ultimatums, threats, anything
like that. I mean, I've been shouted
at before, and yelled at, and it was
nothing on my part. I know it's part
of the thing. I just packed up my brief-
case, I walked out of the office. I came
back in, I said 'can you be civil now?
You want to have a discussion, fine.
If not, that's up to you, good bye.' And
we started discusing it again.
"So you come up against all kinds
of crazy things and you've just got to
take it, because that's your job. Now
on a personal level if somebody
would've acted that way to you, you
probably would've sworn at 'em or
something and said go to whatever
and walked out and not talked to that
person. But I can't do that, because
I'm representing somebody else and
you have to take those things and be
diplomatic!"
Brode, born and raised in the
metro area, represents some of
Detroit's best-known personalities.
He works or has worked with athletes
such as Lou Whitaker, Alan Tram-
mell, Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson and
John Long, as well as media per-
sonalities such as Robbie Timmons,
Eli Zaret, Ken Calvert, Arthur
Penhallow and Karen Savelly. He has
clients in other cities as well.
While Brode refers to his profes-
sion as 'entertainment law; most peo-
ple would term him an agent. "Now,
the word 'agent' has a bad connota-
tion to it," he notes, particularly in
sports.
S
The term entertainment lawyer is
better suited to his role. His services
include negotiating contracts, lining
up endorsements, setting up
marketing deals and, with the help of
the Detroit accounting firm of
Coopers and Lybrand, helping his
clients manage their money. His
clients use some or all of those
services.
Brode, who lists his age as "in my
30's" was graduated from the Univer-
sity of Michigan with a political
science major, then entered Wayne
State University Law School. He went
into his current field, he says, because
"I decided I didn't want to be a lawyer.
I was going to law school and I was
HOLLY HOTEL
110 Battle Alley, Holly. Kirk
Nowland, Ibny Hayes, today and
Saturday, admission. 634-1891.
DUFFY'S ON THE LAKE
trying to find an area that I liked. I
was always interested in entertain-
ment and that area — sports, televi-
sion, radio and television production,
that sort of thing."
Brode considered skipping the bar
exam, then decided to take it, and
passed.
Now, he was an attorney, but not
an agent. To be an agent, you must
have a client.
"My first client;' Brode recalls,
"roughly 12 years ago, was Robbie
Timmons. She was an anchor at
Channel 2. She came to me and talk-
ed with various other attorneys at the
time. I was just starting out, I was in
my early 20's at the time. She said to
3133 Cooley Lake Rd., Union
Lake, Bob Posch and John
Cionca, now through April, 9:30
and 11:30 p.m. Fridays and
Saturdays, admission,
reservations, 363-9469.
COMEDY CASTLE
2593 Woodward, Berkley, Glenn
Hirsch, today and Saturday,
"Kozak," Tuesday through May
7, admission. 542-9900.
COMEDY CASTLE AT
PUZZLES
29900 Van Dyke, Warren, Tim
Allen, today and Saturday, Diane
Nichols,. Tuesday through May 7,
admission.
SPECIAL EVENTS
MICHIGAN ABORTION
RIGHTS ACTION LEAGUE
Birmingham Community House,
380 S. Bates, Birmingham,
fundraiser, Wednesday. 965-6939.
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
BENEFIT
Groves High School, 20500 13
Mile, Birmingham, Phil Marcus
Esser and Barbara Bredius, May
1, admission. 557-8277.
JEWISH FESTIVAL '88
Maple/Drake Jewish Community
Center. Celebrating Israel's 40th
anniversary, Sunday.
THEATER
ATTIC THEATER
Attic Theater Playhouse, 7339
Third Avenue, Detroit, Learn to
Fall, now through May 22,
admission. 875-8284.
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
Hilberry Theater, Nicholas
Nickleby, today and Saturday,
Wednesday through May 7, May
10-14, admission, 577-2972.
MEADOW BROOK THEATER
Oakland University campus,
Rochester, Harvey, now through
May 12, admission, 377-3300.
DETROIT REPERTORY
THEATER
13103 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit,
The Colored Museum, Mornings
at Seven, now through May 8,
admission, 868-1347.
BIRMINGHAM THEATER
211 S. Woodward, Birmingham,
Doubles, now through May 8,
A
David Groh, admission,
644-3533.
Continued on Page ??
Rick Brode is on the ball or his clients.