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.