A LOOK AT THE <i> OTHER</i> WINNERS

“And I’d also like to thank my closest friend, Sam Cohn.”

The audience at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion--and at Spago and at Elaine’s in New York--was assuredly waiting for best supporting actress winner Dianne Wiest to thank the man who is one of the half-dozen most powerful agents in show business. Cohn is the freewheeling, New York-based (mostly at the Russian Tea Room) International Creative Management agent who counts. Wiest’s win was also Cohn’s win, and not because he is her closest friend.

Like Cohn, not all the winners came to the stage of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Oscar night; more than a dozen of them weren’t even listed among the nominees.

The other winners were the agents, the sometimes steadfast--and sometimes not--stars’ representatives who remain background figures outside the entertainment world.

“Nobody wins one of these things alone” is an Oscar winner’s phrase that can often mean: “I’d like to thank my agent.” Who are they and where do they come from?

The winning agencies were ICM (Wiest and Michael Caine), CAA (Paul Newman and director Oliver Stone) and Smith & Friedman (Marlee Matlin).

Otherwise, a mathematical breakdown might offer an overall explanation: There were 25 acting and directing nominees. One of them, best actor nominee Dexter Gordon (“ ‘Round Midnight”), has no agent.

Of the rest, 12 came from Cohn’s stable at ICM or Creative Artists Agency.

CAA is the looming, now-bona-fide giant of agencies--the equivalent of MGM in the 1940s, the star factory. The CAA nominees: Stone, Newman, Jane Fonda, David Lynch, Sissy Spacek, James Woods, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and James Ivory.

Cohn, who is known to many as the most difficult man in America to get on the phone, is frequently named at awards ceremonies. When Mike Nichols won his umpteenth Tony Award for “The Real Thing” two years ago, Cohn got the thanks. Cohn’s three clients at the Oscars this year were Woody Allen (who lost for directing but won for best original screenplay), Sigourney Weaver and Wiest.

Apart from Cohn, ICM also had three other nominees--Caine, Tess Harper and Maggie Smith.

The remaining nominees belonged, eclectically, to mostly smaller (but growing) agencies.

Triad, a come-lately company that’s a merger of some small-but-powerful agencies, was the standout: Triad represents William Hurt, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Piper Laurie.

Dennis Hopper and Roland Joffe are with The Artists Agency.

Then it became a matter of schisms. Kathleen Turner, in a kind of throwback to the days of manager-type relationships, remains with her longtime agent and career planner Bob Gersh of the Gersh Agency.

The remaining three agencies represented this year were Jay Michael Bloom (Bob Hoskins), Smith & Friedman (Matlin) and McCart, Oreck, Barrett (Denholm Elliott).

Who was missing from this list?

The obvious absentee was the William Morris Agency, which had no nominations. But don’t read too much into that. In another year, William Morris could have nine, and ICM none. Oscar is a cyclical fellow--and actors are fickle about agents.

Chevy Chase even joked about that fact on the air Monday night. He told the audience he wanted to welcome Australian Paul Hogan to Hollywood, “where, when we say, ‘Throw another shrimp on the barbie,’ we mean we’re getting rid of our agent.”

So drawing conclusions from this year’s, or even last year’s agents/nominees list could be dangerous. After all, seven CAA agents--Mike Ovitz, Ron Meyer, Rick Nicita, Todd Smith, Paula Wagner, Rand Holston and Michael Menchel--handled the agency’s nine nominees this year.

If the players are in position, and at their peaks, it’s crucial to remember that in Hollywood, players are like chess pieces. They get used to moving--and being moved--with hardly anyone noticing.

Following is the agency breakdown for nominations among the acting/directing contenders for the 59th annual Oscars:

CAA: 9 nominations

ICM: 6 (3 were Sam Cohn’s)

Triad: 3

The Artists Agency: 2

The Gersh Agency: 1

Smith & Friedman: 1

Jay Michael Bloom: 1

McCart, Oreck, Barrett: 1