Rick Nicita '67
At one time in his career as a talent agent, Rick Nicita ’67 received two cases of wine from two of his clients almost simultaneously: one from an actress who had been fired from a lead role and another from the actress who replaced her.
“They were both saying, ‘Thank you for how you handled this,’” he recalls, laughing. “I remember going, ‘Okay, I guess I’ve figured this out.’”
The gifts were a validation of sorts. Several years earlier, Nicita had dropped out of law school to—with an introduction from a Wesleyan classmate—start working in the mailroom of the William Morris Agency in New York City with a goal of becoming a movie talent agent. Nicita says he came with “a certain confidence and naivete to not be scared of failing.” But he also credits Wesleyan with nurturing that part of his personality.
“Through a combination of whom they accept and what the experience does to you, Wesleyan fosters a certain kind of confidence and healthy ego,” he says. “If everybody is going one way, [Wesleyan students] are perfectly happy to go the other.”
Nicita, who used to stay in the theater to watch movie credits as a child, loved everything about talent representation. Reading and delivering the mail, being dispatched to pick up movie stars at the airport—all of it was exciting. He was promoted to an assistant role after six weeks; a year later, he was an agent. His first two clients were Sissy Spacek and John Lithgow.
“Because I liked the milieu, none of it seemed mundane,” he says. “It was working with talented people. They could do things I couldn’t imagine doing, and I wanted to know more about them; I wanted to help them; I wanted to advise them.”
Nicita eventually made his way to Los Angeles and has spent decades in the entertainment industry, including as co-chairman and managing partner of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), where his personal clients included A-list celebrities. Today, he works as a producer and consultant. Through it all, he has maintained his connections to the University.
“If everybody is going one way, [Wesleyan students] are perfectly happy to go the other.”
An English major, he missed the launch of Wesleyan’s Film Studies program by two years, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a proud alumnus. “I was so thrilled when Jeanine Basinger initiated the film program,” he says. “I act like I was a graduate.” The Rick Nicita Gallery on campus regularly exhibits material from the Ogden and Mary Louise Reid Cinema Archives. For years, he hosted an annual reunion for Wesleyan film studies graduates at CAA’s headquarters (in Hollywood, these numerous alumni are known as the “Wesleyan mafia”).
Nicita is also a trustee emeritus of the University and interviews applicants for the Office of Admission. In 2017, he received the Outstanding Service Award for his commitment to mentoring and employing Wesleyan students and alumni. When he talks to young people—including prospective students—Nicita encourages them to pursue their own path, the way he did.
“Wesleyan taught me how to think and allowed me to figure out who I am, flaws and virtues,” he says. And with that came the conviction to explore and try new things. “You’ve got to try for what you want and listen for the message back. The world will tell you. Listen for the response.”
