Tony Etz, Longtime CAA Agent, Dies at 64
Tony Etz, a longtime CAA agent, died Monday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer. He was 64.
He started his career in the made-for-TV movie business and was the executive producer of two mini-series and five movies-for-television, including NBC’s successful Jack Reed telefilms.
Etz joined CAA in 1994 as an agent in the television department, where he served in various leadership roles. He represented leading writers, directors, actors and producer, and was involved in packing series including “Lost,” “House,” “Big Little Lies,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Rescue Me,” “Brothers and Sisters,” “Band of Brothers” and MTV’s “Jackass.”
He married fellow television agent Nancy Axelrode in 1999, and their son Alex was born in 2001. Alex Etz joined CAA as a mailroom employee after graduated from the University of Michigan.
A fourth generation graduate of Knox College, Tony Etz was appointed chairman of the Knox College Board of Trustees in 2022. He earned his MFA from the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa before co-authoring the book “Off-Hollywood Movies: A Film Lover’s Guide,” published in 1990. He also served as an adjunct professor at USC since 2011.
In 2024, Knox College announced the launch of the Etz Family Institute for Civic Leadership and Dialogue. The institute, established by Tony Etz and his wife Nancy, prepares students to work across differences and have the difficult dialogues necessary to create lasting and positive change in the world.
Etz was an enthusiastic traveler, reader and music lover and longtime season ticket holder to the Los Angeles Lakers. A long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan, Etz famously cried when the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, according to the agency.
He is survived by his wife Nancy and son Alex; brother David; sister Kathy; sister Sara and brother-in-law Joni Mendonca; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Dr. Stephen and Marla Axelrode; nephews Issac Graham, Lucas Mendonca, and Justin Axelrode; and nieces Madison Axelrode and Anna Mendonca.
Donations may be made to the Knox Fund at knox.edu/give, or via mail at Office of Advancement, Knox College, Campus Box K230, 2 E South Street, Galesburg, IL 61401. Please include a note indicating the gift is in memory of Tony Etz.
