Talent Manager Terry J. Saperstein Has Passed Away

On December 20, 2023, surrounded by her family and closest friends, Terry Saperstein brought down the final curtain on an exemplary life dedicated to nurturing and enhancing the lives of actors in theater, film, and the performing arts.

For nearly 50 years, Terry ran Nani-Saperstein Management, first with her late husband Dan Nani, and then by herself. At 73 years-old, despite the tightening grip of a debilitating illness, she never wavered from her steadfast commitment to the artists she mentored who will miss her wisdom, guidance, and inspiration.

In the early 1980s, Terry became well-known for producing and directing “The Early Show,” a weekly Manhattan cabaret that mined and refined the raw talents of youth. Simultaneously, she and Dan built a business – Terry managing the kids, Dan handling the adults – that endured for half a century. Even Dan’s untimely passing in 1998 and the rapid encroachment of the digital age could not deter Terry. She was able to persevere precisely because she was an oasis in an industry that was losing the human touch.

While her specialty was musical theater, Terry helped launch the careers of numerous well-known actors, from Tichina Arnold to Ricki Lake to Danny Gerard to Joseph Mazzello to Danielle Rose Russell. And while she was proud of her most successful clients, Terry’s legacy will always be as someone actors looked to for meaningful manager/client relationships rather than superficial, quick-fix thinking. To that end, she offered “The Business of Acting,” a class she co-designed and taught for 20 years that included a unique curricula and celebrated guest lecturers from all aspects of the industry. Her annual Christmas parties, in which every invitee was required to perform, will long be remembered for the community of love and joy Terry always fostered.

Terry Saperstein is survived by her brother Alan Saperstein, her nephew Stephen Saperstein, Stephen's wife Cathy and their son David, countless lifelong friends, and a cast of thousands who owe the blossoming of their gifts and the arcs of their success to her tireless attention and love. A memorial service will be announced after the new year.