DAN'S PAPERS, May 22, 2009 Page 47 www.danshamptons.com
Who’s Here By David Lion Rattiner She loves Montauk, she loves the Hamptons and she makes a living finding beautiful women. Frances Grill, the founder and partner of Click Models, one of the largest, most unique and most powerful modeling agencies in the world, has one very interesting story. Born on Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of New York, and growing up in “mafia country” (Red Hook, Brooklyn), it would have been a stretch to think that Grill would be responsible for discovering some of the world’s greatest talents, such as Uma Thurman and Whitney Houston. “My parents were immigrants. My Dad was born in Turkey where his parents had a sweater factory,” she said. “At age 7, my father’s parents died in a horse and buggy accident. He and his brother were shipped to America. My Dad was placed in an orphanage and his younger brother was sent to my cousins. My mother was born in Poland to a very poor family. My parents met in New York and married at age 16. I was born one year later.” Growing up, Grill always had a unique perspective, and was able to translate her visionary ability to success. When she first got started in the industry, there was a very cut and dry way of selecting models, and a very cut and dry way of photographing them. Grill however, was able to get outside the cookie cutter. “I kept meeting photographers who wanted to do something new, and nobody in the agency business was willing to provide models with a newer or unique look. Probably the best examples of that were Whitney Houston and Uma Thurman, who were all rejected by Elite and Ford. When Uma showed up in my office, I thought, ‘Why are these people getting rejected?’ That was the beginning of Uma Thurman. “I found Whitney Houston at an elevator in Carnegie Hall and invited her to join Click,” Grill continued. “Then, her family invited me to church in New Jersey, so I could hear her sing in the church choir for the first time.” Grill began to take the fashion world by storm through prowess and the ability to be attractively different. It was during a Newsweek interview that it began to hit her how much of an impact she was having. “We had a model who was completely tattooed and people just went crazy for it. Newsweek called me and told me that I was completely changing modeling. For me I never thought it was special, I felt like I was just expanding an
Frances Grill, Click Models Founder
It was in 1980 Grill started Click Models, which was predicted by many of the industry leaders at that time to be gone in a year. But it was proven quickly that Grill was a force to be reckoned with. The public became fascinated by her unique approach and relentless drive for newer and edgier looks. It was Frances Grill along with Toscani and Harry Coulinos (then Art Director of GQ Magazine) who supported Bruce Weber, one of the greatest fashion photographers of all time and a pioneer in male fashion photography, to give real impact to menswear and turn men into “cover boys” instead of just having them in pictures with women as a sort of prop. The name “Click Models” alone is a good representation of how Grill has the ability to get inside of people’s heads. The origin of the interesting and catchy name is obvious. “Click is the sound a camera makes when the shutter goes off,” she said, with a laugh. The simple genius behind Grill is how attuned she is with human nature and budding trends, as well as her obsession with the endless search for new faces and talent. Grill, who has a home on the East End and enjoys the company of filmmaker Paul Morrisey, never considers herself not working — her mind simply can’t stop the search. But she does enjoy taking a break from the hustle and bustle by going to Montauk. “I head out there a lot,” she said. “I love Montauk, it’s my favorite place. It just feels different there.” Grill wasn’t the only member of the entourage who enjoyed Montauk. She spoke about her Beagle, Lili, who recently passed away. “She would come out to Montauk and run in the sand all the time. I miss walking on the beach with her.” But even in her time off, Grill always has to be on. Today, Click does business worldwide, and works with Framework Entertainment, one of the preeminent bi-coastal theatrical management and production companies whose clients are recognized around the world for music, stage, film and television. In addition, she readily admitted, “I’m never really on vacation, my eyes are always open for a model.” When she’s not on the hunt for models, Grill is thinking photographers, hoping that somebody new will come along soon, “I think the industry again needs to open up a bit more,” she said. “There hasn’t been a new photographer discovered or made into a star in a long time.” If there is one to be found, I’d put money that Frances Grill will be the one to find him.
”When Uma showed up I thought, ‘Why are these people getting rejected?’ I found Whitney Houston at an elevator in Carnegie Hall .” existing industry. But then when I realized I was breaking barriers pretty early in the game — I knew it was special.” Grill started representing photographers at the beginning of one of the most interesting and wild decades in American history, the ‘60s. “The first campaign that I booked for my photographers was London Fog with Jean Loup Sieff,” she recalled. “I was making a trend and wanted to do it in a way that had a point of view. Frank Horvath was one of the first photographers that I represented. He established the look of Glamour magazine, then I repped Jean Loup Sieff, Oliviero Toscani, Barry McKinley, Fabrizio Ferri and from 1978 to 1980, Steven Meisel.”