Nelly Walters

Jorge Bolet's agent at Columbia Artists from the 1960s onwards

Nelly Walters died in October 2001 aged 100, after 70 years in the business;

flowers and cards arrived in from celebrities across the world for her birthday in January. 

She was an integral part of the history of CAMI, retiring only in 1997.  Born in Germany, she grew up in Dresden; in Berlin she worked for the Otto Mertens agency - his son André would later become her boss at CAMI in New York.  She had begun already to develop her own network of clients in Europe and South America. Leading American managers came to Europe to engage clients from her. 

The political upheaval beginning in 1930, change to life. The Mertens agency was closed after Otto died of a heart attack. By 1933, Nelly and her mother had to leave Germany for their safety because they were Jewish. Nelly went to Prague where her friend, famed conductor, George Szell was music director of the Opera. She was soon in danger again as the Nazi tide swept towards Czechoslovakia. So she joined her mother, who had gone to her family in Vienna and continued her work there until Hitler invaded Austria in March 1938. Mother and daughter managed to get to Paris where she met Francis Poulenc and Virgil Thomson. She attended the Paris Opéra whenever she could, and even arrange the Scandinavian tour for the production of Debussy's Pelléas et Melisande. When the Germans marched into Paris in June 1940, she and her mother escaped and went into hiding in Marseille; picked up by soldiers, Nelly was thrown into a French concentration camp in the Pyrenees.

Eventually, after the war mother and daughter arrived in New York on June 11, 1946, and she started at Columbia artist a few days later. Arthur Johnson, founder of the conglomerate, was president and Nelly became invaluable. André Martens came to CAMI to head a division and Nelly became his right-hand woman. After his death in 1963, she was promoted to a vice-presidency.

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Two snippets from the website:

4/5 December 1961

South Campus Auditorium, Waukesha, Wisconsin

Rachmaninoff 3 [+ Samuel Barber's Die Natale, Debussy La Mer etc.]

Waukesha Symphony Orchestra/Milton Weber

Tex Compton seems to have written a letter to Nelly Walters, TLS (=typed signed letter) about reviews of this concert. (*I don't know why)

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There is among the Bolet papers at IPAM a letter from the United Nations, dated 27 July 1967 regarding the invitation from U Thant, the Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the UN from 1961 to 1971 (the first non-Scandinavian to hold the position). During his second term (2 December, 1966), Thant was well known for publicly criticising American conduct in the Vietnam War.

Dear Miss Walters (Vice President of Columbia Artists Management),

We understand that Mr Bolet will travel from Midland, Texas on 21 October to NYC and will wish after the concert to fly to Edmonton, Alberta. We shall take responsibility for these travel costs and also for Mr Bolet's living expenses during his two days or so in NYC.

George Moushon.