Lois Smith (publicist)


Lois Smith (1928-2012) was an American entertainment publicist. A "trailblazer who brought big changes to a business dominated by men," she represented Marilyn Monroe, Martin Scorsese, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Warren Beatty, and Liza Minnelli, among others.[1] Smith is noted for her impact on the practice of entertainment PR; rather than seeking to generate as much media coverage as possible for her clients, Smith limited the media's access.[2][3]

Lois Smith
Born
Lois Eileen Wollenweber

Brooklyn, New York
DiedOctober 7, 2012(2012-10-07) (aged 84)
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationBA in Communications
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
OccupationPublicist
Years active1950s to 2001
OrganizationPMK
AwardsPublicist Guild Lifetime Achievement Award
Matrix Award for Women in Communications

She pursued a career as a journalist, but was warned that women were seldom offered reporting assignments, and turned down a job as a researcher at Time. She instead worked in public relations, initially representing industrial and fashion firms, and then the entertainment industry. Her first film client was Shelley Winters.[4]

Smith co-founded PickWick Public Relations in 1969, which became PMK following a series of mergers. Run with partners Leslee Dart and Pat Kingsley into the 1990s, it became one of the most powerful PR firms in the entertainment industry.[5] In a 2010 interview following her retirement, she said: "I'm so glad I'm not doing publicity now. Between celebrity magazines and websites, there's so much out there to be filled up, so much information that has to be put out there simply because those publications exist... People are desperate to fill the space they've got; they'll print anything, go with anything, pursue rumours, and even create them. It's not what I call publicity."[6]

Smith died of a brain hemorrhage in 2012, the result of a fall.[7]

References
  1. "RIP Lois Smith, 'Publicist to the Stars'". Adweek. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  2. Kaufman, Leslie (October 9, 2012). "Lois Smith, Publicist Who Mothered Star Clients, Dies at 84". New York Times. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  3. Allen, Evan (October 9, 2012). "Lois Smith, 84, publicist to the stars". Boston Globe. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  4. "Lois Smith: Publicist who worked with Monroe and Streep". The Independent. 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  5. "L.A. Confidential". Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  6. "Publicist Lois Smith Dies at 84". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  7. Thompson, Anne (2012-10-09). "RIP PR Pioneer Lois Smith: Tributes from Kingsley, Siegal, O'Donnell". IndieWire. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
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