Top publicist Lois Smith dies at 85

 

New York, NY, United States (4E) – Long-time influential publicist Lois Smith has passed away aged 85 Sunday due to a brain hemorrhage caused by an accidental fall.

Smith and her husband Eugene were in Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine for his homecoming weekend to receive an award Eugene got for his fundraising pursuits. Saturday night, at their hotel, she fell and suffered a head injury. She was quickly brought to a local hospital, but unfortunately did not survive the accident.

Smith is the person behind the stellar careers of Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Liza Minelli and Martin Scorsese, among many other artists whose careers she promoted.

Aside from this, she was co-founder of Pickwick Public Relations in 1969, and according to the Hollywood reporter, merged with another agency Maslansky/Koeningsberg and was renamed PMK. In 1999, PMK was acquired by the Interpublic Group and merged with its HBH, getting renamed as PMK/HBH. In 2009, it underwent another merger and became known as PMK*BNC.

The 2003 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Publicists Guild has inspired many great publicists today. Corin Nelson, executive producer of “Chelsea Lately” posted on Twitter, “An incredible woman who had a tremendous influence on me as a young publicist. A true star who we will miss.”

Smith is survived by her husband Eugene, their children, Eric, 57, Luke, 46, and Brooke, 45. They have another son, Scott, who passed away in 1985.

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