Lois Smith Longtime Hollywood Publicist
Although best known for feature film clients, Smith's firm's also represented top TV talent.
Lois Smith, a longtime publicist who at various times represented such top-shelf talent as Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Martin Scorsese, died October 7, 2012, in Hebron, Maine. She was 84.
According to news reports, the cause was related to injuries sustained in an accidental fall.
Smith, who lived in New York City, was visiting Hebron Academy, a prep school where she and her husband, Eugene Smith, were being honored during homecoming weekend.
In 1969, along with partners Pat Kingsley, Gerry Johnson and Pat Newcomb, Smith founded Pickwick Public Relations. Eleven years later, Pickwick merged with the Maslansky/Koeningsberg agency to form PMK, which in 1999 was acquired by the Interpublic Group and merged again, this time with another Interpublic firm, HBH, to become PMK/HBH. Then, in 2009, another merger, this time with the BNC firm, resulted in the current company, PMK•BNC.
Over the course of her career, Smith earned the trust and respect of such stars as Gina Lollobrigida, Meryl Streep, Warren Beatty, Liza Minnelli, Whitney Houston and Rosie O’Donnell, among many others.
Smith is also the mother of actress Brooke Smith, know to television viewers for the role of Dr. Erica Hahn on the ABC drama Grey's Anatomy.
In 2003, Publicist Guild honored Smith with its Life Achievement Award, where Scorsese spoke glowingly on her behalf.
More about Smith's life and work is available at: