Bob Palmer
Bob Palmer was a publicist for Hollywood elite over a 60-plus year career. He represented clients such as Anthony Hopkins, Dick Van Dyke, Faye Dunaway and some of the most popular television shows of the 1960s and ’70s. Palmer was also responsible for creating the Oscar campaign — which led to the win — for Hopkins’s lead performance in Silence of the Lambs.
Palmer was born in Alaska but grew up in Los Angeles, getting his start in Hollywood working as an extra on film sets of movies with Humphrey Bogart and Tyrone Power. After college he moved to San Francisco to start his career as a publicist. At the age of 22 he became director of publicity and advertising for United Paramount, creating campaigns for Bay Area premieres of films such as Sunset Boulevard, Shane and The Greatest Show on Earth. He also promoted stage performances featuring Patti Page, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
After moving back to Los Angeles, Palmer became the West Coast publicity director for ABC Radio. He then moved to ABC television, and later Screen Gems, working on shows such as Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, Charlie’s Angels and The Love Boat.
Bob Palmer was a publicist for Hollywood elite over a 60-plus year career. He represented clients such as Anthony Hopkins, Dick Van Dyke, Faye Dunaway and some of the most popular television shows of the 1960s and ’70s. Palmer was also responsible for creating the Oscar campaign — which led to the win — for Hopkins’s lead performance in Silence of the Lambs.
Palmer was born in Alaska but grew up in Los Angeles, getting his start in Hollywood working as an extra on film sets of movies with Humphrey Bogart and Tyrone Power. After college he moved to San Francisco to start his career as a publicist. At the age of 22 he became director of publicity and advertising for United Paramount, creating campaigns for Bay Area premieres of films such as Sunset Boulevard, Shane and The Greatest Show on Earth. He also promoted stage performances featuring Patti Page, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
After moving back to Los Angeles, Palmer became the West Coast publicity director for ABC Radio. He then moved to ABC television, and later Screen Gems, working on shows such as Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, Charlie’s Angels and The Love Boat.
When he established his own company, Bob Palmer Public Relations, he produced and directed the documentary Too Good to Waste, about adolescents recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
Palmer died September 15, 2014, in Pacific Palisades, California. He was 85.
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