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BREAKING: Lois Smith, one of New York’s longtime top publicists and an architect of the PR powerhouse PMK, passed away this afternoon at 2 PM after suffering a brain hemorrhage. She was 85. Smith represented the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Meryl Streep, Whitney Houston and Rosie O’Donnell.
Smith had accompanied her husband, Gene, to Maine where he was to receive an award for his fundraising on behalf of his alma mater Hebron Academy. They had checked into a bed and breakfast and, after she got up late last night, she tripped and fell down the stairs. She and Gene had four children: 57-year-old Eric, 46-year-old Luke, 45-year-old actress Brooke (she starred in The Silence Of The Lambs), and Scott, the latter of whom passed away in 1985.
Smith, along with Pat Kingsley, Jerry Johnson and Pat Newcombe, formed the PR company PickWick in 1969. While Smith left that part of the business temporarily to work in production at United Artists and to form a PR company with Peggy Siegel, PickWick eventually merged with Maslansky/Koenigsberg, which had been merged into PMK by the time Smith returned. She built it into a powerhouse with Kingsley and with Leslee Dart. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Publicists Guild in 2003.
The thing I remember most about Lois is how a quick call to confirm facts on one of her clients always turned into a lengthy conversation that ranged from her family to mine, and the state of the movie business and life in general. She loved what she did, loved her clients and the film business, and she was one of the good ones. Smith will be buried in a private ceremony and there will be a memorial sometime down the line. Her family is in the process of formalizing those details along with her former partner Dart. Deadline’s condolences are with all of them.
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We lost a good one.
One of the greatest ever. A dear friend, a compassionate boss, a kind mentor. Irreplaceable.
She sounds wonderful. RIP Lois.
She was the one and only.
Lois was one of the kindest, smartest, funniest women I had the privilege of working with as I began my career. She was always honest and fair and filled with great stories, compassion and laughter. I think of her often. She was the gold standard, and will be missed but certainly remembered. My most heartfelt condolences.
I started at PMK and when Lois came to town I would steal every minute I could to listen to her wonderful stories. Just being in her presence made you feel special. She was a class act and my condolences go out to her family (whom she adored) and everyone who knew her.
I learned everything i know from working with and watching Pat and Lois. What a warm and wonderful woman. She lived balance and enjoyed her life as a result. We will miss you Lois.
Lois was a great mentor to many of us. A truly wise, witty, no bs, warm and wonderful woman. To Brooke and the entire family whom she loved dearly, deepest condolences.
Lois made it all look easy. She did everything with class. I was lucky to have known her. We all were lucky to have known her. My prayers go out to her family and her many friends. You will be missed.
One of the finest people I ever had the chance to know and work with. A consummate professional from whom I learned so much. RIP Lois.
I learned so much from Lois and I will miss her
Such sad news. A call to Lois put a glow in the day. She was warm, sensible, and ready to laugh. A favorite memory: I was writing a profile of Robert Redford and after a couple days of intersecting with him at various press events, I barely had any material. I gvetched to Lois, who said, “He’s driving to Philadelphia tomorrow. Show up at his office and get in the car with him. Don’t let him ask questions. That’s your job.” I did as she said, got time with Bob, and ended up with an excellent story. A couple days later I put a call into Lois. It was one of many times I left a message that simply said, “Thank you.” I’ll say it one more time here: Thank you.
Legend. People who know the essence of PR feel this loss. Wow. End of an era. RIP Lois Smith.
A kind, classy and smart woman.
Love you. Pure class.
I grew up next door to Lois and her brother Lane in Malverne NY. She was my idol. The highlight of my young life was when she took my sister and me into the city to meet Gary Moore and have lunch with Vic Damone. I called her once to ask if she would help me with publicizing the Tuna Dolphin issue, and she did…in Time magazine! I never said thank you.Thank you Lois
Lois was not only a fabulous woman but she was a real professional who actually understood the role of publicity and managed her clients careers, guided them and never took no for an answer. She loved her kids her friends and truly made a difference in this world. She was a mentor and friend and she will be missed! I loved her
Lois Smith was to pr what Babe Ruth was to baseball. A giant who defined the game and played it with blunt honesty and an open heart. As a friend, she was even better. She made you family, made you see the world the way she did, made you laugh till it hurt and then wrapped you up in a Lois hug that cured all ills. All except the pain of her loss. Onward and upward, Ducks.
A truly warm and terrific person, with a great deal of integrity.
Unlike so many of her predecessors who are obsessed with their own “importance” Lois was a truly wonderful person and a pleasure to deal with, always professional and, above all, a down-to-earth human being.
Condolences to Lois Smith’s family and friends.
I have an abiding memory of Lois at the 1993 Venice Film Festival. Following a screening of The Age of Innocence , Martin Scorsese led his cast Daniel Day Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer to the Hotel Excelsior’s dock.Security was having a tough time keeping back scores of legit photographers , tv camera crews and the paparazzi.Fearing that someone would end up in the drink ,Lois leapt aboard a water taxi, stood aloft like a glorious figurehead ,waved an umbrella, put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, then screamed ,’Get back! Now’!
The photographers went silent, did as they were told, disaster was averted and I got a a keepsake of a great woman in action.Still makes me smile.
Baz Bamigboye.
London.
In the late 1970′s, I went to work for Pat Kingsley in Beverly Hills when Pickwick was small. In fact, it was just Pat Kingsley and me in a small office. I met Lois in 1977 and I thought she was terrific and the next year when I went to New York she invited me to dinner at home in New York and I was struck by her matter-of-fat attitude toward show business. It was just something she did. Well, in 1979 I left Pickwick and went to work for the late Julia Phillips, who had been a client of Pat and Lois. During that difficult period, both Pat and Lois were there for me. Later, in the mid-eighties, after I had sold my scripts and gotten out of the business, Lois was still there when I called to guide me into a new career in fundraising for major non-profits, which is where I am now. I feel terribly sorry for her husabdn, for whom this must be a great shock –and I encourage the rest of the “PR World” to follow her example of dignity, tact and restraint when it comes to feeding the media. She really was the best and I am sorry for her family and close friends in the business. May they always hold her name in respect