Dick Guttman died Saturday at the age of 93. He spent more than 70 years as a Hollywood press agent, a term he preferred over publicist. His client list reads like a who’s who of classic Hollywood. Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood, William Holden, Elizabeth Taylor, and Buzz Aldrin all worked with him at some point.
Guttman died in Los Altos, California. His company, Guttman Associates Public Relations, announced his death. He and his wife of 70 years, Gisela, moved north last year after the Palisades Fire swept through their Malibu community. They had lived there for more than five decades.
Guttman’s career began in the late 1950s at Rogers & Cowan. He worked there for more than a decade, representing stars like Paul Newman, Tony Curtis, Milton Berle, Greer Garson, Simone Signoret, Carroll Baker, Candice Bergen, Peter Ustinov, Tony Randall, Dick Powell, James Mason, and Rex Harrison.
In 1971, he teamed with publicist Jerry Pam to form Guttman & Pam. The agency became one of Hollywood’s most respected for more than 20 years, known for personalized and often inventive promotion strategies. Guttman said he was "very blessed" to have represented about 700 clients and roughly 200 legends.
He launched Guttman Associates in Beverly Hills in the early 1990s. His clients included Barbra Streisand, Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood, Warren Beatty, Cindy Williams, Jay Leno, Janet Jackson, Christopher Reeve, Rip Torn, Stacy Keach, Martin Landau, Maximilian Schell, Tom Skerritt, Jane Seymour, Sidney Sheldon, Kathy Ireland, Marilu Henner, Steve Guttenberg, David Janssen, Jacqueline Bisset, James Woods, Robert Urich, Bo Derek, Ernest Borgnine, Donny Osmond, William Shatner, and Mickey Rooney.
Guttman also handled publicity for major films. His representation included classics such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Dirty Harry (1971), The Conversation (1974), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), All That Jazz (1979), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Unforgiven (1992), The English Patient (1996), Shakespeare in Love (1998), The King’s Speech (2010), and The Artist (2011).
Born in St. Louis, Guttman moved to Los Angeles with his family after World War II. As a young man, he collected scripts from radio dramas and autographed items outside soundstages. He ran track at Fairfax High School and covered high school sports for the Los Angeles Examiner.
He discovered publicity during his college years at UCLA. Studying film and psychology, he worked part-time at Rogers & Cowan. After college, he served as a unit publicist in Europe, working on Billy Wilder’s Love in the Afternoon (1957). He later returned to Rogers & Cowan in Los Angeles.
Guttman also represented luxury jeweler Harry Winston, Hello Kitty, Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and Movietime, now E! Entertainment. He developed campaigns for books written by Dyan Cannon, including her 2011 memoir Dear Cary, about her life with Cary Grant. He also promoted Patricia Hearst and Wayne R. Rogers.
He often said he was "in the right place at the right time" when Hollywood moved away from contracting stars. Publicists became vital to careers as studios cut back on star contracts. When asked how many clients he had, Guttman estimated around 700, including about 200 legends.
Guttman and Gisela lived in Malibu for more than 50 years. They lost their home to a wildfire in 1993 but stayed. His survivors include daughters Monika and Danielle, granddaughters Alyssa and Claire, a great-granddaughter named Aria, and sister Joan.
His company, Guttman Associates, will continue under the leadership of longtime colleagues Susan Madore and Rona Menashe. Donations in his memory can be made to the Dick Guttman Memorial Fund at the Entertainment Industries Foundation. The EIF supports members of the creative community, including wildfire relief efforts, which Guttman worked with regularly.
According to Hollywood Reporter.