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Herb Schmertz, the combative Mobil Oil PR exec who pioneered the use of “advertorials” to take on critics of Big Oil, died Jan. 17 from congestive heart failure. He was 87.
Louis C. Williams, Jr., founder of Chicago-based L.C. Williams & Associates, has died at the age of 77.
Peter Greer Osgood, 76, vice chairman of Hill & Knowlton from 1986-91 after serving as president/CEO of Carl Byoir & Assocs. from 1983-86, died July 22 in Sedgwick, Me.
Jack Trout, co-author in 1981 with partner Al Ries of Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, which sold 2 million+ copies, died June 5 at his home in Greenwich, Conn.
Herb Kraus, the Chicago publicist who represented Inland Steel, Rev. Martin Luther King, Vienna Sausages and taught PR at Columbia College for three decades, died May 20. He was 95.
Joe Hyams, who spent 45 years at Warner Bros handling stars such as Clint Eastwood, died May 31 in Los Angeles. He was 91.
Edward Grefe, former New York and Washington, D.C., executive who became an authority on grassroots political campaigns, died Feb. 17, 2016. His obit was published in the April 17 Washington Post.
Al Golin, the original public relations counsel to McDonald’s and founder of the Chicago-based firm Golin, died April 8 at age 87.
Pam Edstrom, 71, partner and co-founder of WE Communications, who was “the commanding voice behind Microsoft’s story” as it grew into a software giant, died March 28 after a four-month battle with cancer.
Howard Blankman, 91, a PR counselor who was a leader in community affairs and an accomplished composer and musician, died March 17 in his home in Port Washington, L.I.
Gershon Kekst, founder and chairman emeritus of corporate, financial and M&A communications advisory giant Kekst and Company, died on March 17. He was 82.
Joyce Newman, 74, founder of The Newman Group, New York, who showed professionals and celebrities in the U.S. and abroad how to improve their skills in presentations and media interviews, died Jan. 7.
Marilyn Castaldi, a healthcare PR pro who held leadership positions at Burson-Marsteller, FleishmanHillard and Hill & Knowlton Strategies, passed away on January 5. She was 71.
Jonathan Rinehart, John Meek and George Glazer were among leading PR figures and personalities who died in 2016.
George McQuade, 64, former news producer and anchor for NBC and CBS affiliates in Los Angeles, who had numerous PR posts as well as being West Coast correspondent for O’Dwyer’s, died Oct. 15.
George Glazer, regarded by legendary CBS anchor Walter Cronkite as “the most trusted PR man in America” died of a heart attack Nov. 22 at his home in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Ian Kerr, retired PR counselor and president emeritus of the Westchester/Fairfield CT chapter of PRSA, passed away on September 16.
Jonathan Rinehart, former journalist for Time and Newsweek who carved out a career in investor relations and corporate takeover strategy, died in New York Aug. 30 at age 86.
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