 Gus Weill |
Gus Weill, Louisiana PR man, political strategist and writer, died April 13 at a hospice in Baton Rouge. He was 85.
Son of a Lafayette mule salesman, Weil opened an advertising agency in Baton Rouge following a three-year stint in the Army.
He worked for Gov. Jimmie Davis and on the Pelican State presidential campaign for John F. Kennedy.
Weill though made his mark while managing the gubernatorial campaign of long-shot candidate John McKeithen, whom he would then serve as executive secretary.
He went on to manage gubernatorial races for Edwin Edwards and Dave Treen and mentored the likes of James Carville.
Weill hosted the “Louisiana Legends” public broadcasting series for more than two decades.
He wrote plays that ran off and on Brodway and eight novels through “The Cajuns,” which was reviewed as a powerful look at 1950s bayou country.
Weill experienced the loss of son, Gus, Jr., who worked at Edelman and took his own life in 2004. He was 42. Weill is survived by his grandson, Gus Solomon Weill.
Kassie Canter, a media and entertainment PR veteran, died October 24 in New York. She was 67.
Leo Pearlstein, the “king of culinary PR,” died on Sept. 10 in Los Angeles at the age of 104.
Tim Metz, who joined Hill & Knowlton in 1989 after a 23-year career at the Wall Street Journal died Aug. 15. He was 86.
Bill Murray, who had been with MikeWorldWide for 35 years (most recently as EVP/national director, public affairs), has passed away at 67 after a battle with cancer.
Peter Costiglio, a top corporate communications executive for more than 40 years, died March 17 after a long-battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. He was 76.
