Entertainment Public Relations Pioneer Constance L. Stone Dies at 79

Constance “Connie” L. Stone, a long-time Publicists Guild member and one of the first women to become a dominant force in entertainment public relations, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease on Dec. 19, 2007, in Cleveland, OH. She was 79 year old.

In 1972, when she founded Stone Associates, Connie was one of the few women to own a major public relations agency. Her firm quickly became the largest and best-known in the field, with offices in New York, Los Angeles and London. Clients included IBM, Exxon, Texaco, DuPont, Bank of America, General Motors, Ford, Procter & Gamble, Hallmark, the British Broadcasting Corporation, PBS, and many others. Although her firm was an international company, Stone Associates was deeply rooted in Los Angeles. She represented many of the city's most important cultural institutions, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company, and aspects of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Connie was a well-recognized personality in both New York and Hollywood. Petite, blue-eyed and brunette, with great personal and professional style, Connie Stone was often mistaken for singer/actress Polly Bergen, particularly in the Los Angeles Area where both lived and worked. The two had never met until one day when they accidentally ran into each other in a Beverly Hills elevator. “Polly Bergen!” Connie exclaimed, to which Polly promptly replied, “And you must be Connie Stone.”

Connie was married for 50 years until his death in l996, to Dr. Alexander G. Shulman, director of the world-famous Lichtenstein Hernia Institute in California. She is survived by her daughter Stefanie Masters of Cleveland, her son Larry Shulman of Los Angles, and five grandchildren