A Publicist's Recollections

A History of the Publicists Guild from '20s to Present Day

by Henri Bollinger

During the silent film era of the 1920s and '30s, Hollywood's film publicists, seeking ways to establish and maintain sound working conditions - including a decent wage, an adequate and safe workplace, and health and pension coverage -formed the Screen Publicists Association. But it wasn't until 1955, when the organization, renamed the Publicists Guild of America, received its charter as a local of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators (IATSE & MPMO), that such goals began to be realized.

When I first joined the Guild in 1957 attendance at General Membership meetings ranged between 120 and 200 members. In those days you were fined $15.00 if you missed a meeting without a valid excuse. The fine combined with the embarrassment of admitting to forgetting or ignoring a meeting proved an effective motivator for members to show up. Veteran or long-time members seemed to relish their participation in Guild affairs. They leaned on the business agent to aggressively police the Guild's jurisdiction and protect their rights.

The Guild was headquartered in a small complex of offices in the Cahuenga Pass just east of the Hollywood Freeway that was shared by a number of IA locals. Most membership meetings were held at the Hollywood Roosevelt. There was always a celebratory feel to these gatherings. They served as a rare opportunity for publicists to get together, share information about possible jobs and get the latest dirt on what was really going on throughout the industry.

The prime jobs were at the major studios covering feature films. The rest of us worked for independent producers and agencies. Few of us had anything to do with television. Contracts with the television networks came later. As I recall, most Guild officers, if not all of them, were major studio publicists who were not convinced that independents should be allowed into the Guild. They felt that conditions under which they worked were different and, indeed, better than those enjoyed by independent publicists. They were concerned that their rights would be compromised if they were lumped together with independents.

As a matter of fact, in those early days studio publicists did not welcome independents or agency publicists on their lots. I clearly remember a brother Guild member refusing to issue me a studio pass to cover an interview with a client who was working on the lot. "You don't belong here," I was told. After a few of us challenged those policies during a Guild meeting and threatened to keep our clients from cooperating with studio publicity requests, this belligerency soon ceased.

Chuck Moses, a respected publicist who did not work for the majors, caused quite a stir when he decided to run for the post of President. Other independents and agency employees were excited over this prospect and we quickly rallied around him. Chuck talked about introducing some dramatic changes in the way the Guild would be run. Lloyd Ritchie, the long-time business agent, seemed open to his ideas. He realized that the day of big studio publicity staffs was coming to an end and that independents would soon represent the bulk of the Guild's membership.

The Ballyhoo Balls were the Guild's highly visible events at that time. These now-and- again bashes were a hot ticket for the press and anyone else who delighted in the hijinks that permeated these affairs. Held on a studio soundstage or nightclub on a somewhat annual basis, these parties attracted lots of scantily and provocatively clad starlets. They seemed to compete for the most outrageous title of the night. Booze flowed freely and major stars would sometimes loose control over their actions and behavior. One particular year, Frank Sinatra challenged John Wayne to a fisticuffs contest in the parking lot. The resulting negative publicity proved to be the breaking point. There were those in the Guild who felt that these kinds of antics did little to lift the perception of publicists. The consensus was to forget the Ballyhoo Ball the following year.

When Chuck Moses took over as President he suggested that we launch a different kind of annual event. One that would celebrate the work of publicists and that would also help bring positive attention to the profession. In 1964, after endless meetings and discussions led by Chuck and Maxwell Weinberg on what such an event would encompass, the Publicists Guild of America Annual Awards Luncheon was born. There were some among us who felt uncomfortable shining the spotlight on ourselves. They felt we should remain in the background and let the attention focus on our employers and actors. Fortunately, those of us who believed that the awards luncheon would play an important part in the union's growth prevailed. I feel privileged to have served on the Awards Committee from its inception in 1963 through to the present day.

Since the merger of the Publicists Guild into the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 66, in 2001, new opportunities have emerged for greater recognition of contributions made by publicists and their work to the ultimate success of entertainment products. Much has been accomplished over the years, yet so much more remains to be done!