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On September 26, famed New York publicist Bobby Zarem passed away at the age of 84. Bobby represented actress Ann-Margret as well as Diane Keaton. The Georgia-native worked on the “I Love New York” PR campaign. He has claimed that the entire campaign was his brainchild.
The campaign targeted to boost tourism in the city by utilizing its Broadway culture. After the success of “I Love New York”, NYC Mayor claimed credit for the initiative along with advertising firm Wells Rich Greene. However, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Zarem stated that it was entirely his initiative except for the campaign logo.
Who was Bobby Zarem?
Bobby Zarem was born Robert Myron "Bobby" Zarem in Savannah, Georgia on September 30, 1936. He would often visit New York with family and later, the visits became more frequent as his father was being treated for lung cancer in NYC.
After graduating with a political science degree from Yale University, Bobby Zarem moved to New York. Towards the start of his career, he worked at Columbia Artists Management until around 1963. He later went to work under Joseph E. Levine in 1968, where he accidentally got involved in a movie promotion after he invited his friends to a preview, which included some journalists.
In 1974, Bobby Zarem left Levine’s firm and started his own PR agency named Zarem, Inc. One of his first successful promotions was in 1975 when he organized a launch campaign for a British film Tommy in front of 800 New York socialites.
He would also work on promoting films for awards like the Oscars. According to Susan Mulcahy’s quote in a 2004 Vanity Fair article, Bobby would threaten to kill himself if a publication did not write about his client’s film. Throughout his career, Bobby Zarem represented stars like Dustin Hoffman, Cher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Michael Douglas, Michael Caine, Sophia Loren, John Travolta, and more.
In the late seventies, New York Times reporter Judy Klemesrud referred to Bobby Zarem as “Superflack” for rebuking Stevie Wonder for showing up late at his own party. The nickname later became public knowledge when it was mentioned in his Newsweek profile.
Bobby Zarem’s infamous feud with Liz Smith
The “PR King of New York” was reputed for feuding with people he was not fond of. Gossip columnist Liz Smith made the list when Bobby found out she used the pseudonym “Robin Adams Sloan” to write critical articles about his clients.
In his interview with THR, Bobby Zarem announced that during that time he had sent out notices that Liz was marrying her partner Iris Love. This outed their orientation to the public. Later, he clarified Smith’s allegation about him being homophobic. He explained that he was not homophobic but, “hate only Smith!”
According to his friend Bill Augustin’s statement to multiple publications, Bobby Zarem died at his Savannah, Georgia residence where he grew up. He reportedly passed away on Sunday morning due to complications from lung cancer.
