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Pat Saperstein
Deputy Editor
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Courtesy of Schwam family Veteran Hollywood publicist Gene Schwam, who represented top talent including Elvis Presley, Blake Edwards, Julie Andrews, Barbara Eden and Lenny Bruce, died Friday in Los Angeles after a brief illness. He was 96.
Schwam co-founded Hanson & Schwam Public Relations with Adeline Hanson in 1955, establishing an independent publicity agency that would endure for decades.
Schwam was earning $35 a week working for publicist Stanley Cowan when he decided to strike out on his own. He joined forces with Hanson, a part-time disc jockey and publicist, to launch their firm. When it came time to decide whose name would come first, Schwam wanted his own name at the front. Hanson’s response settled the matter: “Ladies first.”
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