Warren Cowan, 87; legendary Hollywood publicist
W rren Cowan, a legendary Hollywood publicist who co-founded the famed Rogers & Cowan public relations firm and was known as an innovative pioneer of independent entertainment publicity for many of the biggest names in show business, has died. He was 87.
Cowan died Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of cancer, which was diagnosed three weeks earlier, said Daniel Bernstein of Warren Cowan & Associates.
A New York native who began moonlighting as a Hollywood publicist while attending UCLA in the early `40s, Cowan joined Henry Rogers' publicity firm in 1945 after serving in the Army Air Forces.
In 1950, the two publicists became partners in Rogers & Cowan, which became the largest entertainment public relations firm in the world. Cowan launched his own firm in 1994.
In a more than 60-year career that continued until his death, Cowan represented an array of stars, including Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Steve McQueen, Natalie Wood, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, the Doors, John Wayne, Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood.
"He was a giant," Dale Olson, a veteran entertainment publicist who spent 17 years at Rogers & Cowan as a key executive, told The Times on Thursday.
"Warren Cowan was the ultimate Hollywood press agent," Olson said. "There was nobody in this business -- and never will be again -- who was more innovative."
Charles Champlin, former Times film critic and arts editor, said in a statement that Cowan "stood at the peak of his profession, and he gave it dignity and weight. His word was his bond, and in a world of make-believe he stood for honesty, credibility and trust."
Kirk Douglas, who first met Cowan in the late `40s and later tapped him to be best man at his second wedding, said in a statement: "Warren was loved by everybody because he cared for people. I will miss him."
In contrast to some high-profile entertainment publicists who make journalistic demands and seek control over interviews with their celebrity clients, Cowan was considered an "old-school" Hollywood publicist.
"He doesn't yell, preferring instead to seduce and cajole," Amy Wallace wrote in a 2001 profile of Cowan in Los Angeles magazine. "His approach is less adversarial and more complimentary -- a product of the era in which he started out, when movie stars needed the general-interest media more than the media needed them."
