Ronni Chasen: Hollywood's ultimate old-school publicist

If Hollywood had ever wanted to hire its own publicist to keep its public image untarnished and well-scrubbed, it would've been Ronni Chasen.

The circumstances of her death early Tuesday  -- she was found in her Mercedes in Beverly Hills, shot five times in the chest -- remain mysterious. But what is clear is the profound sense of loss everyone in this town is feeling.

Even though Ronni was only 64, it often seemed as if she'd been around since the day they invented the talkies. When we'd schmooze at a screening or a press party (with me usually trying to distract her from pitching an article on a client I had no interest in writing about), she'd tell stories about working with George Burns on "The Sunshine Boys" or helping John Travolta do one of his first interviews after he became a TV star on "Welcome Back Kotter." One of her first jobs, in the late 1970s, was as head of publicity for American International Pictures, Sam Arkoff's fabled B-movie factory. (Her older brother is the writer-director Larry Cohen, a cult-favorite B-movie guy himself, who wrote and directed such low-budget classics as "It's Alive" and "Q.") 

Ronni knew all of Hollywood's old royalty, most of whom she'd represented at one time or another. Her client list included movie stars, composers and directors, but for me, her most interesting clients were A-list producers like Richard Zanuck, Irwin Winkler, Lee Rich, Bud Yorkin and Arnold Kopelson. They were clients for decades because they became her friends.

"We were together for 30 years," Winkler told me Tuesday. "She would come to our house every year when we broke the fast on Yom Kippur. Nothing ever discouraged her. She always believed in the people she was representing. You couldn't say anything bad about any of her clients because they were part of her family. It's why I feel so awful, because I really feel that I lost a member of the family."

Ronni was already a legend when I began writing about entertainment in the 1980s. Back then, she had the L.A. Times so wired that she seemed to know what stories we were doing before we actually got around to doing them. It often felt as if she had some sort of hypnotic power over our top editors and writers, even though as I got to know her better it became evident that Ronni had such terrific access and influence largely because she was simply the kind of person who would never take no for an answer.

I can't say Ronni ever hypnotized me, but I'd be the first to admit that she probably persuaded me to do more stories on people I didn't care about than any other publicist. If you said no, she took it to mean "not now." If you said maybe, she knew your resolve was already crumbling.

How did she do it? Pure, unadultered salesmanship. Once she detected even a faint glimmer of interest, she would begin calling relentlessly, trying one angle after another until she found one that hit paydirt. It helped that Ronni also had a stable of great clients who were always in demand, including class acts like  Zanuck and Winkler, who turned out to be two of the best storytellers in the business.

One story Ronni didn't have to nag me into doing was a column I wrote about the prominent Hollywood composer Michael Kamen, who revealed that for years he'd been secretly suffering from multiple sclerosis. He died a couple of years after the story ran, but getting to spend a day with Kamen, soaking up his remarkably optimistic outlook on life, was one of the best days I've ever had doing my job.

When Ronni called afterward to thank me for the story, I told her that this time around, our roles were reversed. "I have to thank you," I said. "It was an inspiration just being around him."

It's probably the way a lot of Ronni's friends and clients feel now. When you were with Ronni, whether you were watching her work the room or grouch about the awful 24-hour media buzz cycle, you knew you were in the presence of an old-fashioned star. When it came to showbiz publicity, Ronni was a queen, surrounded by jesters and pretenders to the throne. 

Photo: Ronni Chasen at a Fox Searchlight Golden Globes party this year. Credit: Timothy Norris / Getty Images

 

Comments

[McQueen]

Sad. Noir Hollywood, with its murder and mayhem, is thriving. Los Angeles has become a trash pit...full of clueless parasites choking the life out of the city and the state.

[Journo]

Ronni was so lovely. Simply a joy to work with. And she had the best sense of humor. But most of all, she was kind and real -- an anomaly in a cutthroat business full of sharks, egomaniacs and posers. This is such a tragic loss.

[Dane]

drivers window intact no bullet holes visable on drivers side, she was shot in her vehicle as she was going south on whitter dr. i would suspect that this is a contract hit and that the getaway vehicle was going north on whitter and picked up gunman on east side of street. gunman may have been in truck of vehicle and accesed the cabin and shot here through her drivers seat.

[Diane]

Fox two new is obviously not for anything our PRESIDENT do I think they need to lay off and get a life.

[Chris Hunter]

I worked for about 15 years as R&C's staff photographer. I was Warren Cowan's stepson....Ronni Chasen is the person , along with Sandy Friedman, who gave me a chance, started hiring me for shoots. She always had time for me...she was funny, she was encouraging, and without her I don't know if I would have pursued photography....she was pretty much the coolest publicist I ever worked for...she always told me what a great job I did...I got to the point I would have done anything for her...I loved her so much...I don't know why this happened, I am still in just a daze about it...this was an amazing, amazing women...and I will miss her...

[ROSEMARY]

I don't know Ronni at all. I am just a worker bee here in California. But this incident is so sad. It's the works of a coward. Another sad Hollywood murder that hopefully will be solved. For all of Ronni's hard work, she certainly did not deserve this.

[MARK GEORGEFF]

I didn't get the chance to ever work with Ms. Chasen, but after learning about this horrible tragedy and reading news updates on it, I am so sorry for the loss to her family and Hollywood overall. She is the epitome of class, hard work for success
and a lot of self respect with overwhelming dignity and strength.
I hope whatever future publicist I sign with...will have so much of what Ms. Chasen is. Only the best of my prayers and support for her family in these
tough and trying times. Hollywood and the movies overall has truly lost one of their brightest, shining fires.