Celebrity News February 12, 2023
Howard Bragman, Publicist to the Stars, Dies at 66
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Howard Bragman, a powerful Hollywood publicist and crisis manager with an A-list clientele, died Saturday, less than two weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia, TMZ reports.
He was 66.
The outlet reports that Bragman and partner Mark Maimone had been preparing to attend a wedding in Mexico City when Bragman went for a checkup to see if he had a gum infection. He wound up discovering he had "explosively" progressive acute monocytic leukemia — the worst kind of leukemia possible.
Bragman, along with being a media specialist, was a media figure in his own right, most recently as chairman of the LaBrea Media crisis management firm.
In 2008, he published he book "Where's My 15 Minutes?"
Bragman's Hollywood contacts and clients were extensive. He worked with figures as diverse as Monica Lewinsky, Anthony Scaramucci, Sharon Osbourne, Chaz Bono, Don Lemon, Ricki Lake, and Anna Kendrick.
He specialized in LGBTQ coming-out stories, guiding Meredith Baxter, Michael Sam, Chely Wright and Sheryl Swoopes through the process.
Bragman was also noted for his charitable endeavors on behalf of LGBTQ, HIV/AIDS, and Jewish causes.
Bragman's death comes less than two weeks after the death of another top celebrity publicist, Jeffrey Ballard, who had worked with Zac Efron, Charlie Sheen, Paula Abdul, Lori Loughlin, Matthew Perry, Jared Leto, Cuba Gooding Jr., Ryan Seacrest, Nancy Reagan (her "Just Say No" campaign), Willie Aames and many others. Ballard, 64, died January 30 after a long cancer battle.
