Public Relations in Los Angeles
While an informal version of public relations has occurred for centuries, what is commonly known as “public relations” began in the early half of the last century. In the few decades from then to now, there have been dozens of definitions for these words as the needs of those people in need of it have changed. In Hollywood, the need for public relations is about as high as it is anywhere, with public relation teams as ubiquitous as lawyers in Los Angeles.
In 1982, the Public Relations Society of America defined it as “helping an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” In the movie industry, this pertains to studios and networks, certainly, but also to individual celebrities, as they protect their reputations. The concept of the movie star has grown alongside the idea of public relations, with many high-powered actors and actresses (and not so high-powered) hiring PR people to represent and even develop a public face.
The need for these activities is clear when one reviews Hollywood actors of the past and the kind of publicity they were prone to receive. Take, for example, one of the most iconic of Hollywood actresses, Lana Turner. At the age of 16, she was “discovered” in Hollywood and signed to a film contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Usually, she played ing ©nue roles, such as in Love Finds Andy Hardy from 1938 or Ziegfeld Girl from 1941. She became a femme fatale in The Postman Always Rings Twice in 1946 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in Peyton Place in 1957. These roles established the way people think of Lana Turner today, but the following year she had an experience that would shake up her life and her reputation.
In 1958, her lover, Johnny Stompanato was stabbed to death by her own daughter, Cheryl Crane. Stompanato called himself John Steele. Turner discovered he was a gangster, but she didn’t end her relationship with him. She attempted to see him less publically, particularly at the Oscars, and when he found he couldn’t take her to the awards performance, he beat her. She didn’t take legal action because she feared to get out of the relationship because the publicity would damage her career.
Her daughter, distraught over the violence the man brought into her family’s life, killed him. Lana Turner, testifying in court, made for riveting stories, especially because in the balance was the fate of her daughter – whether she would be freed or convicted of murder. The courts ruled that Cheryl actions were justified homicide.
Public relations weren’t at the level of a high art as it nearly is today, and the roles Lana Turner received became increasingly few. Today, every moment of such a case would be handled by public relations experts, and television and movie actors alike look for a public relations consultant as often as they do an LA lawyer.
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