Charley Lippincott

Charles Myers Lippincott Jr. (October 28, 1939 - May 19, 2020) was an author and marketer known for being the promoter and licenser for the first Star Wars movie.[1] Lippincott joined Lucasfilm in 1975 as Vice President of Advertising, Publicity, Promotion & Merchandising.[2] He also teamed with Marvel Comics for a tie-in series which came out ahead of the film's release.[3] He was responsible for getting 20th Century Fox to trademark the film's character allowing significant income from merchandising and licensingon items such as "action figures, comic books, lunchboxes, watches, belt buckles and toy lightsabers".[3][4]

Lippincott promoted Star Wars direct to fans, going on promotional tours with the film's stars such as Mark Hamill.[5] He had a non-traditional approach to publicity for the film, including a panel discussion at San Diego Comic-Con in 1976, and partnerships with popular television shows at the time including The Richard Pryor Show and The Donny & Marie Show.[3][6]

He moved on from Lucasfilm in 1978 and did publicity for other films including Alien in 1979 and Flash Gordon in 1980. He also produced movies such as Night Life in 1989 and the comic book adaptation Judge Dredd.[4]

Personal life

Lippincott was born in Adams, Massachusetts and grew up in Oswego, Illinois.[4] He received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Northwestern University and attended USC with George Lucas.[7] From there he got an early job as a publicist at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer working on movies such as Westworld and Family Plot.[4] He was married to Geraldine “Bumpy” Lippincott.[4]

References
  1. "Star Wars Promoter and Fandom Legend Charley Lippincott Passes Away". StarWars.com. 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  2. Lucasfilm (2020-05-20). "Lucasfilm Trailblazer Charley Lipincott Has Passed Away". Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  3. "Charles Lippincott, 'Star Wars' Publicity Mastermind, Dies at 80". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  4. Smith, Harrison (2020-06-05). "Charles Lippincott, movie publicist and a force behind 'Star Wars,' dies at 80". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  5. "Star Wars Promoter and Fandom Legend Charley Lippincott Passes Away by". John Jason Fallows. 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  6. "Comic-Con's First 'Star Wars' Panel in 1976 Was a Sleepy Affair". The Hollywood Reporter. 2017-07-20. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  7. Jones, B.J. (2016). George Lucas: A Life. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-25745-9. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.