Robert Garlock remembered

November 20, 2007 on 1:55 pm | In - Jauretsi |

Say the name Robert Garlock to *ANYBODY* in the Entertainment biz, and you’ll get a unanimous vibe from everyone in the room — Mad Respect.

He had all the qualities you’d imagine a classic Hollywood Publicist to embody from a 1950’s film. In the wacky business of booking celebs, calling Robert Garlock was a breath of fresh air. He said it like it was. Always a professional. Always a straight-shooter.

Rare is the day the Starworks office freezes, but when Sharon announced his death off a phonecall on September 2, 2007, there was a huge moment of silence here. We had all worked with Robert and his star clients Uma Thurman, Hilary Swank, Penelope Cruz, Clive Owen, Hugh Grant, the list goes on and on…totalling 16 Years at PMK’s PR firm. Robert was a super discreet and private guy, yet somehow, he was a leader for huge PR campaigns (see below). At 41 years old, he was only beginning to build more steam with his new firm 42West. Too young to check out of life, but definitely left a deep imprint.

Seeing that Robert loved and chose to live in New York over Hollywood (because of his relentless taste for theater and museums), its only fitting there’s a permanent reminder among us now. Due to several friend donations, there are now officially 2 seats with his name engraved.
1 Seat at Lincoln Center (the new Film Center opening in 2010)
1 Seat at The Manhattan Theater Club

There’s one more legacy to mention. Just to backtrack a bit, Robert was originally a kid from Ohio who moved to the big city for his love of film. He studied at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, which leads me to the next fund that’s building in his name. The recipient of this particular scholarship fund will help a student pursue film studies, and he’ll be known as The Robert Garlock Scholar. This Cinema Fund is an effort to continue his hunger to experience excellent filmmaking.

If you’d like to donate to this fund, email Jill Fritzo at Jill.Fritzo@pmkhbh.com. Make all checks to “NYU” and write “Robert Garlock” in the reference memo.

Who knows? Maybe his good vibes will help some future filmmaker realize their vision, and hopefully one day, The Robert Garlock Scholar will have to hire a Grade-A publicist like Robert to manage their career!