Nancy Seltzer, a PR legend who worked with many of the giants of entertainment, including the late Whitney Houston and Garth Brooks, died Wednesday (Jan. 28) following a brief stay at a hospital in Los Angeles. She was 79.
A smart operator, Seltzer got about her work “quietly, always with integrity, dogged determination, and purpose,” reads a statement on Brooks’ website.
Seltzer’s clients include some of the greatest stars of stage and screen, from Richard Burton to Sean Connery, Robert Downey Jr., and others. For many years, she could be spotted running the Academy Awards red carpet, and had a knack for navigating “moments of triumph and vulnerability with a steady hand and unwavering discretion,” Brooks’ site continues.
“Public relations is the hardest job in show business,” Brooks remarked of Seltzer. “She always handled every situation with the utmost class.”
Seltzer also served as rep for best-selling author Danielle Steel, opera singer Joyce DiDonato and Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo, and Hollywood A-listers including Julia Roberts, Bette Davis, Nicole Kidman, Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman and many more, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Artists trusted Seltzer not just for her steady hand, experience and class, but recognized her maternal instinct: she was always protective of the talent she represented.
Seltzer started her career in her hometown, New York, before heading west to L.A. where, for almost 50 years, she operated the bicoastal boutique publicity firm, Nancy Seltzer & Associates. The PR business was active at the time of Seltzer’s death.
“Ms. Seltzer was particularly known for her extraordinary trust. She created long lasting friendships with people from all over the world to whom she was also wonderful, kind, caring and fiercely loyal,” reads a statement from her business.
Seltzer also had a hand in promoting a slew of feature films including Pirates of the Caribbean, Breaking Away, All That Jazz, Splash, RoboCop, Spinal Tap, Aliens, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, When Harry Met Sally… and A Few Good Men, and repped such movies as Amadeus, Misery, Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, and The Shawshank Redemption.