bragman, a veteran of decades of entertainment public relations, has died of leukemia, according to a journal entry by her boyfriend Mike Maimone. He was 66 years old.
“The enormity of our shared loss cannot be overstated: Howard was a constant in so many of our lives and the brightest star in his vast constellation of friends and family.” maimone wrote.
Bragman’s death was also confirmed by a person who worked closely with the publicist. The news, which initially came via social media tributes late on Saturday, February 11, comes as a surprise to the community of journalists and public relations professionals who have worked closely with Bragman in his various capacities. Bragman worked in public relations for more than 40 years, co-founding the firm BNC (Bragman Nyman Cafarelli), which later merged with PMK, and then his own Fifteen Minutes PR and, later in his life, LaBrea Media.
Her clients include Cameron Diaz, Paula Abdul, Stevie Wonder, Sharon Osbourne, Monica Lewinsky, Joe Manganiello, Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard, Ricki Lake, and Melissa Rivers, among many others. Later in his career, he moved into crisis management and often appeared as a pundit on television, appearing as a news consultant for ABC News, as well as an on-air pundit for shows like “Good Morning America,” ” TODAY” and “Larry King Live”. bragman published a book“Where’s My Fifteen Minutes?: Get the Recognition You Deserve for Your Company, Your Cause, or Yourself,” in 2008.
Born and raised in Michigan, he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1978 and worked first in Chicago and then in Los Angeles for Burson-Marsteller Public Relations. He founded Bragman Nyman Cafarelli (BNC) in 1989 and retired after it was purchased by Interpublic Group in 2001. Bragman served as an Adjunct Professor of Public Relations at the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California from 1998 to 2003. In 2005, he released Fifteen minutes.
In 2010, Bragman appeared in an episode of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” as Camille Grammer’s manager. That same year, he was a guest judge on the inaugural first season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Bragman was an expert at navigating his clients’ public scandals: he was always available to the press at the last minute and was highly respected for his wit and twisting acumen. As an openly gay executive and staunch supporter of LGBTQ causes, he has also counseled a number of celebrities, including actor Meredith Baxter, basketball player Sheryl Swoopes, and country singer Chely Wright, on coming out.
In recent years, he was active in exposing the water crisis in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, contributing to the Glen Zipper and Paul Haggis documentary “Lead and Copper.”
In 2021, Bragman contributed a $1 million endowment to establish the Howard Bragman Coming Out Fund at the University of Michigan campus, which include the Spectrum Center, an LGBTQIA+ advocacy center, which was formed in 1970. Announcing the fund, he shared: “As a fat, Jewish, gay kid in Flint, Michigan, I always felt like a Martian. … This campus allows you to be yourself. It allows you to spread your wings the way you want to spread your wings. I tell people, ‘Stay strong, even when it hurts.’ And I promise, sometimes it hurts. But, there are places that will help ease the pain at times. That’s what the Spectrum Center did. That’s what Michigan did.”
Bragman continued: “I don’t care how liberal the school is. I don’t care how tolerant and loving your parents are. I don’t care how “awakened” the times are. Coming out is the most personal of journeys, and it is a challenging journey,” he said. “It is very important that students know that they are not alone and that the Spectrum Center is there for them. … It was founded just two years after Stonewall, which we consider to be the birth of the modern movement for LGBTQIA+ rights. So the center is not a flash in the pan. … I want to make sure that other people get the same access that I had; an access that changes and saves lives”.
