Leslee Dart
{{short description|American publicist and entrepreneur|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox person
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| name = Leslee Dart
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| image = Leslee_Dart_2018.png
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| caption = Photo by Brigitte Lacombe
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| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| education = BA in Public Relations, School of Journalism
| alma_mater = University of Southern California
| occupation = Publicist, entrepreneur
| years_active = 1977 - present
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| spouse = Michael Leon
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| children = Adam Leon (stepson), Matthew Leon
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| awards = Women in Communications Matrix Award for excellence in Public Relations
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Leslee Dart is an American publicist and entrepreneur.{{cite news|last1=Elliott|first1=Stuart|title=Entertainment Publicist Fired After 23 Years at an Agency|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/19/business/media/entertainment-publicist-fired-after-23-years-at-an-agency.html?mcubz=1|accessdate=24 September 2017|work=New York Times|date=November 9, 2004}} She is the founder and co-CEO of the Dart Group, now known as 42West,{{Cite web|url=https://nymag.com/news/features/influentials/16904/index1.html|title=The Influentials: Movies|website=NYMag.com|date=3 May 2006 |access-date=2018-02-11}} which prior to its 2017 acquisition was the largest independently-owned public relations firm in the entertainment industry.{{cite book|last1=Guttman|first1=Dick|title=Starflacker: Inside the Golden Age of Hollywood|date=2015|publisher=Guttman Associates|location=New York|isbn=978-0986407116|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1zGBwAAQBAJ&q=starflacker+42+west&pg=PT236|accessdate=25 September 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Kilday|first1=Gregg|title=PR Firm 42West Acquired by Dolphin Digital Media in $28 Million Deal|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pr-film-42west-acquired-by-dolphin-digital-media-28-million-deal-990174|accessdate=25 September 2017|work=Hollywood Reporter|date=March 30, 2017}}
Dart's work has been focused on both actors and filmmakers since the start of her career. She has represented actors including Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, and Jessica Lange, and directors Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Mike Nichols, and Sydney Pollack.{{cite web|url= https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/where-is-leslee-dart-now|title= 'Where's Leslee Dart Now?'|website=Bustle|first=Gretchen|last=Smail|date=March 14, 2021|accessdate=March 15, 2021}} Dart directed the publicity campaigns for the Academy Award-winning films Lincoln, No Country for Old Men, The Departed and Chicago, among others.{{cite news|last1=Pasquarelli|first1=Adrienne|title=Most Powerful Women in New York 2007|url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/gallery/20070916/FEATURES/309169999/32|accessdate=24 September 2017|work=Crains New York|date=December 5, 2007}}{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/awards/the-departed-oscars-non-campaign-campaign-1201875685/|title=10 Years Later: 'The Departed,' the Oscars, and the Non-Campaign Campaign|last=Tapley|first=Kristopher|date=2016-10-04|work=Variety|access-date=2018-02-11|language=en-US}} Her longtime work with Woody Allen became a source of controversy in the wake of his alleged sexual abuse.{{cite web|url= https://jezebel.com/meet-the-pr-mastermind-whos-managed-woody-allens-image-1776256273|title= 'Meet the PR Mastermind Who's Managed Woody Allen's Image For Years'|website=Jezebel|first=Kate|last=Dries|date=May 12, 2016|accessdate=March 15, 2021}}
Early life and education
An only child, Dart was born and raised in Los Angeles. She attended the University of Southern California, where she initially studied fine arts. After her father suggested she consider journalism or public relations, she enrolled at the USC School for Communications. She graduated with a degree in public relations in 1976.{{cite news|last1=Pinck|first1=Alissa|title=Leslee Dart: A Star Among Stars|url=https://www.nywici.org/sites/default/files/matrix_journal09.pdf|accessdate=24 September 2017|work=Matrix Journal|date=April 27, 2009|pages=50, 51}}
Career
=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Rogers and Cowan=
Dart worked briefly in corporate PR after her graduation, first as an in-house publicist, and later on behalf of corporate clients at an agency. In 1977, she was hired by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. While working on the Academy Awards, she met Warren Cowan, the co-founder of Rogers & Cowan. A "mastermind of the modern day Oscar campaign," he incorrectly assumed Dart had established relationships and hired her on the spot.{{cite news|last1=Kilday|first1=Greg|title=Warren Cowan Dies at 87|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/warren-cowan-dies-at-87-111806|accessdate=24 September 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter (via AP)|date=May 15, 2008}} Dart was mentored by Cowan as well as Sam Cohn, who would later introduce her to directors.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-07-10-tm-9144-story.html|title=Hollywood's High-Powered Image Machine: In Pat Kingsley's Tough World of Celebrity Publicity, Less Is More, and Too Much Exposure Can Be Fatal|last=Cieply|first=Michael|date=1988-07-10|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2018-02-11|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}{{cite news|last1=Benet|first1=Lorenzo|title=The Public Business of Show Business: Press Agents are Out There Making a Name for the Stars|work=Los Angeles Daily News|date=September 28, 1986|page=1}}
=PMK=
At 28, Dart partnered with Pat Kingsley and Lois Smith to form the PR agency PMK, the successor to Smith and Kingley's firm Pickwick/Maslansky/Koenigsberg. She moved from Los Angeles to New York to head the New York office of PMK in 1983, and became an owner of the company with Kingsley and Smith in 1985. During her 23-year tenure at the agency, it became the leading PR firm in entertainment. Revenue increased from $1.5 million to $14 million annually,{{cite news|last1=Eller|first1=Claudia|title=Movie Biz PR Whiz Is Nixed|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-nov-19-fi-pmk19-story.html|access-date=26 September 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 19, 2004}} as the PMK roster grew to more than 200 clients. In 2001 a photo of Dart, Kingsley and Smith ran in the "Legends of Hollywood" issue of Vanity Fair with the caption "Not since the heyday of MGM have three little letters wielded so much power."{{cite magazine|title=Legends of Hollywood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=woETAQAAMAAJ&q=leslee+dart+pat+kingsley+vanity+fair|accessdate=26 September 2017|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=April 2, 2001}}{{cite news|title=Vanity Fair's Bumper April 2001 Legends of Hollywood|url=http://www.prweek.com/article/1237977/vanity-fairs-bumper-april-2001-legends-hollywood|accessdate=26 September 2017|work=PR Week|date=March 19, 2001}} In 2004, The New York Times wrote: "With the explosion in media interest in celebrity over the last decade, publicists have become a power center in their own right. For many years, Ms. Kingsley, based in Los Angeles, and Ms. Dart, her New York-based partner in privately held PMK, were indisputably the most influential among them."{{cite news|last1=Waxman|first1=Sharon|title=Hollywood Shakeout|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/movies/hollywood-shakeout.html?mcubz=1|accessdate=26 September 2017|work=New York Times|date=November 23, 2004}}
PMK was sold to advertising company Interpublic in 1999, and its focus shifted away from Hollywood talent toward high-paying corporate clients. Dart brokered partnerships with brands such as Coca-Cola and General Motors,{{cite magazine|last1=Taylor|first1=Chris|title=It's General Motors on Line One, Mr. Redford|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,19933,00.html|accessdate=26 September 2017|magazine=TIME|date=February 15, 1999}} but said in a 2004 interview with Newsweek that her "passion" was always for filmmakers and talent. As the concentration on brands intensified, Kingsley and Dart became increasingly estranged. In November 2004, Kingsley fired Dart, then the president of PMK, stating that her contract would not be renewed. It was reported that Dart's dismissal was based on a protracted power struggle,{{cite news|last1=Giles|first1=Jeff|title=My Passion is for Movies|url=http://www.newsweek.com/my-passion-movies-124257|accessdate=24 September 2017|work=Newsweek|date=November 19, 2004}} a "succession drama" between Kingsley, then 72, and Dart, more than 20 years her junior. Dart's termination and the resulting departure of talent from PMK was a major media story, with New York writing that "the ultimate test for any publicist is spinning her own dismissal, and this Leslee Dart has done masterfully."{{cite news|last1=Swanson, Carl and|first1=Bernstein, Jacob|title=PMK Publicist Putsch|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/10563/|accessdate=25 September 2017|work=New York|date=November 20, 2004}}
=The Dart Group, 42 West=
The weekend after she was fired from PMK, Dart established the Dart Group, working with one assistant from a midtown Manhattan hotel room.{{cite news|last1=Pasquarelli|first1=Adrienne|title=Most Powerful Women in New York 2007|url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/gallery/20070916/FEATURES/309169999/32|accessdate=3 May 2018|work=Crains|date=September 16, 2017}} The filmmakers and actors who left PMK for the Dart Group included Demme, Hanks, Jessica Lange and Mike Nichols.{{cite news|last1=Grove, Lloyd and|first1=Morgan, Hudson|title=PMK Clients Dart to Axed Publicist|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/pmk-clients-dart-axed-publicist-article-1.585382|accessdate=26 September 2017|work=New York Daily News|date=May 27, 2005}} In 2006 the Dart Group was renamed 42 West. As the company expanded, its roster grew to include musicians. It was acquired in March 2017 by Dolphin Digital Media.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7744334/42west-pr-firm-for-lady-gaga-rihanna-the-weeknd-acquired-by-dolphin|title=42West, PR Firm For Lady Gaga, Rihanna, The Weeknd, Acquired by Dolphin Digital in $28 Mil. Deal|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2018-02-11}}{{Cite news|url=http://observer.com/2017/12/observer-pr-power-50-the-50-best-public-relations-firms-in-america/|title=Observer's 2017 PR Power 50|date=2017-12-13|work=Observer|access-date=2018-02-09|language=en-US}}
Dart joined the Board of Directors of 42 West's parent company, Dolphin Entertainment, in June 2020 and currently serves as its Strategic Advisor. She stepped down from 42 West in July 2020.{{cite web | url =https://deadline.com/2020/03/42west-shakeup-leslee-dart-elevated-dolphin-entertainment-amanda-lundberg-sole-ceo-1202872005/ | title = 42West Shakeup: Leslee Dart Upped To Senior Post At Parent Dolphin Entertainment; Amanda Lundberg Becomes Sole 42West CEO | date = March 2, 2020 | publisher = Deadline}}
Woody Allen controversy
File: Woody Allen Cannes 2015.jpg]]
Dart became known for "not only for promoting clients who wanted coverage, but also for protecting those who did not."{{cite news|last1=O'Leary|first1=Noreen|title=L.A. Confidential|url=http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/la-confidential-23683/|accessdate=24 September 2017|work=Adweek|date=May 17, 1999}} This included film director Woody Allen, who faced allegations of sexual assault by his adoptive daughter. Variety wrote: "Even the efforts of Allen’s longtime publicist, Leslee Dart, to counter the initial tide of negative stories itself became a news item."{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/columns/woody-allen-and-the-medias-mob-hysteria-1201115317/|title=Woody Allen and the Media's Mob Hysteria|last=Foundas|first=Scott|date=2014-02-21|work=Variety|access-date=2018-02-09|language=en-US}} In addition to print and broadcast media, her attempts to spin the story were covered in Kirby Dick's and Amy Ziering's Allen v. Farrow, which explored the sexual abuse allegations against Allen.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/movies/woody-allen-farrow-accusations.html|title=Filmmakers Look at Woody Allen Abuse Allegations in Four-Part Series|website=The New York Times|first=Nicole|last=Sperling|date=February 5, 2021|accessdate=February 5, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/secret-explosive-woody-allen-doc-series-from-kirby-dick-amy-ziering-coming-to-hbo|title=Secret, Explosive Woody Allen Doc Series From Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering Coming to HBO|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Tatiana|last=Siegel|date=February 5, 2021|accessdate=February 5, 2021}}
Recognition
Dart received the Matrix Award for Women in Communications in 2009. She has appeared on the Crain's list of the "Most Powerful Women in New York", Nikki Finke's list of the most influential women in TV and film for Elle,{{cite news|last1=Nikki|first1=Finke|title=Nikki Finke's Power List|url=http://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a10568/nikki-finkes-power-list-382837/|accessdate=25 September 2017|work=Elle|date=October 16, 2009}} the Hollywood Reporter "Women in Entertainment Power 100,"{{cite news|last1=THR Staff|title=Women in Entertainment - Power 100|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/women-entertainment-2010-power-100-56241/item/leslee-dart-women-entertainment-2010-826423|accessdate=24 September 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=December 7, 2010}} the PR Week "Power List,"{{cite news|last1=PR Week Staff|title=Leslee Dart: Power List|url=http://www.prweek.com/article/1303100/leslee-dart-power-list-2007|accessdate=25 September 2017|work=PR Week|date=July 1, 2007}} the Variety Women's Impact Report,
{{cite news|last1=Editorial Staff|title=Women's Impact Report|url=https://variety.com/gallery/womens-impact-report-2017-variety/#!38/leslee-dart-2|accessdate=3 May 2018|work=Variety|date=December 1, 2017}} and New York magazine's "Most Influential People in Movies".{{cite news|last1=New York staff|title=The Influentials: Movies|url=https://nymag.com/news/features/influentials/16904/index1.html|accessdate=22 August 2020|work=New York|date=May 3, 2006}} In 2015, 20 years after she orchestrated Hugh Grant's mea culpa on the Tonight Show following his arrest for lewd conduct; The Independent wrote that it was "the greatest PR save of all time."{{cite news|last1=Svetkey|first1=Benjamin|title=The Divine redemption of Hugh Grant: A look at 'the greatest PR save of all time' almost 20 years after he was arrested with a prostitute|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/the-divine-redemption-of-hugh-grant-a-look-at-the-greatest-pr-save-of-all-time-almost-20-years-after-9073158.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/the-divine-redemption-of-hugh-grant-a-look-at-the-greatest-pr-save-of-all-time-almost-20-years-after-9073158.html |archive-date=2022-06-14 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|accessdate=25 September 2017|work=The Independent|date=January 20, 2014}}
Personal life
Dart and her husband, Michael Leon, were married in 1996 and had two sons, Matthew and Adam, a director and screenwriter.{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2012/03/a-new-spielberg-or-aronofsky-six-filmmakers-to-watch-from-new-directorsnew-films-247252/|title=A New Spielberg or Aronofsky? Six Filmmakers To Watch From New Directors/New Films|last=Brooks|first=Brian|date=2012-03-22|work=Deadline|access-date=2018-02-09|language=en-US}}{{cite news|last1=Rush|first1=George|title=Pretty Woman Proposes Marriage of Convenience|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/pretty-woman-proposes-marriage-convenience-article-1.755227|accessdate=25 September 2017|work=Daily News|date=June 27, 1997}} Michael Leon died in 2023. {{Cite web |last=Earl |first=William |date=2023-04-04 |title=Music Industry Executive Michael Leon Dies at 76 |url=https://variety.com/2023/music/obituaries-people-news/michael-leon-arista-dead-1235572875/ |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
Dart supports organizations including Planned Parenthood and causes related to environmental protection and LGBTQ rights.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://42west.net/ 42 West]
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Date of birth unknown
Category:American public relations people
Category:People from Los Angeles
Category:American women chief executives
Category:USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism alumni