Jim Mahoney / Sinatra

The best piece of advice I ever received was from my first boss at MGM, who used to preach to us on a daily basis: “Avoid being the story, at all costs!” That man was Howard Strickling. He was Louis B. Mayer’s right hand man, my mentor, and the head of publicity for MGM during its heyday. MGM’s motto at the time was it had “More Stars than the Heavens,” and a big reason for that was the genius of Howard Strickling. Strickling’s career was based on two opposing principles: knowing how to get press and knowing how to “suppress” it. My entire career and success were built around perfecting that delicate balance, so I find it a bit awkward sitting here writing my own story. I wonder how Howard would have felt about this endeavor. Fortunately or unfortunately I’ve outlived and outlasted most of my contemporaries, which has given me a unique perspective on how the PR business has changed and evolved over the years. From courting influential newspaper columnists like Louella Parsons, Hedda Hopper, Earl Wilson, and Walter Winchell to the advent of the internet and the marketing power of social media and from the Hollywood public relation’s firms such as Rogers & Cowan, Gutman & Pam, and my own business, Jim Mahoney and Associates, and later on Mahoney/Wasserman and Associates, to the giant corporate marketing machines of CAA, WME,UTA and Burson-Marsteller. Regardless of modern technology, not withstanding the new and different distribution streams, some things never change. It’s always about the story. If you’ve got a good story, someone will always be interested in hearing it, no matter what the delivery platform. Telling one’s own story is never an easy prospect, especially when one spends 70 years trying to stay out of the spotlight. When I took on this challenge choices had to be made, do I write a “tell-all” book to please publishers and risk subjecting former clients and their loved ones to unnecessary public scrutiny and embarrassment, or do I write a “lessons learned” primer on my walk down memory lane with some of Hollywood’s most charismatic characters? With a little luck and a bit of Irish finesse, hopefully we’ve included enough titillating stories of fascinating Hollywood notables without defaming their images or breaking Howard Strickling’s key dictum. From the late 1940’s into the Internet age of the 2000’s, I hope my story provides a unique perspective on the history of Hollywood and some of its most notorious characters and events. These pages hold my personal insider’s point of view on Hollywood, most of which has never been told before. In all honesty, I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world. Just a kid from Culver City, whose father was a house painter, a kid who grew up behind the back lots of a magical land called Hollywood, and I never forgot that. I was lucky to have started my career at MGM, and have my first “client” be Clark Gable. I was lucky to be there from the beginning with the Rat Pack when they were riding high, and getting into all kinds of mischief. I was lucky enough to travel the world with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Peggy Lee, Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, Jack Lemmon, Glen Campbell, George C. Scott, Johnny Carson, and many others. And yet, I never lost sight that I was just that kid from Culver City. If you asked me what the key to my success was, I’d say knowing when and how to listen, knowing a good story, knowing how to package a story, and then surrounding myself with a very talented staff of publicists, writers, and marketers. Of course, balancing business and family life in Hollywood can make for a never---ending high-wire act. I would never have reached the levels of success that I did fit were not for my wife of sixty-three years, Patricia “Marston” Mahoney whose love and support gave me the confidence and ability to perfect my craft and solidify my career. As a matter of fact, I think most of my clients preferred my wife to me on most occasions, since she was always a breath of fresh air, while I was always the bearer of bad news. I also want to give a shout out to my kids Jim Jr., Marilee, Sean, Mike and Monica, for not only their love and support but for keeping me grounded in this make believe world of Hollywood. You can’t raise five kids and escape the little league games, parent---teacher conferences and bloody noses. All, as I learned, much more important than the egos I encountered on a daily basis. I would also like to thank my friend and colleague Bob Chew for not only motivating me to complete my book, but for his expert collaboration, editing and marketing of this book. Without his nurturing, suggestions and attention to detail, this probably would not have happened. This book is the story of a kid from Culver City who made good with nothing more than a little moxie and a gleam in his eye, who through hustle and little street smarts made his way to the brightest stage in the world, Hollywood. Sit back and enjoy, it was quite a ride.