Publicist and outspoken LGBTQ rights advocate Howard Bragman has died at age 66 from complications of leukemia. Bragman was a longtime supporter of RuPaul and a guest judge on the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Via Variety:
His clients have included 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 segued into crisis management and was often featured as an expert on television, appearing as a news consultant for ABC News, as well as an on-air expert for such programs as ABC’s “Good Morning America,” NBC’s “Today” and CNN’s “Larry King Live.” Bragman published a book, “Where’s My Fifteen Minutes?: Get Your Company, Your Cause, or Yourself the Recognition You Deserve,” in 2008.
Born and raised in Michigan, he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1978 and worked in Chicago first, then Los Angeles for Burson-Marsteller Public Relations. He founded Bragman Nyman Cafarelli (BNC) in 1989 and exited after it was purchased by Interpublic Group in 2001. Bragman served an Adjunct Professor in Public Relations at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center for Communication from 1998 to 2003. In 2005, he launched Fifteen Minutes, and in 2019, LaBrea Media.
Superfans will remember that Bragman has been there for RuPaul’s Drag Race since the beginning, appearing as a guest judge in season one, episode 3, “Queens of all Media.”
Bragman was instrumental in navigating the media around Chaz Bono’s gender transition and was an an associate producer on our WOW Presents Plus documentary Becoming Chaz:
Ru had a lovely conversation on Bragman’s show Gwissues:
Bragman also recorded a thoughtful piece about growing up gay for the It Gets Better project:
Rest in power, Howard, and thank you for all you did for our work and our community!
Image: YouTube / IGBP10
