Beloved publicist Bill McLeod dies
William W. (Bill) McLeod, 59, one of the Bay Area’s most respected film publicists died at his home on March 29th, 2009, in San Rafael, California, of natural causes. McLeod’s first agency job was at Jack Wodell in 1980, and subsequently at the bay area agencies of DDB Needham, Evans Group, Publicis Dialog, Allied McDonald, and his most recent stint was at Terry Hines & Associates as Senior VP of Marketing & Promotions from 2003 to 2005.
Born in Oklahoma, but spending most of his youth growing up in Colorado, McLeod worked at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood covering specialized marketing for institutions, colleges, and art museums from 1978 to 1979. McLeod oversaw the local publicity and publicity tours for most of the studios and mini majors over the span of his career. For the past four years, McLeod worked independently on local Sundance Channel events, the Sundance Cinemas, and Strand Releasing, as well as handling the bay area publicity for the critically acclaimed independent film, Ballast.
McLeod was admired and respected for his comprehensive, creative publicity campaigns and his ability to handle each movie with care and enthusiasm, whether it was a major studio release or a small independent film. McLeod was known for his sunny disposition and unflappable personality under the most stressful of situations.
McLeod’s daughter, Alanna, described her father as an incredible chef, a loving and adoring father, and doting caretaker of AJ and Amos, two miniature poodles.
McLeod held an MA in Journalism and Film Studies from University of Colorado at Boulder, where he met his wife, Joy. McLeod loved and cared for his wife, Joy Ellen Gorelick, until she passed away in November, 2006. He is survived by his daughter, Alanna.
A memorial service is being planned in the Bay Area.
Donations may be made in McLeod’s name to the Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation, Hospice by the Bay, or a favorite charity of the donor’s choice.
MDS-foundation.org
Hospicebythebay.org
04.04.2009
I was greatly saddened by this news, but will always be cheered by my memories of him. His kindness, professionalism, and good nature were essential components of his personality. Bill was never less than supremely supportive to me in my endeavors as a journalist and critic. And I always thought of him as the platinum standard of publicists. In fact, with all due respect to all of my contacts in the PR biz, Bill was flat-out the best – and he had terrific instincts as a mentor of fledgling publicists, hiring and shepherding some of the very good ones. I’ll miss him. For that matter, anyone who knew him and/or worked with him is going to miss him.
—Michael Snyder · Apr 6, 01:02 PM · share
We are so sorry for your loss. Our work will be inspired by his life, as we continue to help thousands of newly diagnosed MDS patients each year and as we pursue a cure. Bill’s work to raise awareness is a model for ours, raising awareness about these life-threatening bone marrow failure diseases. We hope those who knew and loved him will join us in our fight for better treatments and a cure.
Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation
www.AAMDS.org
—Sandra Walter-Steinberg · May 14, 07:31 AM · share