Hollywood publicist Bob Palmer dead at 85

Bob Palmer, the legendary Hollywood publicist who led Sir Anthony Hopkins’ successful Oscars campaign for The Silence Of The Lambs, has died, aged 85. Palmer, who also represented Faye Dunaway, David Soul and Dick Van Dyke among others, passed away at his home in Pacific Palisades, California on Monday (15Sep14).
Born in Alaska, he studied journalism in Los Angeles before becoming a theatre manager.
He was hired as director of publicity and advertising at United Paramount studios, where he helped create media campaigns for films like Sunset Boulevard, Shane and The Greatest Show on Earth.
After serving in the Korean War, Palmer returned to Hollywood and signed up as West Coast publicity director for ABC Radio, before becoming a publicist at ABC Television.
He also headed up publicity departments at Screen Gems and Universal.