The Publicist Whose Client List Ran From Elvis to Lenny Bruce

Gene Schwam, a veteran Hollywood publicist who represented top talent including Elvis Presley, Blake Edwards, Julie Andrews, Barbara Eden and Lenny Bruce, died Friday in Los Angeles after a brief illness. He was 96. In 1955 he co-founded Hanson & Schwam Public Relations with Adeline Hanson, an independent publicity agency that would last for decades. That roster is a small portrait of what mid-century American entertainment contained: a rock-and-roll icon, a musical-comedy star and a comedian who made his name on the club circuit, all handled by the same shop.