{"id":6599,"date":"2026-08-25T21:40:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T21:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6599"},"modified":"2026-08-25T21:40:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T21:40:01","slug":"veteran-hollywood-publicist-leonard-morpurgo-dies-at-93","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6599","title":{"rendered":"Veteran Hollywood Publicist Leonard Morpurgo Dies at 93"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\nLeonard Morpurgo, the London-born international film publicist and communications executive who had senior posts at companies including Rogers &amp; Cowan, Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures, CBS Theatrical Films and Lorimar Pictures, died of cancer on Aug. 12. He was 93.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6597\">Dolly Parton\u2019s Musical Will Still Open on Broadway \u2018As Was Dolly\u2019s Wish\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tMorpurgo\u2019s career spanned over 50 years. He worked at newspapers before becoming a publicist. A gentlemanly figure who was a fixture at film festivals and markets worldwide, he was fluent in multiple languages and specialized in sharing his global perspective while representing independent and major-studio film and television productions. His experiences and observations from the international film world formed the basis of his 2009 memoir \u201cOf Kings and Queens and Movie Stars,\u201d a collection of stories recalling encounters with figures in the entertainment industry including Cary Grant, Steve McQueen and Omar Sharif.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cHe was in one desert for the filming of \u2018Lawrence of Arabia\u2019 and another for \u2018Dune,\u2019\u201d said his son, Thierry Morpurgo in a statement. \u201cThat was the kind of life he led \u2014 always close to the world of movies, wherever the work took him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tMorpurgo was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and frequently participated on the Academy\u2019s International Feature Film Committee. He also was a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tIn 2022, Morpurgo was nominated for the International Cinematographers Guild\u2019s Les Mason Award for Achievement in Publicity, recognizing his longstanding contributions to the profession.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cLeonard brought uncommon experience, intelligence, and perspective to every campaign and every conversation,\u201d said longtime collaborator and president of Weissman\/Markovitz Communications Rick Markovitz. \u201cHe was a skilled raconteur, and I will miss his passion for storytelling and hearing about the old days of Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6595\">\u2018Bel-Air\u2019 Spinoff \u2018Hilary\u2019 Starring Coco Jones in Development at Peacock<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tMorpurgo\u2019s vast experience and enduring presence made him well-known as an international film publicity professional.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cLeonard was a sweet, kind and generous soul \u2014 and my second boss after I moved to Los Angeles nearly five decades ago,\u201d said publicity executive Pamela Godwin-Austin. \u201cHe shared his knowledge generously and was a great mentor. He knew how to temper the pressures of the job with humor. I am grateful he showed me the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tAlong with his contributions to the film industry, Morpurgo was an accomplished needlepoint artist. In his final months, he took pleasure in seeing his work exhibited in a virtual-reality art gallery.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tMorpurgo is survived by his wife Elena-Beth Kaye, his twin sons Benjamin and Thierry, and his grandchildren, Violet, Oona and Lucien.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6593\">Shannon Wallace, Curtiss Cook, Lauren E. Banks, Liv Symone, Jason Dirden Join Starz Black Rodeo Drama<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leonard Morpurgo, the London-born international film publicist, died of cancer on Aug. 12. He was 93.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5115],"class_list":["post-6599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-leonard-morpurgo"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Veteran Hollywood Publicist Leonard Morpurgo Dies at 93 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6599\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Veteran Hollywood Publicist Leonard Morpurgo Dies at 93 - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leonard Morpurgo, the London-born international film publicist, died of cancer on Aug. 12. 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