End of great run

Public relations pioneer Williams calls it quits

Before she became a public relations powerhouse with an all-star client roster, Terrie Williams was a social worker with a dream of being an entrepreneur.

All she needed was a push, which she got from jazz giant Miles Davis, whom she met at the Manhattan hospital where she worked.

Davis encouraged Williams to open her own business, and when The Terrie Williams Agency came to life 30 years ago, Davis became one of her first PR clients.

"I'm so proud of what we have done,” Williams said in a statement Wednesday. "There are countless individuals who have inspired me, guided me, and helped me throughout my career. I owe so much to so many people.”

Williams, 64, was in a reflective mood because her reign at the top of the entertainment publicity mountain is coming to an end — she is closing the agency this month to focus on “personal wellness, family and travel.”

The firm has represented some of the biggest names in entertainment, sports and business. Davis and comedian Eddie Murphy were the first in 1988, followed by a list that included Prince, Janet Jackson, Russell Simmons, Sean (P Diddy) Combs, Johnnie L. Cochran, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Jackie JoynerKersee and Sally Jessy Raphael.

Business clients included Time Warner, HBO, AT&T, NBA and Essence Communications Partners.

But with success came setbacks, and Williams found herself dealing with depression. Instead of hiding it, what she says is common practice in the black community, Williams did what she does best — she publicized it.

“I knew that I wasn't the only one in trouble,” Williams said after publishing her fourth book, “Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting.”

“I realized that if I this happened to me, a clinical social worker who didn't recognize the symptoms, there had to be millions of others who were also dying inside.”

Williams' honesty about her depression led to a national mental-health advocacy campaign called "Sharing Ourselves...Healing Starts With Us," which garnered $2.5 million in donated national advertising space.

"I have been blessed," Williams said. "I always wanted to save the world. I couldn't do that, of course. But I hope I have my done my part.”