Edwin J. Schwartz

Ed Schwartz was born on January 1, 1934, in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of an award-winning newspaper reporter, Philip Schwartz and Julia Jacobs. Ed died on December 23, 2021, leaving behind devoted family, friends, and colleagues. He was a gifted storyteller, a lover of the arts, a passionate collector, and had a deep capacity for love. He was known for his sense of humor, which was evident in his art and writing; his emails ranging in scope from poetry to pictures of his cactus flowers to his latest artistic creations; his lively wine tastings; his love of a good meal; and his collection of brightly-colored polo shirts and sweaters. His fans describe him as creative, witty, dapper, interesting, and generous. He adored his family and loved all of the beauty and pleasures life had to offer.

Ed graduated from Rutgers University in 1955 where he was a president of the English honor society, a Henry Rutgers Scholar with Shakespeare as a topic, a member of Phi Epsilon Pi. He produced plays for the English department and played varsity tennis. After graduation, he served in the United States Army, eventually rising to Major in the US Army Reserve. Ed was a long-time member of the Bohemian Club, where he started as a set designer, and was recently inducted into the Old Guard.

In 1960, he married Elisa “Bambi” Escamilla, from a pioneer California family. They first lived in New York City and moved to San Francisco

in 1962. Ed worked as the public relations director for the San Francisco Symphony for many years. He and Bambi accompanied the orchestra on their 1968 tour of Japan. He also represented Rogers and Cowan in the Bay Area. Ed then managed the West Coast office of the Rowland Company, a major public relations firm headquartered in New York City. He opened his own PR firm in 1974 and worked there until his retirement 35 years later, representing top wineries in California and France and some of the top entertainment personalities of his day.

One of his major clients was the San Francisco Performing Arts Center project, the non-profit entity that built Davies Symphony Hall and the Opera House extension. Some of the performers he worked with were Danny Kaye, The Supremes, conductor Seiji Ozawa, violinist Isaac Stern, and jazz pianist George Shearing. While working for the Jerold Panas fundraising firm, Ed visited Mexico often raising money for the ABC Hospital in Mexico City and Nuestros Hermanos Pequeños in Cuernavaca.

Ed was active in the arts. He was president of the University Art Museum in Berkeley, president of the San Francisco Ceramic Circle, on the board of the Mexican Museum, on the board of the Smuin Ballet, and was a consultant to several arts organizations. He loved painting and won several art director awards. For many years, he produced “Music at the Vineyards’’ at the Paul Masson winery in Saratoga. He had a long career writing about diverse subjects with over 500 articles published in national and regional media. He worked as a food and wine columnist for many publications, including The Nob Hill Gazette and The New Fillmore. Ed and Bambi were passionate collectors of 18th century Worcester porcelain, Mexican folk art, and Chinese decorative arts. Their collecting led them to travel to Mexico and England often. During the last years of his life, Ed spent countless hours researching and purchasing antique teapots.

In 1989, Bambi and Ed bought a house in Inverness, spending many weekends there, moving there full-time in 2002. Ed opened an office in Pt. Reyes Station, became associated with West Marin Players that put on musicals at the Dance Palace, sat on the board of Gallery Route One, was active in the Inverness Yacht Club youth sailing program, and wrote pieces for The Point Reyes Light. In 2007, Ed and Bambi bought a home in Sayulita, Mexico, where they made many close friends and hosted an annual art show, Toilarte, in their powder room. Ed loved his years in Sayulita, indulging in wonderful meals with friends and family, fostering his love of Mexican folk art, rediscovering his bridge game, and creating art daily. He was generous with his art, donating pieces for local fundraisers, working with the director of the Sayulita Players, and sponsoring a student from Entre Amigos who had an interest in art. He also loved the beach, tooling around in his golf cart, and floating in his heated pool.

Ed leaves behind his beloved wife and daughters, Adriana Gores and Mariana Schwartz, and Victoria Schwartz, who pre-deceased him, as well as six grandchildren, Elisa Gores, Buchanan Gores, Genna Gores, Ana Clare Smith, Eva Smith, and Stella Smith. No matter how young, Ed took all his children and grandchildren to museums, the symphony, ballet, and more, passing his talents and love of art to his family, which brought him great joy even in his last weeks. With all these interests, he held his loving family above all.