The publicist who helped create the phenomenon

In 1975, Charles Lippincott was hired to drum up publicity for a science fiction movie that was about to start filming in the Tunisian desert. The film was a strange mix of Arthurian legend, religious mysticism, and 1930s space serials, and many Hollywood insiders were sure it would flop. But with an innovative approach to movie marketing, Lippincott built an unprecedented level of audience excitement. He teamed up with Marvel to create a tie-in series of comics that came out before the movie debuted, struck a deal with Kenner to sell action figures, and had the upcoming flick’s star—a little-known actor named Mark Hamill—attend San Diego Comic-Con, at the time a niche convention. His strategy worked. When the original Star Wars opened on Memorial Day weekend in 1977, it was a box-office smash that had fans lining up for repeat viewings. “In our wildest dreams,” said Lippincott, “we could not have predicted how massive a hit we had on our hands.”

Charles Lippincott

Born in Adams, Mass., Lippincott attended law school “before deciding on a new career path and entering film school at the University of Southern California,” said The New York Times. After graduating, he landed a publicist job at Metro-GoldwynMayer, and promoted movies including Westworld (1973) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Family Plot (1976) before venturing into the Star Wars universe.

“Lippincott later publicized science fiction films such as Alien (1979) and Flash Gordon (1980),” said The Washington Post. His fanbased approach to marketing is now de rigueur in Hollywood, but Lippincott remained humble about his place in cinematic history. “I’m just a dweeb,” he said, “who happened to work on a movie you like.”