|
EDWARD T.
CALLAGHAN,
ILLUSTRIOUS
ARTS
AND
ENTERTAINMENT
PUBLICIST,
DIES AT 66 |
|
Noted arts
and
entertainment
publicist,
Edward T.
Callaghan,
of Manhattan
and
Southampton,
died at home
of
complications
from cancer
on April 25th,
it was
confirmed
today by his
brother,
John
Callaghan.
He was 66
years old.
|
Ed
Callaghan,
as he was
generally
known to
press,
clients and
colleagues,
had been a
virtual
fixture on
the New York
arts and
entertainment
scene – with
a heavy
emphasis on
music and
theatre –
since the
late-1970s.
He began as
publicity
and
marketing
director of
the
now-defunct
Entermedia
Theater and
continued to
the present:
first with
his company
Burnham-Callaghan
Associates
throughout
the 1980s,
in
partnership
with
Jacqueline
Burnham-Kurta;
then several
solo
enterprises;
and, for the
past 15
years, with
his life and
business
partner,
John
Wegorzewski,
in Alchimia
Public
Relations &
Marketing.
It was
primarily
through this
final entity
that
Callaghan
also
ventured
into the
areas of
hospitality,
fashion,
fine art,
and high-end
luxury
items. |
Throughout
his career,
Callaghan
personified
the ultimate
in show biz
style and
substance.
His
reputation
for
providing
excellent,
detailed
materials to
press and
media, and,
savvy
positioning
and
direction to
clients, was
legendary.
He
represented
hundreds of
celebrities
over the
years,
including
Patti
LaBelle,
Rosie
O’Donnell,
and Loretta
Devine. But
he was best
known for
his impact
on the New
York club
scene in the
disco-driven
80s,
representing
The
Limelight,
The China
Club, The
Tunnel, and
The Red
Parrot, as
well as the
comedy club
Catch a
Rising Star. |
In addition,
Callaghan’s
expertise
launched the
Kaufman-Astoria
Studios (one
of the first
to
reinvigorate
film and TV
production
in New York);
created
special
event
opportunities
for Harry
Winston
Jewelers –
particularly
the
company’s
“dressing”
of Academy
Award
contenders
and
presenters
for several
years;
and brought
(and kept)
hundreds of
Broadway,
Off-Broadway,
Regional,
National and
Touring
theatrical
productions
on the
boards. He
most
recently
worked with
numerous
renowned
fine
artists, art
galleries
and art
festivals. |
Edward
Terrance
Callaghan
was born and
raised in
the Bronx,
New York
(November
30, 1948),
later moved
to New
Jersey, then
returned to
Manhattan.
He attended
All Hallows
in the Bronx
for 12 years
and
completed
his formal
education
with a BA in
Liberal Arts
from Iona
College in
New
Rochelle,
NY. His
first career
was in
education.
For several
years in the
early 1970s,
he taught at
Our Lady of
Victory, a
K-8 Catholic
elementary
school in
the South
Bronx,
serving as a
teacher-of-all-subjects
to 7th
and 8th
graders. He
later was
the
co-founder
of The CORE
Community
School (with
the
inimitable
civil rights
head of the
Congress of
Racial
Equality,
Roy Innis).
The
teacher-turned-promoter
often said
that
teaching
taught him
how to
communicate
with
“uninterested
audiences”
and motivate
them to
investigate,
then
embrace,
information
and ideas
they hadn’t
previously
considered.
While this
lesson
helpfully
informed his
later P.R.
work,
Callaghan’s
impact on
his students
was profound
and lasting.
Just last
summer, a
group of his
“kids” (now
most in
their 50s)
organized a
barbecue
party in
honor of
their
mentor. |
Edward T.
Callaghan
was
pre-deceased
by his
parents,
John and
Theresa
Callaghan
and a
younger
brother,
Gene. He is
survived by
his brother
and
sister-in-law
John and
MaryAnn
Callaghan,
sister and
brother-in-law
Terry and
John
Lamberski,
sister-in-law
Rose
Callaghan,
many beloved
nieces and
nephews and
great-nieces
and nephews,
as well as
Mr.
Wegorzewski
and
countless
friends and
colleagues
who mourn his
too-early
passing. |
An
open-to-the-public,
closed-casket
wake (9:00
a.m.-10:30
a.m.) and
funeral mass
(10:30 a.m.)
will be held
on Thursday,
April 30 at
Church of
Our Savior
on Park
Avenue at
East 38th
Street. |
|