Mickey Cottrell, publicist, actor and producer, dies at 79

Mickey Cottrell, the trusted Hollywood publicist who fought for independent films for decades while also dabbling in acting and producing, has died. He was 79 years old.

Cottrell died on New Year’s Day at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, said his friend Ian Birnie, former LACMA film curator. The Hollywood Reporter. She suffered a major stroke in 2016.

Cottrell did PR for three films directed by Gus Van Sant: pharmacy jean (1989), My own private Idaho (1991), where he also played clean freak Daddy Carroll in the film, and Even cowgirls get depressed (1993).

He also represented Baghdad Coffee (1987), Earth girls are easy (1987), by Phillip Noyce dead calm (1989), Tarnation (2003), Russian Ballets (2005), The price of sugar (2007), Fur (2008), Bill Cunningham New York (2010), Salt (2010) and Hunter Confidential File (2015), among many other films.

The films and filmmakers he represented were honored with eight Sundance Jury Awards and three Oscars, he once noted.

As an actor, the Arkansas native played aliens in episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1992 and Journey to the stars: Voyager in 1997 and appeared in films such as Pain (1993) – with his character imitating Lionel Barrymore – Ed Wood (1994), Speechless (1994), Apt Pupil (1997), Volcano (1997), jolene (2008) and Yeah (2012).

His production credits included chain of desire (1992), starring Linda Fiorentino, and Duration (1993), directed by Paul Bartel.

Born September 4, 1944 in Little Rock, Arkansas, Richard Edward Cottrell attended Catholic High in Little Rock and the University of Arkansas. He worked at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis before coming west and directing the Loyola Theatre, an art deco masterpiece in Westchester that closed in 1982.

Cottrell started in advertising in Los Angeles at Landmark Theatres, working there from 1982 to 1984, then spent three years with Josh Baran & Associates before launching Cottrell and Lindeman Associates with Doug Lindemann in 1989. He went out on his own in 2002 with Mickey Cottrell. He film advertising and then Inclusive Public Relations in 2004.

After his stroke, Cottrell returned to Arkansas for about three years before moving to the Motion Picture house about four years ago, Birnie said.

He is survived by his sisters, Suzy and Gigi.