Harry Reichenbach (1882 – 1931) was an American
press agent
In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization. It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) via the media. The subj ...
and
publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...
who staged sensational
publicity stunt
In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utiliz ...
s to promote films. He was one of the founding members of the
Associated Motion Picture Advertisers
The Associated Motion Picture Advertisers (also known as the Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) was an organization founded in New York City in 1916 in film, 1916.
The founding members of the association were: Arthur James, Metro Pictures; ...
.
Biography
Born in
Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland. It is located at the head of the Georges Creek Valley, west of Cumberland. The town is one of the first cities on the "National Road", US 40, and the western terminus of the Western Marylan ...
, in 1882, Reichenbach worked both for actors as an agent and for the film studios as a promoter. Among his first jobs was to promote a woman called "Sober Sue" who was said never to smile. He got her a contract at the
Victoria Theater on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
and suggested they offer $1,000 to any New York comedian who could make her laugh.
Between 1914-1916 he served as publicity director for various motion picture companies: Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co.,
Alco Film Corp., Bosworth Inc.,
Metro Pictures
Metro Pictures Corporation was a Film, motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at le ...
, Equitable Motion Picture Corp.,
World Film Co., and Frohman Amusement Corp.

Reichenbach claims to have popularized lithographs of the 1913 nude painting ''
September Morn
''Matinée de Septembre'' (English: ''September Morn'') is an oil painting on canvas completed in 1911 by the French artist Paul Émile Chabas. Painted over several summers, it depicts a nude girl or young woman standing in the shallow water of ...
'' while working at an art shop in New York, by having accomplices complain to the
New York Society for the Suppression of Vice
The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV or SSV) was an organization dedicated to supervising the morality of the public, founded in 1873. Its specific mission was to monitor compliance with state laws and work with the courts and d ...
about the shop window display that he himself had arranged, and by staging a crowd outside the shop. Reichenbach's story has been questioned, as the painting became notorious in Chicago before New York, and records only show a New York art shop complaining of lost business as a result.
For the 1915 film ''Trilby'', which included nude scenes and
hypnotism
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...
, Reichenbach hired a young woman to run several times around the block and take a seat besides him just before the movie ended. She looked agitated and exhausted and Reichenbach hinted that the hypnosis scenes in the movie might have something to do with it. He also arranged that various psychologists would speculate on possible effects of hypnosis through cinema.
In December 1916 Reichenbach founded his own public relations company.
To promote the sequel ''the Return of Tarzan'', Reichenbach hired an actor who checked into the Hotel Bellclaire under the name "Thomas R. Zann". Zann had a huge crate that was hoisted to his room through a window,
and upon arrival he ordered fifteen pounds of raw beef to be sent to his room. When the cook and the
hotel detective
A hotel detective is a person in plain clothes hired to monitor the security of a hotel and investigate various security, morality, or rule violations therein. They are distinct from uniformed security guards employed by a hotel.
Hotel detectiv ...
arrived, they found that the meat was for the guest's pet lion. Hotel called for police and the "Mr Zann" explained to them and the press that the lion would be appearing at the opening of the new Tarzan film.
In other publicity stunts, Reichenbach would stage fake kidnappings of actresses set to appear in his films. One attempt involved crossing the border into Mexico, which resulted in United States president
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
writing an angry letter to Reichenbach asking him to stop.
One of the actors Reichenbach worked for was
Rudolf Valentino
Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...
. Reichenbach convinced him to grow a
goatee beard
A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on the chin entirely. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.
Description
Until the late 20th century, the term ''goatee'' was used to refer solely to a beard ...
upon his return to the United States in 1924, with the intention of causing a negative public reaction which could be made good by shaving it off. Reichenbach then spoke at the Associated Master Barbers convention, calling for a boycott of Valentino films until he removed his beard. The story ran for months in American newspapers.
In 1928, Reichenbach was managing the Colony Theater in New York City and took
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
's animated film ''
Steamboat Willie
''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black-and-white by Walt Disney Animation Studios and was released by Pat Powers (producer), Pat Powers, under the name of Cele ...
'' for a two-week run.
When Reichenbach was working for actor
Francis X. Bushman, he took him to see studio executives. He began to walk with Bushman from the railway station and dropped pennies to the street from his pocket. Many people followed them, picking up the coins. The crowd gave the studio executives an impression that Bushman was very popular and they signed him up for a big contract with
Metro Pictures
Metro Pictures Corporation was a Film, motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at le ...
.
For ''
The Virgin of Stamboul
''The Virgin of Stamboul'' is a 1920 American silent adventure drama film directed by Tod Browning and starring husband and wife team Priscilla Dean and Wheeler Oakman and featuring Wallace Beery in a supporting role.
Plot
Based upon a revie ...
'', he hired actors to pose as a clandestine Turkish rescue party that was hunting for a royal bride who had eloped with an American soldier.
Reichenbach leaked the details to the press. His 1931 book, ''Phantom Fame'', written with
David Freedman
David Freedman (April 26, 1898 – December 8, 1936) was a Romanian-born American playwright and biographer who became known as the "King of the Gag-writers" in the early days of radio.
Biography
David Freedman was born in Botoșani, Romania ...
, was the basis of the 1932 film ''
The Half-Naked Truth
''The Half Naked Truth'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film starring Lee Tracy and Lupe Vélez, with Frank Morgan and Eugene Pallette in support. Directed by Gregory La Cava, it was released on December 16, 1932 by RKO Radio Pictures. Th ...
''.
Harry Reichenbach died July 4, 1931.
References
* Harry Reichenbach (1931), ''Phantom Fame'',
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
.
*
* Evan V. Symon (June 26, 2011) http://www.cracked.com/article_19275_the-6-most-wildly-irresponsible-publicity-stunts-in-history_p2.html Cracked.com
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichenbach, Harry
1882 births
1931 deaths
American public relations people
Public relations pioneers
Lists of practical jokes