Arlene Winnick, Veteran Publicist for Digney & Co., Dies at 77

Arlene Winnick, a veteran publicist in Hollywood for over 30 years and an integral part of Solters & Digney and its successor Digney & Co. Public Relations, died in Beverly Hills on Oct. 1 from an extended illness.

A native of Great Neck, N.Y., Winnick helped pioneer marketing and publicity campaigns for one of the first big genres in the emerging home video industry, which featured exercise tapes starring Richard Simmons, Jane Fonda and one of Winnick’s most successful fitness best sellers, headlined by Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Over a long period, Winnick also worked as a PR consultant with numerous independent PR firms and and with Digney on many of its show biz accounts, including Universal Studios Hollywood, Madame Tussauds Hollywood and Las Vegas, Warner Bros. Studio Tour, the Carousel of Hope gala, TCL Chinese Theatres Hollywood and Ripley’s Believe It or Not.  

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Some of her final collaborations include handprint-footprint ceremonies at the TCL Chinese Theatre for James Cameron and Jon Landau, Japanese superstar Yoshiki, Keanu Reeves and the cast of “Avengers.”

Winnick was also active for many years working with food and hospitality clients. Over the course of her career, she worked with Raffles L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, BeautifulPlaces, Le Meridien Beverly Hills (now the SLS hotel), RanchWeb, Paradisio de la Bonita, Ceiba del Mar and Pacifica Holistic Resort and Spa (Mexico), Wyndham Bel Age (now The London West Hollywood), Madison and Mulholland (luxury events and celebrity gifting), Lake Arrowhead Resort + Spa, Johnnie Walker and Westlake Village Inn.

Winnick was a senior writer at L.A. Arts Online since 2012, reporting on and reviewing over 50 events and shows on their behalf. Winnick also served as a volunteer at Project Angel Food.

She is predeceased by her partner of 20 years, Richard Schulenberg, and survived by her sons, Jon and Andrew Gladston, brother Larry Beer, daughter-in-law Leslie and stepdaughters, Katie and Amy with her husband Chris, as well as her grandchildren, Jacob, Talia, Harper, Lucy, Elenor, Kalan and Pono.