Esme Warde Chandlee

Esme Warde Chandlee, 94, born on March 31, 1918 passed away November 23, 2012. She resided in Los Angeles, California at the time of her passing. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, CA. A former MGM publicist, during Hollywood's "Golden Age", she was a past president of The Hollywood Women's Press Club and The Publicist's Guild, receiving awards from both, including The Publicist's Guilds highest honor, The Les Mason Award, twice.

She joined MGM in 1942 where she represented 50 of the biggest "Stars in the Heavens", among them Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Grace Kelly, to name some. (*Complete list at the end).

In l961n she opened Esme Chandlee Public Relations and her first clients were John Casavetes and Gena Rowlands. Rowlands explains, "She was absolutely the queen of them all! I was with Esme since she left MGM. She was the ultimate in class". In l968 she discovered and represented Sam Elliott and Tom Selleck. Elliott remembers, "When I was a contract player at 20th Century Fox, getting a publicist was one of the things that crossed my mind so Esme took me on. That her clients stayed with her speaks well of Esme". Selleck recalls, "It's one my longest standing continuous relationships in the business. She came to me and said she'd like to help me. I told her I had no money and she said that wasn't an issue right then. To learn what a publicist was from someone of Esme's integrity and professionalism was a blessing".

Esme was married to Ellis Hurst Chandlee until his death in 1989 and is survived by her niece Lee Turner and her niece and nephew Susan and Philip Nix, their children Matt and Esme (2) Nix, Matt's wife Melinda and their 3 children Charlie, Esme (3) and Mateo Nix.

*MGM stars: Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Ann Sothern, Robert Walker, Clark Gable, Melvyn Douglas, Pier Angeli, Leslie Caron, Debbie Reynolds, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, June Allyson, Ricardo Montalban, Janet Leigh, Stewart Granger, Elizabeth Taylor, Dolores Gray, Anne Francis, Glenn Ford, Leslie Nielson, Jane
Powell, Howard Keel, Donald O'Conner, Cyd Charisse, Robert Young, Angela Lansbury, Ann Miller, Margaret O'Brien, Kathyrn Grayson, Gena Rowlands, John Casavetes, Lucille Ball, Hedy Lamarr, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Greer Garson, Red Skelton, Harry James, Mickey Rooney, William Powell, Walter Pigeon, Robert Taylor, Gene Kelly, George Murphy, Van Johnson, Marjorie Main, Esther Williams and Lana Turner.