Theater publicist Miller Wright, who spent the first part of his PR career with the venerable Shirley Herz firm and then opened his own office, died July 18 of what appears to be a tragic accident – falling out of his 23rd-floor apartment window. In his bi-weekly theater column, Michael Riedel reports that although some speculate suicide, police found Windex and cleaning supplies, as well as half-cleaned and open windows, in Wright’s apartment, so it appears more likely that he slipped while trying to clean his windows. Results of a completed autopsy are pending.
Wright began his career in 1986 and by 1989 was helping rep a Broadway revival of “Gypsy”. Two years later, though still with the Herz firm, he was the main press agent for “Fiddler on the Roof”, followed by such shows as “Dancing at Lughnasa” and “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me”. The Internet Broadway Database lists his last Broadway credit as “George Gershwin Alone”, though with his own office, Wright was most involved in publicizing (Michael) Feinstein’s at the Regency cabaret club, which closed its doors in January. Although that was a blow, Wright’s personal clients also included the likes of Ann Hampton Callaway, Maude Maggart, and Andrea Marcovicci.
Playbill reports that Wright, born June 26, 1954 in Florida, is survived by his sisters Joni Wright Demera and Linda Croner and his half-sister Heidi Barringer.
On a personal note, when I first became a theater critic in the late 1980s, few established press agencies would take me seriously, and one office was downright hostile. By contrast, Shirley Herz, and her two staffers, Miller Wright and Sam Rudy, both treated me with friendliness and respect, granting me press tickets to shows I was reviewing, and photos and press releases I needed to research my work. Although our paths crossed less and less often in the last few years, Miller was always a cheery and good-hearted colleague, and it really is a shock to lose him this way. There’s a consolation, though, in that he spent his adult life in theater and cabaret and living the true Manhattan life – here’s hoping his next life is somehow even better than that.
