13 Facts About Harry Brand

Harry Brand moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1900, and in 1902 broke his leg.

Harry Brand went to Los Angeles High School, where he edited the school paper and served as the treasurer for the debate team.

Harry Brand began his career as a sports writer and editor at the Los Angeles Express.

Harry Brand worked on several films with producer Joseph M Schenck, and in 1935, when Schenk founded 20th Century Pictures with Darryl F Zanuck, he hired Brand as the studio's publicity head.

Harry Brand played an essential role in the career of the famously abrasive Zanuck; he advised him on "all problems related to his personal contact" with the public and often played 'good cop' to Zanuck's 'bad cop' to resolve disputes with 20th Century Fox stars.

Harry Brand has been described as a "master of the game" of publicity stunts.

Harry Brand had Fox insure actress Betty Grable's legs for $1,000,000.

In 1949, when it became known that Marilyn Monroe had done a nude shoot for a calendar, Harry Brand said that she would "look good in a potato sack" and provided photos of her posing suggestively in one.

Harry Brand was the first to know about Marilyn Monroe's 1954 wedding to Joe DiMaggio.

Harry Brand formally retired as the head of publicity for Fox in 1962.

Harry Brand was a successful activist for the rights of women in American jails; the Sybil Brand Institute was named after her.

Harry Brand's stepson, George, was a composer who worked on films including The Godfather Part II and Dune.

Harry Brand was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 1959, and died of a heart attack following a bout of pneumonia in 1989.