Milton Kahn Works PR Magic with Fried Green Tomatoes

The book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe was published in 1987, and remained

on the New York Times bestseller list for 36 weeks. No one was surprised, then, when it was

announced the story would be adapted for the screen, with newcomer Jon Avnet to direct.

 

Starring the amazing Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise

Parker, the tale that celebrated the power of female friendship and love went on to become a hit

at the box office, ranking #11 for all U.S. films released that year.

 

Combining the stories of a harried middle aged housewife (Kathy Bates) and her friendship

with an elderly nursing home patient (Jessica Tandy) with the tale of two local young women in

1920s Alabama, the film combined a plot about romantic love with themes of friendship, loyalty

and the importance of community in everyone’s lives both today and in yesteryear.

 

As the premiere public relations expert in Hollywood, Milton Kahn was hired to promote the film.

His efforts led to Academy Award nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Best

Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, as well as Golden Globe and

BAFTA nominations for Ms Tandy and Ms. Bates. Aside from being enormously entertaining,

the film also was notable for earning its GLAAD Media Award for “Best Lesbian Content”, a

remarkable milestone for a popular mainstream film of that time.

Alston Chase, Milton Kahn Client and Unabomber Expert

In a sea of media reports and rumors about the Unabomber, one book stood above the rest

as the premiere tome about the domestic terrorist: A Mind for Murder: the Education of the

Unabomber and the Origins of Modern Terrorism. Milton Kahn represented noted author Alston

Chase for his successful book PR campaign marketing the title, turning the author into an

internationally recognized pundit on the surprising origins of the psychopath’s violent reign of

terror that gripped the country for almost two decades.

 

As Publisher’s Weekly noted in its review of the popular book, “With its unusual emphasis

and sometimes surprisingly personal tone, this may become the definitive Kaczynksi volume.”

Indeed, its story of the brilliant professor turned killer spun an almost unbelievable tale of

superior intelligence and education, combined with unusual psychological deprivations and

personal setbacks that led ultimately to disaster. Chase provided a blow by blow account of

not just the Unabomber’s planning and carrying out of his terrible crimes, but also a narrative

showing in fine detail the moral disintegration of a damaged soul.

 

While Milton Kahn has represented several successful mystery writers and promoted many

whodunit films over the years, it was this book that perhaps was the most frightening, as it was

real.

Kyle Keiderling, Milton Kahn PR Client, Telling the Story of Hank Gathers

One of Milton’s favorite book PR projects centered around his client Kyle Keiderling, a freelance

sports writer who shares Milton’s passion for basketball. Author of numerous biographies,

Keiderling is perhaps most famous for the title Milton helped promote, one that is also regarded

by many as his best work: Heart of a Lion: the Hank Gathers Story.

 

Raised in one of the roughest public housing projects in America, Gathers was known

throughout his community as a straight ahead kid: focused, intense and super talented. He

ignored the temptations of drugs and crime that so many of his neighborhood’s peers fell

into, instead pursuing basketball, the dream he sensed would one day lead him away from

his humble beginnings and towards a larger purpose and meaning. He was right. Beloved by

his teammates, he played originally for University of Southern California, and then for Loyola

Marymount, becoming only the second player ever to lead the country in scoring as well as

rebounding in just one season.

 

Like a Shakespearean tragedy, however, Hank’s life ultimately was touched by sorrow. Felled

by pain at a game against University of California Santa Barbara, he was diagnosed with an

abnormal heartbeat. Unhappy with the side effects of his treatment medication, he reduced his

dosage, and avoided scheduled medical evaluations of the problem. Some on the sidelines who

knew about his problems thought he might not be taking his medicine at all on game days.

 

Speculation turned to fact on Sunday, March 4th, 1990, when Hank collapsed in the first half of

a WCC tournament game against Portland. He struggled as they treated him, shouting, “I don’t

want to lay down!” Fate had other plans, and he was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital

shortly afterwards, a legend at 23. The book was a huge success, while the story was indeed a

sad one. Milton remembers Gather as a true sports hero.

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Elgin Baylor as “Captain 22!”

While Hollywood PR legend Milton Kahn is obviously well known for his promotional skills

throughout the years, relatively few are aware of his work with basketball forward and 11 time

NBA All-Star Elgin Baylor. Partnering with Baylor and screenwriter Clyde Ware, Milton came

up with the idea for an animated cartoon television series that centered around Elgin as a

superhero. The series was particularly notable for its pitch that put Elgin Baylor squarely in the

lead as network television’s first African American star, as well as the first professional athlete

tobe cast as the hero of his own action series.

 

While the show never launched, it was seen as a novel and groundbreaking effort for 1967, one

that helped set the stage for more racial equality on network television and an important role

for sports figures throughout the entertainment world. As a lifelong basketball fan known for

thinking outside the box, Milton came up with the concept watching Elgin dominate on the court

for the Los Angeles Lakers. A man with a great deal of personal charm and charisma, Kahn felt

Baylor was a natural fit for any family television audience. Alas, the constraints of the time and

place ultimately limited the show’s prospects. Nevertheless, it remains a fascinating concept.

Don’t be surprised if you see a Laker battling the criminal underworld one day on cable television!