Irving Mansfield
| Irving Mansfield | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Irving Mandelbaum July 23, 1908 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died |
August 25, 1988 (aged 80) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Producer, publicist, writer |
| Years active | 1946-1983 |
| Spouse(s) |
Jacqueline Susann (m. 1939; d. 1974) Beverly Robinson (m. 1983) |
| Children | Guy Mansfield (born December 6, 1946) |
Irving Mansfield (July 23, 1908 – August 25, 1988)[1] was an American producer, publicist and writer. Mansfield was best known as being the publicist for his late wife, author Jacqueline Susann.[2]
Early life and career
Irving Mansfield was born Irving Mandelbaum on July 23, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York to parents Jacob and Annie Mandelbaum. His mother was born in Poland. Mansfield graduated from New York University in the early 1930s.
After working in public relations for several years, Mansfield became a producer with CBS in 1946 and developed Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, This Is Show Business and The Jane Froman Show, among other programs. In 1965, Mansfield became a publicist for his wife, author Jacqueline Susann. In doing so, Mansfield provided publicity for several of his wife's novels and also produced movie versions of his wife's novels Valley of the Dolls, Once Is Not Enough and The Love Machine, as well as a 1981 television mini-series version of Valley of the Dolls.[3]
Personal life
In the late 1930s when Mansfield was working as a press agent, Mansfield met an up-and-coming writer, Jacqueline Susann. Susann was living in Philadelphia at the time and became impressed with Mansfield after he placed several items and photos of her in theater and society sections of New York newspapers. Although not sexually attracted to him, she married him on April 2, 1939, at Har Zion Temple in Philadelphia.[4][5] Susann was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer on January 18, 1973. She died of that disease on September 21, 1974, after spending seven weeks in a coma. She was 56.
Mansfield remarried in 1983 to Beverly Robinson. They remained married until his death in 1988.
Mansfield and Susann had one son together. Guy Mansfield was born on December 6, 1946, in New York City, New York. Guy was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old. In an interview with People magazine in 1983, Mansfield described his son and how he found out his son was autistic:
| “ | He was the most delicious child in the world. Then one day when he was 3½ he came out of the park screaming and only said one line the rest of his life. One day Jackie had muttered, "Guy, when are you going to talk?" and was stunned when he blurted, "When I'm ready." He never spoke again.[6] | ” |
Their son has been institutionalized in New York for much of his life and has not said much since then.
Death
Mansfield died on August 25, 1988, in his home in Manhattan, New York at the age of 80 due to a massive heart attack. He was survived by his second wife Beverly and his son Guy. A funeral service for Mansfield was held on August 28 at the Riverside Chapel located at the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 76th Street in Manhattan.[7]
References
- ↑ http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0543789/?ref_=m_nmfm_nm
- ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34619760
- ↑ Rothstein, Mervyn (August 26, 1988). "Irving Mansfield, 80, a Publicist, Author and Television Producer". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20070614104510/http://home.earthlink.net/~nuttbait/jacqueline_susann.htm
- ↑ ""Lovely Me" -- The Life of Jacqueline Susann". www.ray-field.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
- ↑ Kahn, Toby (March 14, 1983). "Widower Irving Mansfield Reveals the Family Secrets of Wife Jacqueline Susann". People. Time Inc. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
- ↑ Folkart, Burt (August 27, 1988). "Jacqueline Susann's Husband : Publicity Agent Irving Mansfield, 80". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 9, 2015.