Company Town : Analyst Harold Vogel Leaves Merrill Lynch for Cowen & Co.

Harold Vogel, a veteran analyst of the entertainment industry, has left Merrill Lynch & Co. after 17 years to join Cowen & Co. as a managing director and senior analyst of the entertainment, media and gaming industries. Vogel, rated the top entertainment analyst in 1994 by Institutional Investor magazine, is the author of the widely used textbook “Entertainment Industry Economics,” now in its third edition. New York-based Cowen is a privately held firm that has specialized in the technology, health care and communications industries.

* Sony Computer Entertainment of America named Jim Whims senior vice president of sales, William C. Herman vice president of marketing and Charlotte Taylor Skeel director of public relations and promotions.

* Leslie Lipton was named vice president of development for Landsburg Co.

* AMO Management named Willie Oswald president.

* Irving B. Kalick was named executive vice president of affiliate sales and marketing at QVC Electronic Retailing.

* Hearst Entertainment promoted Robert J. Corona to senior vice president of domestic sales.

* Trimark Entertainment appointed Cami Winikoff to vice president of production.

* Vanity Fair executive design director Charles Churchward will move to Vogue, where he will serve as design director.

* In an expansion of its West Coast business affairs department, Turner Pictures Worldwide and Turner Network Television announced several executive appointments. Neal Baseman has been named senior vice president of business affairs at Turner Pictures, Susan Oman Gross has been promoted to senior vice president of business affairs at Turner Network Television. Turner Pictures appointed Ronni Coulter vice president of business affairs and Beth Hoffman director of business affairs administration.

* TriStar Television has signed writer-producer Jeff Valdez to a one-year, first-look deal to develop various Latino-based sitcom, animation and dramatic projects.

* Dusty Schmidt was named director of creative services for Home & Garden Television.

* Jones Lightwave Ltd. has promoted Neil Shaw to vice president of business development.

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Inside Hollywood

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