Michael Mindlin, 80; Show Business Executive Worked in Theater, Film

Michael Mindlin, advertising, publicity and production executive for theater, ballet and motion pictures, died Sunday in New York City of lung cancer. He was 80.

A New York native educated at Duke University, Mindlin served as an Army Air Forces navigator in World War II and then began his show business career as an office boy at Warner Bros. in New York City. Rising through advertising and publicity, he worked on such films as “Summertime” (1955) starring Katharine Hepburn and “Trapeze” (1956) starring Burt Lancaster.

As a publicist for the independent production company Filmways Inc. in the 1960s, Mindlin co-produced and directed the feature-length documentary “A Journey to Jerusalem” which included Leonard Bernstein and Isaac Stern. His production career also included working with David Merrick on six Broadway shows, among them “Gypsy.”

Mindlin, working with entertainer Tony Randall, co-wrote the well-received 1989 book “Which Reminds Me,” a collection of anecdotes about show business. Subsequently, Mindlin organized his own memories into a monologue, performed off-Broadway in New York and in Los Angeles, “Memories of an Unknown Celebrity.” He had recently turned that material into a book.