David Weitzner, a Hollywood marketing executive who steered or helped oversee major campaigns for such films as Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Fast Times At Ridgemont High and many others, died at his home in Calabasas, California, on September 1 following a short illness. He was 86.
His death was announced today by the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, where Weitzner was the former Mark Burnett Endowed Chair of the school’s Summer Program. A spokesperson indicated he was surrounded by family at the time of his passing.
Raised in New York City, Weitzner began his entertainment career at Grey Advertising there, rising to VP and General Manager of the Entertainment Division and overseeing the Warner Brothers and ABC Pictures accounts.
During his tenure at the ad agency, Weitzner was hired away to head worldwide marketing at ABC and Edgar Scherick’s Palomar Pictures International, where in the late 1960s and early ’70s he steered the campaigns of films including They Shoot Horses, Don’t They, Sleuth, The Heartbreak Kid and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.
In 1976, he moved to Los Angeles and became VP of Worldwide Marketing at 20th Century Fox, where he helped oversee the campaigns of blockbusters including Star Wars and Alien, as well as the acclaimed Breaking Away.
Three years after joining 20th Century Fox he moved over to Universal Pictures as President of Worldwide Marketing, overseeing campaigns for E.T., Fast Times At Ridgemont High, The Blues Brothers and Coal Miner’s Daughter. Later heading marketing for Embassy Pictures, Weitzner supervised campaigns for This Is Spinal Tap and Eddie and the Cruisers, and launched the U.S. release of Ingmar Bergman’s Golden Globe winner Fanny and Alexander.
When Embassy was put up for sale, Weitzner briefly returned to head marketing at Fox, where he supervised Romancing The Stone and Cocoon.
Weitzner next was tapped as head of Worldwide Marketing in founding Jerry Weintraub’s public company Weintraub Entertainment Group, where they acquired Luc Besson’s The Big Blue. He returned to Universal as President of Worldwide Marketing for the MCA/Universal Studios Recreation Services Group, a post he held until 1998. There, he oversaw all marketing for the theme parks in Hollywood and Orlando, the Universal CityWalk, and the Universal Studios Cinemas, then the largest grossing motion picture complex in the U.S.
After Universal, he spent decades teaching the Business of Entertainment at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts as an Adjunct Professor. He went on to become a longtime Director of the school’s Summer Program, and in 2016 was named Chairholder of the Mark Burnett Endowed Chair for the Summer Production Program.
At the same time as his teaching career, he consulted on marketing and strategy for numerous corporate and entertainment clients, including Honda Motors, PepsiCo, Phillips Electronics North America, the American Film Institute, and the Children’s Television Workshop.
Among his philanthropic activities, he advocated on behalf of the Landmark School for the Learning Disabled and was recognized for it by the City of Los Angeles and its mayor Richard Riordan. Weitzner was recognized by President Bill Clinton for his efforts on behalf of the Red Cross, and he was a longtime member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and served as Chairman of the MPAA’s Advertising/Publicity Committee from 1979 to 1981.
Weitzner is survived by his wife Joan, his children Jonathan Rosenthal, Dana Weitzner-Bergman, Jason Weitzner and grandchildren Sam, Tyler, and Chloe.
