Laurane Sheehan, Entertainment Publicist, Dies at 61

Veteran Hollywood publicist and event planner Laurane Sheehan has died. She was 61.

Sheehan passed away on Nov. 11 due to a sudden heart attack. “What a joy it is to work with your best friend. We laughed with abandon every single day. I thought that kind of laughter was the ticket to a long life … but the universe had other plans for our beautiful and talented Laurane. She’s with her parents now, her beloved Elvyra and Roy, and most likely will while away eternity playing endless games of Scrabble,” Maggie Begley, president of Maggie Begley Communications, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Sheehan was a senior accounts supervisor at Maggie Begley Communications for 30 years, working with clients like LAIKA Studios, Locksmith Animation, The Gotham Group, The Oneida Indian Nation, Vista Group, Movio, Cinedigm and Benenson Productions.

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“Laurane was truly an exceptional person with a hugely positive influence on others. … I count myself very lucky to have had the chance to work her,” David Burke, chief marketing officer at LAIKA Studios, added in his own statement.

Sheehan worked on film campaigns for Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link, Coraline, The Invisible War, Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World and Beasts of No Nation, among others. Her event planning included parties aboard mega-yachts during the Cannes Film Festival.

Born on June 7, 1960, in Maryland, Sheehan graduated from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. after being a National Baton Twirling Champion in her youth.

She started her Hollywood career as a stage, TV and commercials actress after arriving in Los Angeles in 1983 via a touring production of Woman of the Year, which starred Lauren Bacall. Sheehan was the first executive director of the Music Video Producers Association and the executive producer of the organization’s first MVPA Awards, established to bring awareness to the emerging music video industry.

Other publicist stints included work with Mahoney/Wasserman and PMK/HBH. Sheehan is survived by her brother Paul Sheehan, her sister Maureen Glovins and sister-in-law Lisa Sheehan.

She was preceded in death by parents Roy and Elvyra Sheehan and her brother Robert Sheehan. A memorial service is planned for Friday, Dec. 3, at St. Mark Catholic Church in Venice, California, starting at 1:30 p.m. PT. That event will also be live-streamed.