Samuel Lurie; Ambassador Auditorium Publicist

Samuel Lurie, 88, publicist for Pasadena’s venerable Ambassador Auditorium for nearly two decades. A native of Manhattan, Lurie grew up steeped in classical music, opera and ballet and developed a strong admiration for the artists. He began his career as a press agent with the Ballet Theatre (now the American Ballet Theatre) and then created his own publicity office. Among his clients were Nora Kaye, Jerome Robbins, Gore Vidal, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Actors Studio Theater and violinist Jascha Heifetz. Lurie joined the Ambassador Auditorium staff as director of press relations and marketing in 1977 and left when the doors closed in 1995. On Thursday in Los Angeles.