Steven Flynn, Former Gramercy Pictures and Focus Features Marketing Executive, Dies at 70
Steven Flynn, a marketing executive who worked for Gramercy Pictures and Focus Features, among many other companies, died May 23 at Providence Saint John's Health Center after a four-year battle with renal cancer, his family announced. He was 70.
Flynn was instrumental in the marketing of such notable films as Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), The Usual Suspects (1995), Dead Man Walking (1995), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), Being John Malkovich (1999), Traffic (2000), Gosford Park (2001), The Revenant (2015), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
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In September 1993, Gramercy president Russell Schwartz hired Flynn as senior vp marketing at the recently launched label, a joint venture of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures.
He stayed on as Gramercy merged with October Films in 1999 to become USA Films and USA combined with Good Machine in 2001 to create Focus Features, where he rose to executive vp marketing through 2007.
He then served as a marketing consultant for Vivendi Entertainment, National Geographic, 42 West, 20th Century Fox, Focus and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
'Steven was my first hire at Gramercy Pictures and quickly showed himself to be the most optimistic and problem-solving marketing executive I ever met,' Schwartz said in a statement. 'Under his supervision, he handled everything marketing-related and even organized the entire front and back office during Gramercy's early days.
'Gramercy was the closest company to Camelot that many of us had ever worked at, and Steven's presence was a big part of it. It's no wonder his email address is mrmovies@msn.com.'
Raised in Fenton, Michigan, Steven Francis Flynn graduated from Fenton High School in 1972 and attended the University of Michigan, where he studied electrical engineering. On the side, he worked as a manager at a movie theater in Ann Arbor.
In 1977, he coordinated a televised college football halftime show that featured Star Wars during its original theatrical run and caught the attention of Salah M. Hassanein, then-president of UA Theaters' Eastern Division. Hassanein summoned him to New York and hired him.
Flynn advanced to senior vp advertising at the UA division through 1990, when he moved to Orion Pictures as vp field publicity and promotions/exhibitor relations. He marketed many of that upstart company's films, including the best picture Oscar winners Dances With Wolves (1990) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
In 1992, Flynn relocated to Los Angeles to launch Edge Marketing before landing at Gramercy. Four years later, he joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Survivors include his partner of 43 years, Timothy; sisters Linda and Patricia; niece Shelby; and nephews Jeff and Sean.
A graveside service and memorial is set for June 20 in Flint, Michigan, with an additional life celebration to be held layer in the Los Angeles area. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Motion Picture & Television Fund.
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