Robert C. Pritikin (May 6, 1929–February 13, 2022),
commonly known as Bob Pritikin, was an American
advertising executive, creative director, author,
art collector
A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...
, and ''bon vivant''
active on the
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
social scene.
Early life and career
Pritikin was born on May 6, 1929, in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, to parents Esther Theodosia (née Burr Sherrard), and jazz musician, Arnold "Arnie" Pritikin of
Russian Jewish
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
heritage. As he says, he was, "raised in Chicago and lowered in Los Angeles".
As an ad agency copywriter in New York, where he became an executive at
Young & Rubicam
VMLY&R is an American marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the merger of VML, founded in 1992, and Young & Rubica ...
,
then formed his own
ad agency
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
, Pritikin & Gibbons. In 1958, he was hired to work on the
Maverick
Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to:
History
* Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick
Aviation
* AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design
* General Aviation Design Bure ...
television series, and he moved to San Francisco.
In the early 1960s, Pritikin was the Creative Director of
Fletcher, Richards, Calkins & Holden (FRC&H) advertising agency in San Francisco, responsible among other things for landmark
Folgers Coffee
Folgers Coffee is a brand of ground, instant, and single-use pod coffee produced and sold in the United States, with additional distribution in Asia, Canada and Mexico. It forms part of the food and beverage division of The J.M. Smucker Co ...
television commercials for which he was the voice in the ads for many years.
In 1964, FRC&H was bought by Campbell-Ewald Advertising, the Detroit advertising agency for Chevrolet. Pritikin remained the creative director of the agency.
San Francisco author
Armistead Maupin credits Pritikin's turning him down for a job as being responsible for Maupin's writing
Tales of the City
Hotelier
In 1977 Pritikin opened the "Mansion Hotel", a
bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
at the
Chambers Mansion
The Chambers Mansion is a historic house that was built in 1887, and is located at 2220 Sacramento Street in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. In 2010, CBS News declared the Chambers Mansion one of the "scariest haun ...
at 2220 Sacramento Street,
Pacific Heights, where he would entertain guests with
magic shows and musical performances. The hotel, consisting of two
Queen Anne mansions connected by a hallway, was decorated eclectically with caged and uncaged birds (including a
Macaw
Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation concerns about several species in the wild.
Biology
Of the many differ ...
sometimes said to be the
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...
of the house's original owner), pig memorabilia, life-sized stuffed dolls of
Bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Pla ...
and
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
,
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
's letter of
resignation
Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...
as
United States President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
and
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
's letter of
pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
, fresh flowers and candy in every room, a central music system that always played classical music, and a
player piano
A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...
that was supposedly played by "Claudia", a ghost. The hotel had a collection of sculptures in its yard.
Pritikin opened the hotel on election days as a local
polling station
A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the building , encouraging voters with music, an
ice sculpture in the shape of an eagle, layer cake and caviar. In 2000 he sold the hotel, by then designated a city landmark, as private housing.
Chenery Mansion
In 1986, Pritikin built a French neoclassical facade
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
at 47 Chenery Street for himself in the quiet residential neighborhood of
Glen Park, San Francisco.
The building, also known as "Chenery House", was the largest private property in the city, featuring a swimming pool inside a second story living room. In 2009,
Guy Colwell painted a 70 foot mural on the exterior of the house.
Pritikin was notorious for throwing eccentric parties at the house, including political fundraisers,
an annual
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
party for 850 people,
and a yearly
passover seder
The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of . His concluding "Last Supper Passover" (2008) was held as a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society">isan in the Hebrew ...
. His concluding "Last Supper Passover" (2008) was held as a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society co-hosted by nominee 2008 Woman of the Year, Daphne Evans, a cancer survivor and founder of Heaven's Door Oncology, a cancer foundation.
Pritkin was an avid classical musical saw performer, often hosting performances.
.
. In one event he bussed thirty guests to
of many things. His
is said to be worth at least $40 million. In 2007 he paid $100,000 for one of
, and was taken to California by an American soldier in 1945.
.
'', the thriller about a real-life plot to assassinate Hitler, leading Pritikin to complain that it had been done without his permission.
In 2004 Pritikin offered to
but the city rejected his plans.
The house was used for a period as a rental event center. In 2009, he announced plans to operate his home as a museum. It opened as the private, not-for-profit Pritikini Museum.
In 2018, the house went on the market at $12.5 million USD, and later was reduced to $5.5 million USD.
In 2014, Pritikin claimed in a self-biographical video that he stands at the origins of the word "Google" because he used decades ago it in a headline of an ad in the Sierra Club, "don't money up the google".
"He thinks big, spends small. His ads are sheer genius." -Advertising Age. .
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