R. Couri Hay: PR Guru R. Couri Hay Creative Public Relations
R. Couri Hay is one of the most prolific figures in American public relations. His New York based firm, R. Couri Hay Creative Public Relations, has received multiple accolades, and has ranked among the “Top 10 New York City PR Firms” by the respected media analyst Expertise for seven consecutive years.
His life has been a swashbuckling romp through the pinnacle of late-20th century culture, starting during his early teens in the 1960s and continuing at full throttle today. From LSD guru Timothy Leary as one of his godfathers to Halston as lover to Andy Warhol superstar to working with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis on American Ballet Theater galas to appearing in a slew of documentaries over the past several years, including the 2022 Netflix series “Andy Warhol Diaries,” R. Couri Hay has carved a remarkable path.
Iconic Clients: Harry Winston, Prada, BVLGARI, Chopard, Escada & Veuve Clicquot
While Hay is the go-to name for PR advice, counseling many prominent people, formally and informally, on how to burnish their images, his company’s mission has always been to combine luxury with philanthropy. In over 25 years in business, his diverse client portfolio includes some of the world’s most notable VIPs, institutions and brands.
He has represented iconic fashion, jewelry and luxury brands including Harry Winston, Prada, BVLGARI, Chopard, Bergdorf Goodman, Escada, Veuve Clicquot and Krug Champagne. He has planned events for the Centennial Anniversary of the Juilliard School and the 10th Anniversary of the Broadway show Chicago, and orchestrated galas for Lincoln Center, the New York City Ballet, the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Celebrities currently on Hay’s client list include “Three’s Company” legend Suzanne Somers, Julia Haart of Netflix hit “My Unorthodox Life”, Twin Peaks star Amy Shiels, philanthropist and jeweler Kayla Rockefeller, QVC star and hairstylist Chaz Dean, skin care mogul Peter Thomas Roth and 89 years old Guinness World Record title holder for Oldest Working Comedian D’yan Forest
Park Magazine Co-founder
Hay is Co-founder and Editorial Director of Park Magazine, where he has crafted captivating covers featuring high-profile personalities like Lydia Hearst, Cornelia Guest, and Sharon Bush, as well
as his own clients Somers, Haart, and Rockefeller. Couri is also the Travel Editor and Society columnist for Social Life Magazine in the Hamptons and a columnist for Fashion Manuscript in Palm Beach. He also appears on CNN, PBS, FOX, and the Discovery Channel commenting on Hollywood and pop culture.
Media Appearances
In addition to the Warhol series, Hay appeared in the 2022 Ghislaine Maxwell miniseries, “House of Maxwell” on the BBC, and in 2023 the Tinsley Mortimer documentary “Queenmaker,” directed by Zackery Drucker, which is on Hulu. He also shared his experiences with Halston in CNN’s 2019 documentary about the iconic fashion designer and appeared on “Ghislaine: Partner in Crime” on Paramount +, talking about the Jeffery Epstein’s scandal in 2022. Currently he is a Royal Correspondent for “Good Morning Britain.”
He was also a prominent presence in the 2023 documentary “Last Night In New York,” about society scribe David Patrick Columbia, rubbing shoulders with esteemed personalities like Liz Smith, Charlotte and Anne Ford, Olivia Palermo, Patrick McMullan, Jill Kargman, Hilary Ross, Geoffrey Bradfield, Susan Fales-Hill, Beth DeWoody, Nikki Haskell, Gayfryd Steinberg, Carolyne Roehm, Muffie Potter Aston, and many more. Showtime’s 2021 documentary “Gossip”, about legendary columnist Cindy Adams, also gave viewers a taste of Hay’s personality.
In 2018, Hay was featured in an eight-page profile in Town & Country, and he is consistently quoted in local and national outlets on celebrity news. “My media appearances are meant to be a magnet for my business,” Hay says. “People think: If he can do it for himself, he can do it for me. My message is: If I can be here, I can put you here, too,” he adds.
A Remarkable Life: from Gossip Columnist to PR Guru
Hay’s life story could make an epic novel, so packed with interactions with the greatest minds of our times, drawn by his charisma, it’s hard to imagine it is reality.
His university writing teacher was Pulitzer Prize and Oscar winner Larry McMurtry. “He was willing to give me college credit to write for Interview in 1971, the early days.” Hay figured he could do interviews and started with family friend Bette Davis. “Andy loved glamorous, iconic stars so it was a go,” he says. He went on to interview Marlene Dietrick, Ginger Rogers, Lena Horne and Warren Beatty, plus some political figures from Washington, where he did course work at Georgetown University and was mentored by McMurtry at American University. “Imagine getting college credit to write for Andy!” He juggled his class schedule to be in New York Friday through Monday, making $25 a month. “Andy signed all the checks. I kept them.”
His association with Warhol provided valuable lessons. “No one knew more about art, marketing and promotion than Andy,” Hay says. He later went on to write for other publications including a gossip column for the National Enquirer in the 70s, People, where he helped create the original “Chatter” column, as well as Town & Country, and he reported for the New York Times, New York Post, WWD and W.
Hay has visited the White House under five presidents: Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Obama and Trump. “I make it a rule to never turn down an invitation to the White House — no matter who is in power — because you never know who you are going to meet,” he explains.
That knowledge of how the press works – and how to frame a story for maximum exposure – led him to realize he had a flair for promotion, and public relations was the logical progression. A 2014 New York Times profile of Hay was titled simply: “The Gossip Guy.”
In 2014, The New York Time’s art critic Roberta K. Smith reviewed Hay’s collection of Charles James drawings at The National Arts Club. He then donated over 300 of the drawings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In May of the same year, The Met showed a group of these drawings in their show, “Charles James: Beyond Fashion.”
Prominent New England Family Roots to High-Profile New Yorker
Hay’s mother, Marilyn Couri Hay, was a Maine socialite, sportswoman, champion equestrian and philanthropist who served as Chairman of the Red Cross for the Greater Portland Area. His
cousin, Ralph Hay, founded the NFL. An owner of the Canton Bulldogs team at a time when professional football in Ohio was nearly extinct, in 1920, Ralph gathered representatives from 11 different teams to form a new league, the American Professional Football Association, which later became the NFL. Hay, a Mayflower Society member, descends from four passengers on the historic ship, Mary and William Brewster and Constance and Stephan Hopkins, who signed the Declaration of Independence. His ancestor, statesman John Hay, served as a personal secretary to President Abraham Lincoln, co- authored a 12-volume biography of Lincoln and was Secretary of State in 1890.
Hay was engaged to the English designer Zandra Rhodes in the 80’s and they remain good friends. Today, Hay lives with his King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, Phantom Webster Westbrook Hay, in a landmarked Upper West Side townhouse. He served as President of the Jury for the 15th Anniversary of the New York International Film Festival in 2022, contributing his expertise and discerning eye to the prominent event; he first assumed the role in 2015. In recognition of his exemplary leadership and contributions to the world of television, Hay was honored with the prestigious Leadership Award at the 2023 NYC TV Festival, solidifying his status as a respected figure in the media and entertainment industry.
Website: rcourihay.com
Instagram: @rcourihay
Wikipedia: wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Couri_Hay
