Benjamin Sonnenberg (born Baruch Sonenberg; July 12, 1901 – September 6, 1978)[1] was an American public relations consultant who represented celebrities and major corporations.
He was best known for the lavish entertaining he hosted for clients and other notables at his Manhattan townhouse located at 19 Gramercy Park South.
At the age of 16, she offered him a job as the leader of the boy's club, and in turn allowed him to continue his schooling and live at the settlement house.
Brendan Gill, a close friend of Sonnenberg claimed, "Ben wanted to be remembered as he was in his prime."
[2] Sonnenberg was unsatisfied by the challenge of college and answered an ad in The New York Times with the Chicago Portrait Company as a door-to-door salesman.
[2] Upon returning to New York City, his first work in the public relations field was writing stories for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
[6] In 1922, Miss Wald got a call from Lewis Strauss, the former secretary to Herbert Hoover and director of the American Relief Administration with the task to get food and medical assistance to the famine-stricken areas of Russia and Europe.
A self-described "cabinetmaker who fashioned large pedestals for small statues", Sonnenberg represented many clients.
[7] Sonnenberg gained mass success and affluence because he was dedicated to following through on his promises to his clients, and because of this his reputation grew by word of mouth.
He helped make the hotel known by inviting a distinction of guests to visit including Trader Horn, Prince George Matchabelli, and the Grand Dutchess Marie Romanov.
"If there is one single achievement that public relations men cite Sonnenberg for, it is the media barrage that he engineered for Luckman, beginning with a Time cover piece.
Because of this great success he was then hired by Fred Lazares Jr. who operated Bloomingdale's, Abraham & Straus, Filenes of Boston, and Burdine's in Miami.
[4] After 36 years of hustling clients and building a business, Sonnenberg closed down Publicity Consultants, Inc. in 1963, because 247 Park Avenue was being torn down and his right-hand man George Schreiber was terminally ill with a brain tumor.