- Born
- Born and raised just outside of Asbury Park, New Jersey, Dan Harary is a man of many talents. While best known for his 40-plus years of work in Hollywood as an Entertainment Industry Publicist and owner of the boutique Asbury PR Agency in Beverly Hills, Dan is also the author of the popular book about Hollywood: FLIRTING WITH FAME. Released Summer 2022 by Bear Manor Publishing, the book recounts his 50 years of close encounters working with many of the world's leading film, TV, pop and rock music celebrities.
Dan's second book AFTER THEY CAME (Genius Books Publishing) made an impact within the U.S. UFO Research community and with fans around the world during 2023, after it was endorsed by numerous top UFO/UAP experts. These included Nick Pope, Richard Dolan, Travis Walton, Chase Kloetzke, Lynn Kitei, Earl Grey Anderson, Lorien Fenton, George Noory, Jimmy Church, Paul Eno, Peter Robbins, Deborah Kauble, and Kathleen Marden, to name a few.
Dan is a longtime member of the LA Chapter of MUFON, and believes his late father, Jack Harary, may have been involved with UFO reverse engineering during his 45 years working as an Electronics Engineer for the U.S. Army at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. In 1970, Dan and Jack had a major UFO sighting together of a Flying Silver "V" above them in N.J. After his father's death in 2017, Dan recalled that encounter and was inspired to write AFTER THEY CAME. Dan later went on to experience two more UAP sightings - one in 1996 near Edwards Air Force Base, and the other in 2008 at the ECETI Ranch in Washington State.
Dan is also the Co-Founder of the Hollywood Disclosure Alliance, based in Los Angeles.
Concurrent with his 40th birthday, Dan launched the highly-regarded, boutique Asbury PR Agency on October 1, 1996. Originally based in Hollywood (down the street from the "Hollywood Sign") and now in Beverly Hills, his agency specializes in the representation of clients and individuals working across every conceivable area of the entertainment, corporate, and leisure industries. He has represented many hundreds of companies and individuals, along with films, TV projects, live theatre presentations, books, restaurants, art shows, musicians, comics, and others during the past 27 years.
Among the highlights of the Asbury Agency's work since its formation: Handling the press coverage for the 100th Anniversary of the beloved El Cholo Family of Restaurants across Southern California; handling the PR for the iconic Hollywood restaurant Musso & Frank Grill's 100th Anniversary, including that venue's having received the first and only "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for a restaurant; running the PR for the 40th Anniversary of the popular John O'Groats Restaurant in West Los Angeles; handling Public Relations for three years for SIGGRAPH, the world's largest international Computer Graphics Conference; handling the public relations and promotion for the grand opening of the $3.2 billion Studio City Hotel & Resort in Macau, China (U.S. press); launching the Hollywood Film Festival; handling the debut performance of Japan's #1 Singing Group in the U.S.; and producing a Special Press Event honoring the rock band KISS.
Dan and the Asbury PR Agency have also: announced a proposed sequel to the film classic "It's A Wonderful Life"- briefly making that project the # 1 entertainment story in the world; handled PR for two high-profile live theater productions, "Lovelace," written by Go-Go's star Charlotte Caffey and starring Katrina Lenk (who went on to win a Tony Award), and "Jesus Chris Superstar Live: The Original Cast Reunion," starring Jack Black; represented two Academy Award-winning clients: Makeup Artists Robert Short ("Beetlejuice,") and Barney Burman ("Star Trek,") along with three time Emmy Award winning Special Makeup FX legend Todd Masters ("Handmaid's Tale," "Six Feet Under," "The Good Doctor";) and ran all media coverage for the 24th Annual Animé Expo, which drew 100,000 attendees to the LA Convention Center in 2015. Dan was also hired to handle the PR for the 100th Anniversary of the iconic Barney's Beanery Restaurant in LA in early 2020, but then COVID struck and that relationship was short-lived.
Prior to the launch of his own agency, Dan, from 1989 to 1996, served as a Senior VP/Senior Publicist with The Lippin Group, where he represented dozens of entertainment companies, including MCA/Universal Television Studio, MTM Television Studio, KCAL TV News, Grundy TV Worldwide; individual TV series from MCA and Disney TV, including "Harry and the Hendersons," "The New Lassie," "The Flash," and "Empty Nest;" special projects such as the Environmental Media Association, the "EMA Awards" (which he conceived,) and the Goldman Environmental Prize. Dan also worked with The Who and David Crosby & Graham Nash on other special, pay-per-view TV shows. In addition, he ran PR for numerous other new media, home entertainment, and special FX clients.
Between 1987 to 1989, Dan was a Senior Publicist at Solters/Roskin/Friedman Public Relations, where he worked alongside the late, legendary publicist Lee Solters. Dan served as the West Coast publicist for Jay Leno, who had just been named as Johnny Carson's permanent "Tonight Show" guest host. He also represented comedy icon Sid Caesar, Matty Simmons & National Lampoon Magazine, Landmark Entertainment Group - a world leader in theme park design, and many indie films, TV shows, themed-entertainment attractions, musical productions, home video releases, and new entertainment technologies.
Dan handled PR duties for the Syndicated TV division of Columbia Pictures Television from 1985 to 1987. There, he also was in charge of PR for the syndicated TV series "The New Gidget," "What's Happening Now!" and "The Real Ghostbusters" animated program, along with performing various corporate PR duties for that TV division.
Dan was the first in-house Publicist for The Playboy Channel (1983-85) where he handled all PR and Program Information for the TV programs, movies and specials which aired on that newly launched pay cable TV channel during this time. Dan also handled promotion for numerous Home Video releases and was involved in PR activities for Channel events which were held at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion West.
Dan's first "real job" in LA was working as the Campus Information Director for The American Film Institute (1981-83.) As such, he handled all internal and external communications regarding news on the AFI college campus, including fundraising campaigns, student film projects, and guest speakers.
At the suggestion of his father, Dan relocated to Los Angeles in the Fall of 1980, where he secured a series of "Entertainment Industry Adjacent" jobs for 15 months, before finally securing a foothold within the industry.
While working at Columbia Pictures in New York City during summer 1980, Dan, as a Junior Publicist, helped to promote numerous Columbia feature films, including the popular Brooke Shields film "The Blue Lagoon," "The Hollywood Knights," "Close Encounters: The Special Edition," "The Competition," "Used Cars," and "Wholly Moses."
Dan's first job out of college (1978-80,) was serving as an Art Director for The New Jersey Boater, a unique, monthly print magazine which covered news from across from the boating industry throughout the entire Eastern U.S. Seaboard.
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications, 1978, having graduated Cum Laude from Boston University. At BU, he studied TV production, advertising, marketing and journalism - and, ironically, every type of communications EXCEPT public relations!
During his high school years, between 1972-74, Dan, ages 15-18 at that time, was the Stage Manager and the Lighting Director for the Sunshine Inn rock concert venue in Asbury Park. There, he worked with dozens of up-and-coming rock bands, most of whom later became world famous. These included KISS, Fleetwood Mac and Bruce Springsteen! In fact, Dan worked with Bruce the week his first album, "Greetings From Asbury Park" was released - at the end of that concert, Clarence Clemons, Bruce's now legendary saxophone player, asked Dan and his best friend, Steve Walter (today the owner of New York's renowned "Cutting Room" nightclub,) if they wanted to go on the road as Bruce's road crew? To which Dan infamously replied: "Clarence, we're only 16, we don't even drive yet, and I'm pretty sure our fathers want us to go to college!"
Dan has been a Guest Speaker and Panelist on the topic of entertainment public relations, appearing at events presented by UCLA, the Publicist's Guild, Loyola Marymount University, Promax/BDA, and the Entertainment Publicists Professional Society.
Articles about Dan have appeared in Newsweek, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, the Village Voice, the LA Daily News, the Daily Mail, TV Week, the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Business Journal, the Asbury Park Press, SHOOT Magazine, the Beverly Press, the Beverly Hills Courier, and other media. He has also appeared on such electronic outlets as "Entertainment Tonight," CNN, KABC News, KNBC News, KTLA News, Coast to Coast AM Radio and KFI Radio. The father of two adult children, Dan lives in Beverly Hills, CA.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Dan Harary
- Has a son Jordan and a daughter Anjuli.
- Graduated from Boston University's School of Communications.
- During high school he was a stage manager and lighting director for The Sunshine Inn concert hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
- Studied classical piano from the ages of 7 to 10. After discovering The Monkees on tv he switched to drums.
- Publicist for Jay Leno, Dee Wallace, The Playboy Channel and restaurant Musso & Frank.
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