Paul Nichols, a veteran publicist who had stints at Group W, All American Television, Sony Pictures Television and the Lippin Group, has died. He was 76.
Nichols died March 14 at his home in Weatherford, Texas, his family announced. His wife of 31 years, Linda, died 12 days before he did.
In 1991, Nichols helped All American Television bring Baywatch into first-run syndication, a move that essentially kicked off the weekly action-hour craze of the 1990s and early 2000s. The David Hasselhoff starrer had been canceled by NBC after one season but went on to air for 10 more years, through 2001.
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Fellow publicist Les Eisner said Nichols “was largely responsible for branding [Baywatch] as the world’s most-watched TV series. Whether that was true or not, who knows? But it stuck.”
Born on March 22, 1948, in Wilmington, Delaware, Nichols graduated from State College Area High School in State College, Pennsylvania, in 1966 and from Penn State University in 1970 with a degree in broadcast journalism.
He started his career as DJs at an AM radio station in State College and at an FM station in Philadelphia before landing a job at Group W’s The Mike Douglas Show, which was based in Philadelphia. He then moved to California in 1980 to work for Douglas’ talk-show successor, John Davidson.
His wife was a senior executive at the TV marketing association Promax. After the couple retired, they moved to Texas to be closer to her family.
Eisner noted that Nichols was “a great mentor to a cadre of publicists, myself and Frank [Marchesini] included. … He will be remembered for his sharp wit, rather cynical view of life and, along with Linda, his love of animals.”
Survivors include his brother, Robert; sister-in-law Denise; nephews Steve and James; and niece Caitlin.
