Proper Marketing Associates President SHEP GOLDBERG, who "guided the careers" of Olympic gymnast MARY LOU RETTON and figure skater MICHELLE KWAN, died of pancreatic cancer yesterday at the age of 65, according to Barry Wilner of the AP. Goldberg also worked with U.S. figure skater EVAN LYSACEK and "currently was representing" U.S. figure skater JASON BROWN. Lysacek said, "Shep lived his life and conducted business with loyalty, compassion, dignity, and ethics ... things that are becoming less common in today’s world." Wilner noted Goldberg was PR Dir for the A's and the now-defunct NHL Oakland Seals "when both were owned by CHARLIE FINLEY." He "held the same position" for the Lakers and the Forum in the '70s. Goldberg "was a guiding force" throughout Kwan’s "unequaled career, including nine U.S. championships, five world titles and two Olympic medals." He also "worked briefly" with U.S. wrestler RULON GARDNER (AP, 11/11). In L.A., Helene Elliott writes Goldberg "represented his clients fiercely and well, acting as much a father figure as a gatekeeper while maintaining a sense of humor with the not-always-polite media" (L.A. TIMES, 11/12). In Chicago, Philip Hersh writes Goldberg "was always part of the picture but never in it." Goldberg could "go from greeter to gorgon, gregarious to guarded, zealously protecting Kwan’s interests and privacy when necessary." He "helped her make tens of millions of dollars and never put her in a position or commercial deal that might tarnish an image more golden than those of all the women in the past 20 years who won the Olympic title that eluded Kwan" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/12).
