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 David Mirisch combines business with pleasure at his charity golf events. (Photo: Eddie Meeks) As founder of David Mirisch Enterprises, Mirisch has helped organize more than 2,500 charity events over the past 35 years, including 250 golf tournaments. Before that, Mirisch was a Hollywood public relations executive, and he’s a member of the family that started the Mirisch Company, a successful production entity with films such as “Some Like it Hot” and “West Side Story” in its archives. But don’t expect him to be much of a name-dropper. In fact, he sometimes can’t recall the names of people who have participated in his many charity golf endeavors. “I remember working a celebrity golf tournament in Bali and the king of Malaysia participated,” said Mirisch, who lives in Encinitas. “It was really something watching him walk around the course beneath an umbrella held by his valet, who also placed his ball on every shot.” With his long list of resources, Mirisch has done a lot to establish the viability of celebrity fund-raisers. “The guys like Bob Hope had their tournaments, but what I most respect about my dad is how many events he’s done for so many different charities,” said Michael Mirisch, the son of David Mirisch who serves as CEO for Hollywood Knights. “And I think the greatest thing about him changing from entertainment public relations to charity public relations is that he has helped raise so much money to help thousands of people.” Though neither Mirisch has added up the money their celebrity events have raised for charity, Michael Mirisch estimates the figure to be between $20 million and $40 million. The elder Mirisch grew up in Milwaukee and moved to Hollywood in the 1960s to promote films for United Artists Pictures, which distributed his family’s movies. He then landed a job at Rogers & Cowan, which was the largest public relations company in the world at the time, before launching his own firm a few years later. “I had a very good run as a publicist, but at the time I could sense the industry was changing,” Mirisch said. “You had to have offices in New York and London and things began getting very competitive. I felt it was time to get out.” Since he had worked with celebrities and loved sports, Mirisch started thinking about ways to combine his two interests. Around the same time, legendary tennis player Tony Traybert approached Mirisch for help organizing a celebrity tennis tournament, which was held in Murrieta. Mirisch enjoyed the experience so much that he started David Mirisch Enterprises in 1973. “There was a time when I was doing 15 to 20 celebrity tennis tournaments a year, all across the world, and they were great fun,” he said. “But over time, I think charities realized that they could make far more money by selling 144 spots in a golf tournament than they could at a tennis event, where they might sell 20 to 40 spots.” The 23 celebrity events Mirisch will help organize in the next 12 months include events as varied as suicide prevention walks to poker tournaments. But the largest number — seven — are golf tournaments, including the Pat Boone/High Hopes event at Coto de Caza this month, the Deal or No Deal Celebrity Golf Classic at Woodland Hills Country Club next May, and the A.G. Spanos Golf Tournament in Stockton next June. “The greatest thing for me is to hear from the charities about what a nice group of people my celebrities are,” Mirisch said about his client list that includes Hal Linden, Kevin Sorbo and John O’Hurley, among others. “These celebrities are taking a day out of their lives and donating their time to help this cause. They drive themselves and don’t get appearance fees. Sure, they’re spending a day at a golf tournament and they’re having fun playing golf, but they also feel a real responsibility to be gracious, warm and friendly.” Mirisch doesn’t think that celebrity presence is the most important factor for a successful golf tournament. “Most people who buy into a tournament do so because of the cause for which the money is raised,” he said. “Celebrities are just the icing on the cake. But they do provide the fun, excitement and glamour, whether they’re athletes or film or TV stars.” But adding celebrities to a charity event helps a lot when it comes to raising money. “If a charity has an existing tournament and is looking to raise significantly more money, or if they’re thinking of starting a tournament, a celebrity golf event is a great way to get it,” Mirisch said. “You’re providing people with a day on the golf course and they can mix and mingle with recognizable faces. By adding celebrities you’re adding something that many tournaments don’t have. They’re not the most important part of any golf event, but they do provide an additional spark for the event, and that increases its profile, which increases the money it raises.” Immersed in his second career, Mirisch has no plans to retire, and although he was a better tennis player than a golfer (he has a handicap index of 25), he prefers nowadays to be on the course instead of the court. “The reason celebrities like playing these charity events is the excitement of playing different courses,” Mirisch said. “Most of them already belong to country clubs, but golf differs from every sport because every course is so different. You can play tennis in Japan or Palm Springs but the court is always the same. In golf, you can play at the foot of a mountain in Oregon, or on Bali. That’s one reason why people love the game.” Job title: Founder, David Mirisch Enterprises Years in business: 35 Nickname: Man with the Golden Rolodex Residence: Encinitas To learn more: Check out DME at davidmirisch.com. |
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