Daly, Former DDB Executive, Dies at 85

NEW YORK Joseph R. Daly, a past chairman, president and CEO of Doyle Dane Bernbach, now known as Omnicom's DDB Worldwide, died Saturday, Dec. 6, at his home in Jupiter, Fla. He was 85.Daly began his advertising career in 1946 as a writer and account executive at John A. Cairns Advertising, New York. He joined Doyle Dane Bernbach as an account executive in 1949, five months after the agency was founded. In 1957, he became the first vice president elected by the agency's founders. He was promoted to president of DDB in 1968, chairman in 1974 and CEO in 1976. He was chairman of the board until 1989, and an honorary member emeritus until his death.DDB Worldwide chairman Keith Reinhard said in a statement, "Joe Daly was one of the most effective and charismatic leaders in the history of the advertising industry—one of the men most responsible for the monumental success of Doyle Dane Bernbach." In a staff memo written in August 1976, Doyle Dane Bernbach founder Bill Bernbach said of Mr. Daly: "Joe Daly told me what he wants most is to be remembered as a pro—I don't think that he ought to wait that long. Joe is pro, and he deserves that appellation right now ... If there were a decathlon in our business, Joe would win it. " Daly was born in New York on May 14, 1918. He graduated from Regis High School in New York and received a scholarship to Fordham University, where he graduated with honors and later served as a trustee. Daly was a decorated veteran of World War II. He served in the Navy Air Corps, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander and receiving numerous honors, including the Purple Heart. A fighter pilot on the aircraft carrier Enterprise, he fought in the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal in the Pacific. He survived the battle of Guadalcanal with nine bullet wounds and severe burns when his plane was shot down. His personal account of this event was published in Cosmopolitan in April 1943.After the war, he married the late artist Elizabeth Schulte. Together, they raised seven children in Huntington, Long Island. Daly remarried in 1988 to the late Kathy Christy. Daly was an active philanthropist. He was a member of the Cardinal's Committee of the Laity, the board of the USO of Metropolitan New York and the National Support Group for the United Nations Emergency Operations in Africa. In 1986, the Catholic Medical Center of Brooklyn and Queens honored him as Man of the Year. His foundation, the Joseph R. Daly Foundation, will continue to support charitable causes he favored.He is survived by three daughters, Dottie Mull of Longwood, Fla., Suzanne Herbers of McLean, Va., and Jennifer Daly of Helena, Mont.; four sons, Peter of Upper Brookville, N.Y., Timothy of Fort Salonga, N.Y., Mark of Cincinnati, and Andrew of Huntington, N.Y.; 15 grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; three brothers, Steve of West Springfield, Mass., John of Commack, N.Y., and Paul of Canton, Ga.; and three sisters, Theresa Siller of Merrick, N.Y., and Winifred Madigan and Peggy McGee, both of Kings Park, NY.A memorial mass will be held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in the Lady Chapel on Monday, Dec. 29, 10:30 a.m.In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that any memorial contributions be directed to their father's charitable foundation: The Joseph R. Daly Foundation, c/o Mark Daly, PO Box 43350, Cincinnati, Ohio 45243.

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Daly, Former DDB Executive, Dies at 85

David Kaplan

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