Samuel Crispin, Founder of Agency That Became CP&B, Dies at 90

Samuel Crispin, one of the founders of the agency that later became CP&B, has died. He was 90. Mr. Crispin is best known for founding what would eventually become one of the hottest agencies in the mid-2000s. He began his career in 1949 at Grant Advertising and later moved to Miami to open an office for Arthur Mogge Advertising. He bought that shop and renamed it Samuel B. Crispin and Associates in 1965. Over the next 20 years, the agency focused on tourism amd travel in the U.S. and Caribbean, with a client list that included the Cayman Islands, Intercontinental Hotels and the Jamaican Tourism Board. The agency was renamed Crispin & Porter in 1988, after Mr. Crispin had named Chuck Porter creative director and partner. Prior to that, Mr. Porter had worked for the agency as a freelance copywriter on various jobs. Mr. Crispin "often hired a talented young copywriter for freelance work named Chuck Porter who forged a lasting relationship with Sam," said Jeff Steinhour, vice chairman at CP&B, in a note to employees. "Many agencies courted this award-winning freelancer asking him to join their firms...Finally someone approached him and made the big deal — 'If you join us, you can build whatever you like, get rid of any clients you want and start over if needed to build a great creative-driven shop where none have existed before.' The person who made that bold offer was Sam Crispin." Mr. Crispin had stepped away from the agency by 1993, when Mr. Porter bought out Mr. Crispin and his son, Charles, who also worked at the agency. The shop kept the Crispin & Porter moniker until 1996, when it became Crispin, Porter & Bogusky when Alex Bogusky, who joined the shop in 1989, became partner. Mr. Crispin was a World War II veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy aboard a submarine that traveled in the South Pacific and the Philippines. He is survived by his wife Karen, his children Cathy Keller and Charles, and four grandchildren.

Samuel Crispin, Founder of Agency That Became CP&B, Dies at 90

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