Charles Lippincott (1939-2020) is a name many Star Wars fans are familiar with. How so? Lippincott was the man whose marketing savvy helped make Star Wars the pop culture juggernaut it is to this day. The man behind this marketing, Lippincott’s work before and after the movie was released made him an integral part of Star Wars forevermore.

After working on 1974’s Janis music documentary and on Alfred Hitchcock’s last film - Family Plot - he became reacquainted with George Lucas and Gary Kurtz, whom he knew from USC. Upon joining the Star Wars production team, Lippincott served as Vice President of Advertising, Publicity, Promotion & Merchandising while Lucas and Kurtz went off to shoot the film. He was given free rein to devise a marketing plan which would elevate Star Wars to the sci-fi pantheon where it resides to this day. Using his own love for sci-fi and comic books, he asked himself what he would like to see? The results led to sci-fi and comic book convention presentations to build word of mouth interest among likely fans and laying the groundwork for the barrage of Star Wars merchandise, including Marvel’s Star Wars comics and Kenner toys.