Douglas Leigh

1
Douglas Leigh
A man who thinks in a dimension beyond the
expected.
2
Early Years

• Born in Anniston, Alabama in 1907, Leigh later
  moved to Greenville, where he attended Greenville
  High School. As a GHS student, he served as
  advertising agent of the yearbook and ran a
  magazine agency in his spare time.
• He went to the University of Florida but dropped
  out in 1927 after he bought 2,000 worth of
  yearbook advertising and sold it for a profit of
  5,000.
• After quitting his job with a Birmingham
  advertising firm, Leigh moved to New York City,
  where he began his own company in 1929, Douglas
  Leigh Inc.

3
Establishing a Legacy

• In exchange for free room and board and a 50 a
  month pay, Leigh designed a billboard for the St.
  Moritz Hotel. This provided him with a Central
  Park South address with which to begin business.
• Leighs first major work was a 15-foot wide
  coffee cup for AP. From there, he created a
  blinking penguin for Kool cigarettes, a clown
  tossing quoits in the shape of the Ballantine ale
  logo, and an animated cartoon for Old Gold
  cigarettes.
• Known as the sign king of Broadway, he designed
  such famous creations as the massive Pepsi
  waterfall, the Camel cigarette sign which puffed
  out 5-foot rings of smoke, and the Times Square
  display for Coca-Cola which donned the phrase
  Thirst knows no season, and featured a small
  house with rain, sun, snow, and cloud pictures to
  be shown in accordance with the forecast.

4
Later Accomplishments

• Leigh was hired as the executive for multiple
  projects, including helping the Navy, organizing
  lighting for the 1976 Democratic Party
  Presidential Convention, and handling advertising
  for the NYC bus system.
• He was involved with Manhattan real estate,
  including buying the Allied Chemicals building,
  and he served on the NYC Broadway Association for
  13 years.
• Leigh was also the principal consultant on city
  projects for the New York World Fair from 1964 to
  1965 as well as the lighting executive for the
  1996 Atlanta Olympics.

5
Personal Life

• Leigh and his wife Elsie are the parents of two
  daughters and four stepchildren. They also have
  eight grandchildren.
  
• In his later years, Leigh divided his time
  between Oyster Bay, Long Island Palm Beach,
  Florida and New York City.
  

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Click on the speaker icon to the right.

• Interview Stepdaughter Prudence Blair
• 1.What was his best memory at Greenville High?
• Douglas was very fond of the school and was
  always excited to be there. He was very involved
  in his advertising business which helped lead him
  into his future career.
• What was your best memory of him?
• I loved that he was a very low key man and always
  acted like a Southern gentleman. Also, he was an
  extremely creative and driven individual.
  
• 2. What were his plans, goals, dreams?
• His dream was always to go to New York City
  because he knew that was where he wanted to be.
  He arrived there with only 15 dollars and was
  determined to make it work. He was always
  motivated in his pursuit to be successful.

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• Interviewcontinued
• 3. Who was his greatest mentor?
• He always looked up to Harry Helmsley, a man who
  he met in the NYC development business. He was
  also very fond of Donald Trumps father.
  
• How did he influence you?
• He never let his success go to his head. He
  taught our family how to handle success
  gracefully and how to be humble. He was such a
  warm person and always a gentleman.
• 4. What was his greatest accomplishment?
• If I had to say, it would be his work on the
  Atlanta Olympics. He was hired to work on
  projects for lighting the entire city.

8

• By Allen and Clair
• Allen conducted the interview and got the
  information from the GHS Wall of Fame.
  
• Clair researched on the internet and recorded the
  interview.
  
• Both put together the PowerPoint presentation.

9
References

• Leigh, Douglas. Greenville High School Wall of
  Fame plaque.
  
• "Douglas Leigh." Wikipedia. 5 May 2008. 17 May
  2008 (photograph).
  
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Leigh
• Gray, Christopher. "Streetscapes / Douglas Leigh,
  Sign Maker the Man Behind Times Square's Smoke
  Rings." New York Times. 16 May 2008
  http//query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res950
  4EFDA123DF937A15753C1A96E958260
• Martin, Douglas. "Douglas Leigh, the Man Who Lit
  Up Broadway, Dies At 92." New York Times. 16 Dec.
  1999. 16 May 2008 llpage.html?res9E0CE2DB1730F935A25751C1A96F958260