Newspaper Articles





The Cowsills and The Stogels
November 3, 1968
The Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram
Long Beach, California

Most of this article has been posted, however this version has a few paragraphs added. (UPI) - The rise of the Cowsills, the celebrated singing family that will have a half-hour special on NBC-TV Nov. 23, is a show business phenomenon.

But the rise of the attractive young managers, a husband-and-wife team named Leonard and Myrna Stogel, is also pretty remarkable.

Until 1965, Leonard, now 33, was in the import business in New York, specializing in housewares. Myrna has a long family background in the music business - her father being a veteran figure in the industry

Leonard, who resembles his new next door neighbor in Los Angeles, Pierre Salinger, and Myrna, a lovely blonde who looks like a cover girl, now have a publishing company, a record firm and a management business.

They also have a pretty spectacular Hollywood type house into which they recently moved with their young son, Gregory who look the way elfs are supposed to.

The national success of the Cowsills has taken place in just one year. The Stogels were introduced to them by a producer, saw them rehearse and thought they were impressive.

Soon came an investment of about a quarter of a million dollars to impress the act on the public. This included, in addition to an exceptional promotion campaign, a 23 city tour in 30 days.

On the inside, meanwhile, in the key area of recordings, Stogel was accomplishing a major deal with MGM - at a time when a family act was going against the trend. Soon MGM was enthusiastic too, getting behind the Cowsills.

Of his own business and his whole-scale commitment to the Cowsills, Stogel says:

"We went for broke. If it clicked, we were home. If not, we were in trouble - committing so much time to one act."

Financially speaking, a tremendous break came when a commercial arrangement with the American Dairy Association was set this year for $1 million.

Like most managers with a hot act in this town, the Stogels hope to expand into television production. And it may well be - depending on the usual factors, such as ratings and other audiences reaction - that the Cowsills' special could result in a series. Some shrewd show business brains feel they have the makings of an institutionalized act.

The Cowsills made their network television debut with CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan a year ago. In February, they were featured in a two-hour special on NBC-TV's "Today" show.

Says Stogel: "They can perform in any facet of the music business. They can do a motor show in Detroit, country-western in Nashville, or hard rock. Or, the older people, all the standards."




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