Simon Kornblit, 76, of Sandy Springs was a top film marketer, then an actor

When Simon Kornblit, a former executive vice president of worldwide marketing for Universal Pictures, was retired and well in his 70s, he announced to his wife that he wanted to be an actor.

Mr. Kornblit had worked with top film people throughout his distinguished advertising and marketing career in New York and Los Angeles.

He had been responsible for marketing more than 100 movies produced by Universal Pictures, and he had worked alongside directing greats such as Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard and actors such as Tom Cruise and Robert DeNiro. He was a voting member of the Academy Awards.

While Mr. Kornblit didn’t have any professional acting experience, he was willing to learn, said his wife, Bobbi.

He hired coaches, attended workshops and humbly sat in on classes, family and friends said.

“He was always very focused when he wanted to do something,” Mrs. Kornblit said.

In just six weeks, he was good enough to get an agent, his wife said. Then he began landing roles in community theater, student productions, and even a few television pilots and independent films, she said.

Steve Coulter, an Atlanta actor, director and writer, was one of his first coaches. He said Mr. Kornbilt was always prepared and open to learning.

“The bottom line, he was good,” Mr. Coulter said. “He was like a little kid in his enthusiasm for it. But he took acting very seriously. He wanted to do it right.”

Simon Kornblit, 76, died July 2 at his home in Sandy Springs of acute myeloid leukemia. A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Temple Sinai, 5645 Dupree Drive N.W., Atlanta. A brief reception will follow, and a shiva service will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Kornblit home. Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care in Atlanta is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Kornblit and his wife moved to Atlanta from Los Angeles in 1994 and immediately immersed themselves into volunteerism, particularly with the film and arts community and the March of Dimes' Georgia chapter.

Mr. Kornblit donated his time and expertise on numerous entertainment boards, gave guest lectures at colleges and universities, judged film festivals, and even helped develop and direct a film institute for continuing education at Kennesaw State University, his wife said.

Matthew Bernstein, chairman of the film studies department at Emory University, said Mr. Kornblit had a wealth of knowledge and experience in the film industry and was always generous with his time, especially when speaking with students.

Through his marketing ideas, he helped grow the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and the Atlanta Film Festival 365, Bernstein said.

“It was like a gift to us for someone of his stature and experience to join the film community,” Bernstein said.

Mr. Kornblit began his 35-year career working in the mailroom with DDB (Doyle Dane Bernbach) in New York when the advertising giant had fewer than 20 employees, his wife said.

After he moved up in the company, he managed accounts such as “The Gorilla with the Suitcase” commercial for American Tourister and the 20th Century Fox launch of “Star Wars.”

“His agency was the gold standard in the Golden Age of advertising,” Mrs. Kornblit said.

He was executive vice president/general manager of DDB/L.A., and he later joined Universal Pictures in 1987.

Born in Belgium in 1933, Mr. Kornblit’s immediate family fled to New York in 1940 during the Nazi expansion in Europe. He attended Stuyvesant High School and New York University’s School of Commerce. He also served in the U.S. Army.

Throughout his career and in retirement, Mr. Kornblit was a supporter for the March of Dimes, serving on national and state boards. He was selected as a Community Torchbearer at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta because of his volunteer work for the charity.

He was also a talented photographer who was chosen as an official photographer for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, his wife said.