Beverly Hills this week mourned the loss of Phil Savenick, an award-winning television producer, lifelong artist and chronicler of the city’s history who pioneered new ways to preserve the magic of his hometown.
“The loss of Phil Savenick has truly shaken all of us and has left an empty place in so many of our hearts. Phil was not only a friend, but a true keeper of preserving our city’s history and ensuring its mystique still endures,” Mayor Lester Friedman said. “His dedication and passion to Beverly Hills and its iconic culture will always be remembered for generations to come and we offer our deepest sympathies to his family.”
Kevin Miller, a close friend and production partner, said Savenick’s love for his city can be traced directly to his childhood. Growing up, Savenick’s Beverly Hills truly felt like a small village where the world’s most famous entertainers happened to also live. One Halloween, Savenick, dressed as Santa Claus, performed an impromptu rendition of “Jingle Bells” for Jack Benny, one of the era’s biggest names.
As Savenick often put it, “The town was still covered in stardust,” said Miller.
This childhood amidst the stardust molded Savenick into a multifaceted artist, and after enrolling at UCLA’s School of Fine Arts, he became one of the few freshmen hired as a cartoonist for The Daily Bruin. Through a roundabout turn of events propelled by his curiosity and self-assurance, that gig ultimately landed him at an NBC conference table where comedians including Steve Martin took turns pitching executives, Miller said.
And so began Savenick’s television career. At 20 years old, he was hired by filmmaker Robert Abel to do research for “Elvis on Tour,” and went on three years later to produce montage sequences for biopics including “This is Elvis” and “Imagine: John Lennon.”
Eventually, Savenick found a niche producing compilation documentaries exploring the history of television, winning awards in the process. By the end of his 35-year career, Savenick had earned three Emmy nominations, won the Cine “Golden Eagle” award and Western Writers Spur Award for “100 Years of the Hollywood Western,” and produced the Emmy-winning “20 Years of Comedy on HBO.”
Despite his success in television, Savenick never outgrew his artistic roots. His paintings, which celebrate and sometimes skewer the culture of T.V., have been shown at the now defunct Paley Center for Media, and currently hang at the MZTV Museum of Television in Toronto, Canada.
As a product of Beverly Hills and a descendant of civic leaders—his stepfather Ben Norton served as mayor and his mother Rose Norton served as planning commissioner—Savenick used his talents to celebrate the city that raised him.
While working on a documentary about Beverly Hills ahead of its 2014 centennial, Savenick interviewed 200 residents about how the city had changed and grown over the years.
Compiling those stories and producing the documentary set Savenick on a path that led him to become president of the Beverly Hills Historical Society. The society had been around since the ‘80s, and Savenick infused it with a Hollywood grandeur, said Marcia Lewis-Smith, a communications strategist and former producer who has known Phil since the ‘70s.
“He started to produce the hell out of it,” Lewis-Smith said. “Anything he did had scale, and value.”
Savenick produced a documentary about eight movie stars who launched a political campaign to save Beverly Hills from being annexed, which premiered last spring at Greystone Mansion, and helped the society chart new digital territory.
Under Savenick’s leadership, the society launched an app called The Beverly Hills Experience that features walking guides and augmented reality experiences, and set up plaques with QR codes at Beverly Gardens Park, Will Rogers Park and Greystone Mansion that feature stories and historic videos.
“He was just a very, very wonderful, dynamic voice in the community,” Lewis-Smith said. “I don’t think he’s replaceable in the texture of the city.”
It helped that Savenick was “a master raconteur,” said Miller. “Nobody could tell a story like Phil.”
Savenick was famous for his Rodeo Drive walking tours, which would last at least 45 minutes. The last one he ever led was three hours long, visitors hanging on his every word.
“He believes the past should be remembered, he believes that the people who changed our lives should be remembered and honored,” Miller said. “Phil now takes the position of the people he’s always worked so hard to honor; now it’s time for us to honor him.”
“Phil’s passion and vision have been a guiding light for many,” Vice Mayor Dr. Sharona Nazarian said. “His legacy will continue to inspire and shape our community for years to come.”
Savenick is survived by his mother, Rose Norton; his partner of 33 years, Suzanne Hertfelder; and his friend Robbie Anderson, an author and local historian.
He was 72 years old.
