Tony Izzo, a film pioneer who ascended from film lab intern to one of the giants in the postproduction business, died from cancer complications Sept. 27 at Hinsdale Hospital, with his four children at his side. He was 72.
His company, Edit Chicago, dominated commercial editorial for the three decades of Chicago’s prominence as a booming advertising and commercial production center.
“Edit Chicago was an important part of Chicago’s golden era of advertising when there were six or seven major agencies and only 50 or 60 editors and Tony Izzo was the biggest star,” recalled editor Bill Mallek, who worked closely with Mr. Izzo at Edit Chicago for 13 years.
“Tony was an absolutely wonderful guy with a great sense of humor. He had such a happy-go-lucky attitude, but he could be a tough guy when he had to be,” Mallek said.
Edit Chicago’s clients were all the major agencies, which produced a large volume of commercials and virtually all of their editorial locally. Leo Burnett was its biggest and most enduring client, presided over by chief creative officer Norman Muse, who was a great friend and fan of Mr. Izzo.
“Their pet account was Marlboro. It had the highest budget of any advertising going on. Tony was very generous and always gave other editors a chance to work on the big spots, like Marlboro,” Mallek related.
There was a time, he recalled, “when Tony, all by himself, brought in $5 to $6 million in billings.”
“He loved what he did with a passion.”
