Roy S. Durstine

Roy Sarles Durstine (December 13, 1886 – November 28, 1962) was an American newspaper reporter, author, and advertising executive who co-founded BBDO and since 1939 was president of Roy S. Durstine, Inc. Early life Durstine was born on December 13, 1886, in Jamestown, North Dakota. He attended Lawrenceville School from 1901 to 1904, and graduated from Princeton University in 1908 with a B.A. in politics, history, and economics. At Princeton, he was chairman of The Princeton Tiger, president of the Triangle Club, and a member of the Cap and Gown Club. After Princeton, Durstine was a reporter for the New York Sun for four years, before taking a job as public-relations director for Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 presidential campaign on the "Bull Moose" ticket. After the election, he went into the advertising business, first working for the firm of Calkins & Holden, then co-founding (with James Berrien) the firm of Berrien & Durstine, which lasted from 1914 to 1918. On November 12, 1912, Durstine married Harriet Grosvenor Hutchins. The couple had three daughters: Deborah Ann, Harriet Celia, and Kathrine Sarles (1921–2006). Roy and Harriet divorced in July, 1932.