Public relations veteran Howard Rubenstein, who for decades polished and protected the images of New York celebrities and power brokers, from George Steinbrenner to Donald Trump, has died. He was 88.

Rubenstein founded Rubenstein Associates in 1954 after dropping out of Harvard Law School. He eventually earned his law degree from St. John’s University in 1959, and took a six-month break from the PR industry to serve as assistant counsel to Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Agency clients have included Rudolph Giuliani, Ed Koch, David Dinkins, Marv Alpert, Kathy Lee Gifford, the New York Yankees, News Corporation, Columbia University, New York Philharmonic, Sarah, Duchess of York, Rupert Murdoch, Fred Trump, and the Metropolitan Opera Co.

Rubenstein was also instrumental in making the New York City Marathon one of the World Marathon Majors.