Howard Bragman, a publicist who often helped the famous and the reluctantly famous navigate embarrassing or volatile moments, and who also advised gay clients coming forward, died Feb. 11 in Los Angeles. He was 66.

Over his career, he promoted products and announced engagements and deaths, but clients often made use of his services in times of crisis. Ed McMahon called on Mr. Bragman when he faced possible foreclosure on his multi-million-dollar home in Beverly Hills. When Anthony Scaramucci was dismissed as Donald J. Trump’s White House communications director just a few days into the job, he hired Mr. Bragman to help orchestrate his political afterlife. For other actors and athletes going public as gay, Mr. Bragman was their counselor.

In his book, Where’s My Fifteen minutes, Mr. Bragman cited the biblical story of Moses, who was reluctant to deliver the messages God wanted delivered, so God told him to bring along Aaron, his brother, who was more eloquent and could do the talking. “So a lot of us in public relations believe that Aaron is actually the first practitioner of our craft,” Mr. Bragman wrote, “thus making public relations the third oldest profession, slightly behind spycraft and prostitution. We get accused of both of those as well.”