Jay Curtis, 68, died January 25, 2018, after fighting a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Curtis was honored at PromaxBDA: The Conference in Los Angeles last June just before the organization’s annual State of Our Art session, which Curtis previously had produced many times.

He was widely known as “the Creative Lifeguard,” for his talent at coaxing creative out of people. Throughout his career, he produced promos for CBS, NBC and Fox, and directed such talent as Bob Newhart, Dick Van Dyke, Dan Rather, George Clooney, Ray Romano and David Letterman.

After he was diagnosed with ALS, Curtis kept creating, penning two books of poetry: In and Out of Dreaming and Flaws in the Road. Both books are available on Amazon, and portions of the proceeds go to macangels.com, a support group for ALS patients and their families.

RELATED: ‘In And Out of Dreaming’: Jay Curtis Captures His Experience of ALS

According to his family, Curtis passed peacefully and his last words were, “Remember I went smiling.”

He is survived by his wife, Becky, his son, J.T., and his parents Peggy and Joe Curtis.

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