Howard Dietz Howard Dietz Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist. Dietz was born in New York City. He attended Columbia College and then studied journalism at Columbia University. He also served as publicist/director of advertising for Goldwyn Pictures and later MGM and is often credited with creating Leo the Lion, its lion mascot, and choosing their slogan "Ars Gratia Artis". In 1942, he was made MGM's Vice President in Charge of Publicity. He held that position until his retirement in 1957. He began a long association with composer Arthur Schwartz when they
Orsten Artis Orsten Artis Orsten Artis (June 7, 1943 – December 26, 2017) was an American basketball player. He started at guard for the 1965–66 Texas Western Miners basketball team, the first team in history to win an NCAA championship with five African-American players in the starting lineup. Artis, a 6'1 guard from Froebel High School in Gary, Indiana, played for coach Don Haskins at Texas Western University (now the University of Texas at El Paso). With teammates Bobby Joe Hill, David Lattin, Nevil Shed and Harry Flournoy, Artis was a part of the first team with an all-black starting lineup to