CHILES: DON’T GO AWAY MAD

Is self-appointed madman Eddie Chiles mellowing? Maybe. If the Fort Worth oil magnate has any plans for future madness, he apparently plans to keep his rage to himself. Chiles, who blistered the airwaves in more than a dozen states with his “I’m mad” radio campaign, has fired the public relations staff responsible for putting together the media blitz.

Chiles has dissolved the six-member public affairs department of the Western Company of North America, the oil-field service company of which he is president. The public affairs staff members have been given until the end of the year to find new jobs.

“It’s a business decision,” said Bill Fisher, who works in the department. “He decided to consolidate some things, and he felt like the best thing was to consolidate the public affairs department.”

During the heyday of the “I’m mad” program, the public affairs department was helping to write scripts for Chiles to read over the air, buying air time on radio stations in southern, southwestern and mountain states, and distributing more than half a million “I’m mad, too, Eddie” bumper stickers in three languages.

Did Chiles dispatch his public affairs staff with the words “Don’t go away mad”? We don’t know.

Chiles refused to comment on his reorganization. His secretary, Celia Mervis, said Chiles would do his own public relations from now on, thank you.