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Cottrell was born on September 4, 1944, in Springfield, Illinois. He attended the University of Arkansas. He worked at the Guthrie Theatre and then the Loyola Theatre as a film projectionist. He worked subsequently as a publicist starting at Landmark Theatres (1982 and 1984), then John Baron Associates, before establishing Cottrell and Lindeman Associates with his business partner in 1989, before going freelance and founding in 2002 Mickey Cottrell Film Publicity.
In 2016, he suffered a significant stroke. He resided at the Film and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, where he died from Parkinson's disease on January 1, 2024, aged 79.[3][2][1]