Syd Silverman
{{Short description|American publisher}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Syd Silverman
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1932|1|27}}
| birth_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|8|27|1932|1|27}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/31/business/media/syd-silverman-90-who-kept-variety-boffo-for-30-years-is-dead.html|title=Syd Silverman, 85, Who Kept Variety Boffo for 30 Years, Is Dead|last=Roberts|first=Sam|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 31, 2017|accessdate=September 2, 2017}}
| death_place = Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.
| death_cause =
| nationality = American
| alma mater = Princeton University
| occupation = Publisher
| known for = Owner and publisher of Variety
| spouse = Jan McNally Silverman (d. 1997)
Dr Joan Hoffman
| children = 4
| father = Sidne Silverman
| mother = Marie Saxon
| relations = Sime Silverman (grandfather)
}}
Syd Silverman (January 23, 1932 – August 27, 2017) was the owner and publisher of Variety magazine.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/08/syd-silverman-dies-longtime-publisher-variety-85-obituary-1202157297/|title=Syd Silverman Dies: Longtime Variety Publisher Was 85|first=Anita|last=Busch|date=28 August 2017|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=31 August 2017}}
Early life
Syd Silverman was born in Manhattan on January 23, 1932, to publisher Sidne Silverman and Broadway entertainer Marie (née Saxon) Silverman. He was the grandson of Sime Silverman, who founded Variety.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-syd-silverman-20170829-story.html|title=Syd Silverman, longtime Variety publisher, dies at 85|author=|date=30 August 2017|publisher=|accessdate=31 August 2017|via=LA Times}} His father was Jewish and his mother was from Massachusetts. Raised in Harrison, New York, Silverman was educated at the Manlius School and Princeton University, then served for two years in the U.S. Army.
Career
When Silverman's father, Sidne, died in 1950, he became the sole heir to what was then Variety Inc. As he was only 18, a legal guardian oversaw the business until 1956, before he took charge.
After that date Syd managed the company as publisher of both the Weekly Variety in New York and the Daily Variety in Hollywood, until the sale of both papers in 1987 to Cahners Publishing for $64 million.{{Cite news | issn = 0458-3035 | last = HARRIS | first = KATHRYN | title = Writers at Variety Ask: Will Sale End Freewheeling Era? | work = Los Angeles Times | access-date = 2014-08-23 | date = 1987-07-15 | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-07-15-fi-2283-story.html }}
He remained as publisher until 1990 and became chairman of both publications.{{cite news|work=Variety|title=Byrne new Variety publisher; Silverman appointed chairman|date=February 7, 1990}}
Personal life
Silverman's first wife, Jan McNally Silverman, a Roman Catholic, died in 1997.{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title= Jan McNally Silverman |publisher=Variety Magazine|date=January 28, 1997 |url=https://variety.com/1997/scene/vpage/jan-mcnally-silverman-1117342953/ |quote=A funeral mass will be held Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows in White Plains with interment to follow at White Plains Rural Cemetery.}} They had four children, Michael, Mark, Matthew and Marie Silverman Marich.{{Cite web|first= |last= |author-link= |title=Marie Silverman, Robert Marich |publisher=Chicago Tribune|date=August 7, 1988|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-08-07-8801210326-story.html |quote=Marie Silverman and Peter Robert Marich were married in a ceremony in Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in White Plains, N.Y.}} He later married Dr. Joan Hoffman.
Silverman died on 27 August 2017 in Boca Raton, Florida, after a sudden illness. He was 85.
References
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Category:American magazine editors
Category:Variety (magazine) people
Category:American publishing chief executives
Category:Businesspeople from New York City
Category:Manlius Pebble Hill School alumni
Category:Princeton University alumni
Category:United States Army officers
Category:American people of Jewish descent
Category:20th-century American businesspeople
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