Edward Rosenthal (1903–1991) was a former vice chairman of

Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

and president/owner of the Jewish funeral home chain,

Biography

Rosenthal was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. He has two siblings: Miriam Rosenthal Passerman and Morton Rosenthal. In 1924, he graduated with a B.A. from the Wharton School at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. After school he took over his family's funeral home business founded by his grandfather, Louis Meyers, in 1897.Riverside Memorial Chapel: "History"
retrieved September 15, 2016 In 1933, he divided the company into two brands, the ''

Riverside Memorial Chapel The Riverside Memorial Chapel is a Jewish funeral home chain with their main facility at 180 West 76th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City.Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

(1935);

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

(1938); the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

(1940); and

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

(1950). He expanded further via acquisitions acquiring the

Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel The Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel is a funeral home located on Madison Avenue at 81st Street in Manhattan. Founded in 1898 as Frank E. Campbell Burial and Cremation Company, the company is now owned by Service Corporation International. The fun ...

(1948), the Universal Funeral Chapel (1955); and the Walter B. Cooke Chapel (1957) to become the largest funeral company in the United States. The company diversified after he brought his son-in-law Steve Ross (who married his daughter Carol in 1953) into the business. They established a separate company that would lease out their vehicles in the evenings when they were not needed for funerals and then opened a rental company, Abbey Rent a Car.''New York Times'': "A $78 Million Year: Steve Ross Defends His Paycheck" BY ROGER COHEN
March 22, 1992 They later merged the funeral home and Abbey with a parking lot operator, the

Kinney Parking Company Kinney Parking Company was a New Jersey parking lot company owned by Manny Kimmel, Sigmund Dornbusch, and mob figure Abner Zwillman. History Kinney Parking Company was incorporated in 1945 by Manny Kimmel. In 1961, Kinney reached an agreement ...

, which was then owned by underworld crime figures

Manny Kimmel Emmanuel Kimmel (April 14, 1896 – July 18, 1982) was a notable underworld figure between the 1930s and 1960s and the founder of the Kinney Parking Company, a chain of parking lots and garages which evolved into the media conglomerate Warner Com ...

and

Abner Zwillman Abner "Longie" Zwillman (July 27, 1904 – February 26, 1959) was a Jewish-American mobster who was based primarily in North Jersey. He was a long time friend and associate of mobsters Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. Zwillman's criminal organi ...

; and added City Service Cleaning Contractors, Inc,, an office cleaning business jointly owned by Rosenthal and a cousin. In 1958, Rosenthal ceded control to his son-in-law. The resulting holding company, Kinney Service Corporation, was taken public in 1962 with a market valuation of $12.5 million. Rosenthal served as vice chairman of Kinney National from 1962 until 1966. In 1964, Kinney National purchased wood flooring manufacturer Circle Floor from Seymour and

Paul Milstein Paul Milstein (May 12, 1922 – August 9, 2010) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. Early life and education Milstein was born to a Jewish family''New York Times'': "Milstein Opens Throttle as Builder"
October 18, 1981 In 1966, Kinney expanded into the entertainment business by purchasing the

Ashley-Famous Ashley-Famous was a talent agency started in 1955 by talent agent Ted Ashley. The agency had a successful 16-year run under that name and owner; it was responsible for many hit television shows and had several famous clients. It changed ownership a ...

talent agency and then in 1969, Kinney paid $400 million for the ailing

Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc. was a short-lived American entertainment company active from 1967 until 1969. History Seven Arts Productions acquired Jack L. Warner's controlling interest in Warner Bros. Pictures for $32 million in November 19 ...

film studio and record business. In 1971, the funeral business was purchased by

Service Corporation International Service Corporation International is an American provider of funeral goods and services as well as cemetery property and services. It is headquartered in Neartown, Houston, Texas, and operates secondary corporate offices in Jefferson (New Orle ...

. A year later, after spinning off its remaining non-entertainment assets, Kinney National Services renamed itself

with Rosenthal serving as vice chairman of Warner Communications from 1972 until 1983. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served with the

Seabees United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. Rosenthal was a founder of the Fairview-Greenburgh Day Care and Community Center.

Personal life

Rosenthal was married to Bea "Doris" Rosenthal; they had four children: Peter Rosenthal; Ellen Rosenthal Sarnoff; Patricia Rosenthal Cantor; and Carol Rosenthal Ross Maslow. His first wife Beatrice Malawista Rosenthal died in childbirth with their child Carol in 1935.''New York Times'': "CAROL MASLOW"
February 4, 2014 He died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

at his home in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Edward 1903 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American Jews American businesspeople