Herman Platt (1909–2005) was an American business executive and philanthropist.

Biography

Early life

Hermann Platt was born in 1909. His father,

Benjamin Platt Benjamin Platt (December 17, 1883 – April 18, 1960) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Platt Music Corporation, which he started in 1905. Biography Early life Benjamin Platt was born in Khodorkiv, a ''sh ...

, was the founder of the

Platt Music Corporation The Platt Music Corporation, founded by Benjamin Platt in 1905, was a national retailer specializing in selling consumer electronics goods through leased operations in 135 department stores including Marshall Field's, Bloomingdale's, The May Depa ...

and co-founder of the

American Jewish University American Jewish University (AJU), formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish institution in Los Angeles, California. Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in w ...

Career

He served as the Chief Executive of the American retail chain,

Platt Music The Platt Music Corporation, founded by Benjamin Platt in 1905, was a national retailer specializing in selling consumer electronics goods through leased operations in 135 department stores including Marshall Field's, Bloomingdale's, The May Depa ...

Corporation, until 1984 when he became Chairman of the Executive Committee.

Philanthropy

He was a key supporter of and fundraiser for

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the Jewish Home for the Aging, the

City of Hope National Medical Center City of Hope is a private, not-for-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate school located in Duarte, California, United States. The center's main campus resides on of land adjacent to the boundaries of Duarte and Irwindale, with ...

and the UCLA Foundation. He was also the President of Vista del Mar Charities. He served as the president of Sinai Temple from 1962 to 1964, after Edward Hyman. He was a co-founder of the

Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery is the largest Jewish cemetery organization in California. History Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries, owned by Sinai Temple of Los Angeles, refers to two Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles metropo ...

. In 2005, Mount Sinai named its chapel and administrative buildings after Platt. Together with his wife, he endowed the Marjorie and Herman Platt Gallery on the campus of the American Jewish University.

Personal life

In 1946, he married Margie (née Cerf) Platt. They had one son, Kenneth Platt; and four daughters, Barbara Platt, Susan Platt Baggley, attorney Cynthia Platt Flagg, and producer Nancy Platt Arent Jacoby, as well as ten grandchildren.New York Times: "Lindsey Arent and Joshua Schank"
May 28, 2006 The Platt family has an archive at the UCLA library. The Benjamin Platt Papers (Collection 929) is located in the Department of Special Collections,

Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...

, University of California, Los Angeles.

Death

He died in 2005 of natural causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platt, Herman 1909 births 2005 deaths People from Los Angeles American retail chief executives Jewish American philanthropists 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews