Jerry Finkelstein (January 26, 1916 – November 28, 2012) was an American publisher, businessman and political insider. Among his publications were the ''

New York Law Journal The ''New York Law Journal'', founded in 1888, is a legal periodical covering the legal profession in New York, United States. Background The newspaper, published Monday through Friday, provides daily coverage of civil and criminal cases fr ...

'' and '' The Hill''. He was the father of former New York City Council President Andrew Stein.

Early life and education

Finkelstein 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, the son of Albert Finkelstein, a small business owner in Manhattan. He attended George Washington High School and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. He graduated in 1938 from the

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...

Career and political influence

After graduating from law school in 1938, instead of taking the

bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

, Finkelstein worked as a reporter at the

New York Daily Mirror The ''New York Daily Mirror'' was an American morning tabloid newspaper first published on June 24, 1924, in New York City by the William Randolph Hearst organization as a contrast to their mainstream broadsheets, the ''Evening Journal'' and ''N ...

. In 1939, along with

Arthur Brisbane Arthur Brisbane (December 12, 1864 – December 25, 1936) was one of the best known American newspaper editors of the 20th century as well as a real estate investor. He was also a speech writer, orator, and public relations professional who coach ...

's son, Seward Brisbane; he founded a newspaper called ''The Civil Service Leader'', with public employees as the target audience. He ran unsuccessfully for the New York State Senate in 1942, the only time he ran for office. In 1949, Finkelstein successfully managed

William O'Dwyer William O'Dwyer (July 11, 1890November 24, 1964) was an Irish-American politician and diplomat who served as the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950. Life and career O'Dwyer was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ir ...

's mayoral re-election campaign; the following year, O'Dwyer appointed him director of the New York City Department of City Planning. In that role he frequently clashed with Robert Moses, who was successful in forcing him out after O'Dwyer resigned. In 1955 he opened a public relations firm; two years later, he merged with another public relations firm owned by

Tex McCrary John Reagan "Tex" McCrary Jr. (October 13, 1910 – July 29, 2003) was an American journalist and public relations specialist who popularized the talk show genre for television and radio along with his wife, Jinx Falkenburg, with whom he hosted ...

and

Jinx Falkenburg Eugenia Lincoln "Jinx" Falkenburg (January 21, 1919 – August 27, 2003) was an American actress and model. She married journalist and publicist Tex McCrary in 1945.Autobiography: Jinx, Jinx Falkenburg, Duell, Sloan and Pearce (1951) Known as ...

. The resultant firm became a major force in financial public relations; after becoming the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation for insider trading, it was dissolved. Finkelstein became chairman of Struthers Wells in 1961. He purchased the ''

'' in 1963 for $1 million.

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

appointed him Chairman of the Fine Arts Gift Committee of the National Cultural Center (later, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts). In 1972, he was named commissioner of the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

by New York governor Nelson Rockefeller. Finkelstein helped fundraising efforts by John F. Kennedy and

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

, and also helped President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

. His backing was instrumental in the election of his son, Andrew, to the New York State Assembly in 1968 (at the age of 23). Though a lifelong

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he was also a key supporter of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Nelson Rockefeller's gubernatorial and presidential campaigns.

Personal life and death

In 1942 Finkelstein married Shirley Marks, to whom he remained married until her death in 2003. He had two sons, Andrew Stein and James Finkelstein (married and divorced from Cathy Frank, daughter of

Sidney Frank Sidney E. Frank (October 2, 1919 – January 10, 2006) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He became a billionaire through his promotion of Grey Goose vodka and Jägermeister. Early life, family, education Frank was born to a Jewish ...

and granddaughter of

Lewis Rosenstiel Lewis Solon Rosenstiel (July 21, 1891 – January 21, 1976) was the founder of Schenley Industries, an American liquor company, and a philanthropist. The Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award is named after him and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmos ...

). Finkelstein died on November 28, 2012, at his home in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He was 96.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finkelstein, Jerry 1916 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American Jews American newspaper publishers (people) American political fundraisers American reporters and correspondents Businesspeople from New York City New York (state) Democrats People from Manhattan Journalists from New York City 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews