Kenneth Reiner (April 2, 1916 September 12, 2011) was an American industrialist, philanthropist and inventor best known for constructing Silvertop, a landmark which is recognized one of the prominent architectural works of

John Lautner John Edward Lautner (16 July 1911 – 24 October 1994) was an American architect. Following an apprenticeship in the mid-1930s with the Taliesin Fellowship led by Frank Lloyd Wright, Lautner opened his own practice in 1938, where he worked for th ...

. He also manufactured hair clips and ''Kaylock'', a self-locking aircraft nut. After the

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 ...

broke out, he invented spring steel ''Lady Ellen Klippies'' that subsequently captured 90% of market share. In 1974, he was charged with

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, leading him to sell Silvertop project. At an apparent age of 75, he used to take part in singing lessons and later he became a prominent benefactor of Musical Theatre West, a musical theatre of

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. After completing singing lessons, he along with his wife used to hosted musical salons.

Biography

He was born in

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 ...

, New York, US on April 2, 1916. He lived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

by the latter. He received his initial schooling from the Brooklyn Ethical Culture School and graduated from the New York Boys High School in 1933. Later in 1937, he attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

where he obtained electrical engineering degree. He went to Los Angeles and remained associated with Lockheed Aircraft until he started Kaynar Corp in 1943, a corporation designed to manufacture bolts for the

aerospace manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...

industry. He also invented heating and cooling systems of low velocity, ceiling lights and light-transmitting electrical skylights. He constructed Midtown School in

Los Feliz, Los Angeles Los Feliz (, ; Spanish for "The Feliz amily, ) is a hillside neighborhood in the greater Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, abutting Hollywood and encompassing part of the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood is named after the Feli ...

. The Silvertop construction was partially completed at $1 million. In 2014,

Luke Wood Luke Wood is an American music executive and musician, known as being the president of both Beats Electronics from 2012 to 2010 and DGC Records from 2007 to 2010. He was also a guitarist for the 1990s alt-rock bands Sammy and Girls Against Boys. ...

purchased the house for $8.55 million.

Death

He died in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, on September 12, 2011, after a chronic condition.

Biography

Death

References

Further reading