Fri Aug 8, 2008 10:29AM2 comments ›
Fri Aug 8, 2008 — by Mike Gold
Michael Silberkleit, 1932 - 2008
Archie Comics Chairman The Last Of His Breed
Archie Comics chairman Michael Silberkleit, the last of the original breed of comic book company family-owners, died August 5th from cancer, Archie Comics announced last night.
Along with his life-long friend Archie publisher Richard Goldwater, who passed away last year, Michael spent virtually his entire life at the comic book company. MLJ, its original name, was started in 1939 as a pulp magazine publishing house when Michael was seven years old. It was founded by his father, Louis, along with Richard's father John and accountant Morris Coyne. During World War II and after the massive success of their feature Archie, the name of the company was changed to Archie Comics.
Living in Westchester County New York, Silberkleit had also volunteered as an auxiliary policeman in Scarsdale, NY.
Speaking personally, I was always impressed with Michael's adventurous spirit, always looking to new ways to further the Archie franchise and bring new energy to the company. Archie was one of the first comics companies to embrace the use of computers in their production, and one of the first to establish a fun, interactive website.
The funeral for the 76 year-old founding brother will be this Sunday.
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Comments (2)
R. Maheras (12:23 PM on Fri Aug 8, 2008)
That's just terrible news! I met him in 2005 when he and a number of Archie staffers went on the Comic Book Industry Civic Leader Tour I set up to visit McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. He was a very nice gentleman and we had some interesting discussions during the course of the day. He was also very supportive of the U.S. military. What a sad loss.
Mark Behar (1:47 PM on Fri Aug 8, 2008)
I had a nice chat with him at the New York Comic Con in 2006. Now I really wish that I had attended one of those Archie Comics panels where he spoke.