SILBERKLEIT--Michael I., the chairman of Archie Comic Publications,
died August 5th in New York City at the age of 76, after a short
battle with cancer. For much of the 60 years he worked at Archie
Comics, Silberkleit shared the leadership of the company with Richard
Goldwater, whose father, John Goldwater, and his partner, Louis
Silberkleit, Michael's father, founded the company. The sons, who
began working at the company as boys, later steered Archie Comics into
the modern era of publishing as electronic production techniques and
brand licensing became important. They encouraged the development of
new characters, such as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and Josie and the
Pussycats, and successfully licensed these and other characters
through Archie Comics Entertainment. Silberkleit was also Executive
consultant to the TV program, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, a long
running series starring Melissa Joan Hart. The company also published
comic books as a licensee, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and
Sonic the Hedgehog. At various times Silberkleit was chairman of the
Comics Association of America. The centerpiece identity of the
company, which is based in Mamaroneck, New York, remains the brightly
innocent presence of Archie and his girlfriends, Betty and Veronica,
who made their comic debut in 1941. Over the decades Michael
Silberkleit and Richard Goldwater steadfastly refused to introduce the
worldlier and darker elements of teenage life, like sex and drugs and
violence, into the Archie storylines. In doing so they preserved an
image of adolescence for the target audience of 7-to-14 year olds.
Silberkleit was determined to keep Archie an American institution,
pure as childhood, yet up-to-date with the latest technology used by
children today. For generations of readers, Archie and the Gang have
represented the wonder and magic of childhood and Silberkleit fought
successfully to keep this vision alive. Unlike some competitors who
use longer formats, Archie Comics continues its tradition of telling
accessible, short stories. In one of the many interviews Silberkleit
gave, he said, "The fact that our stories are funny, are non-violent,
believable, clean and appropriate for youngsters makes us so appealing
to the younger reader. This philosophy hasnt changed for more than 60
years. Many parents grew up reading Archie Comics and feel that our
comics are appropriate for their kids." After an initial public
offering in the early 1970s, when Silberkleit served as Treasurer,
Archie Comics shares were traded publicly. But after ten years
Silberkleit and his partner Goldwater bought the company back from
shareholders and held it as a private, family-owned business
thereafter. Currently, the company publishes over 10 million comics
per year in a dozen languages worldwide. Born in New York City in
1932, Silberkleit attended the Fieldston School before going to
Albright College as an undergraduate. He studied law after his
graduation. Silberkleit was also active in the community, volunteering
as an auxiliary policeman for the Scarsdale Police force. A resident
of Rye and East Hampton, NY, Silberkleit indulged his mechanical
aptitude with vintage sports cars, spending several years restoring a
1966 Austin Healey 3000 MKIII. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Lind
Silberkleit, and their daughter, Alexandria, and by three adult
children from a prior marriage to Karen Silberkleit: Susan Berkley,
David Silberkleit and Amy Silberkleit, as well as grandchildren Isis
and Elijah Shiffer. A private funeral and memorial service is planned
for Sunday, August 10th. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers or
other memorials, donations should be made to Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center Research.


--Shadow
CPG Administrator (since 2003)

10,962 posts BC. (Before Change)
Dedicated to the memory of Bill Johnson (wrjwrj)....comics were his friends...

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