Alvin Ira Malnik (born May 23, 1933) is an American businessman and attorney.

Biography

Malnik was born May 23, 1933, to a working-class family in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, the son of

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

immigrants. He attended Clark Elementary School in childhood and graduated from Soldan High School in 1950. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

in 1954. He was in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1954 to 1956 as a Guided Missile Officer and received the rank of Reserve Captain. He received his LLB and J.D. degrees from the

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, it is the oldest law school in South Florida, graduating its first ...

in 1959 and joined the Florida Bar. He actively practiced law until the late 1960s, and has since been engaged in real estate development and finance. Early in his career, Malnik bought and sold the rights to the movie-machine,

Scopitone Scopitone is a type of jukebox featuring a 16 mm film component. Scopitone films were a forerunner of music videos. The 1959 Italian Cinebox/Colorama and Color-Sonics were competing, lesser-known technologies of the time one year before the Scopi ...

. He earned $2 million from this business deal, which introduced him to the entertainment world. He then developed long-lasting business and personal relationships with celebrities including

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

and

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

. Malnik is a founder of such institutions as the University of Miami/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Mount Sinai Medical Center and is a sponsor of the Founders Society of the University of Miami as well as Al & Nancy Malnik Family AML Research Fund. He has received several honors from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, Jay Weiss Research Center at the University of Miami, School of Medicine, and The Make a Wish Foundation.

The Forge

Malnik and his friend Jay Weiss purchased and remodeled The Forge restaurant in Miami Beach in 1968. The Forge is the second oldest restaurant in South Florida, and is the recipient of the International Grand Master Wine Award.

Real estate projects

Under Malnik's guidance and sponsorship, such real estate projects were developed and built as Cricket Club Condominium buildings, Sky Lake Country Club, Brandsmart Building, California Club Residents, as well as multiple shopping centers in South Florida.

Personal life

His first wife was Deborah "Debbie" Carol (née Froelich) Malnick Hopp with whom he had four children before their divorce. In 1995, he married Nancy Gresham with whom he has six children. His son, Mark "Shareef" Malnik, is married to

Gabrielle Anwar Gabrielle Anwar (born 4 February 1970) is a British-American actress. She is known for her television roles as Sam Black in the second series of '' Press Gang'', as Margaret Tudor in the first season of ''The Tudors'', as Lady Tremaine in the ...

. In a 2011 interview, filmmaker

Brett Ratner Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the Rush Hour (film series), ''Rush Hour'' film series, ''The Family Man'', ''Red Dragon (2002 film), Red Dragon'', ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Tower Heist ...

stated that he "really didn't know" his biological father, and he considers Malnik to be his father.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malnik, Alvin 1933 births Living people American people of Russian-Jewish descent Businesspeople from Missouri American philanthropists Missouri lawyers 21st-century American Jews University of Miami School of Law alumni Washington University in St. Louis alumni