Harvey L. Silbert (1912–2002) was an American real estate and entertainment lawyer, casino executive and philanthropist. He represented celebrities and studio executives. He was a real estate investor in

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...

, and a director of casinos in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. He was a major donor to the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, where he brought Hollywood celebrities for fundraisers.

Early life and education

Harvey Silbert was born on June 10, 1912, in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He grew up in

Boyle Heights Boyle may refer to: Places United States * Boyle, Kansas, an unincorporated community * Boyle, Mississippi, a town *Boyle County, Kentucky *Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, a neighborhood Elsewhere * Boyle (crater), a lunar crater * 11967 Boyle, ...

, and he became barmitzvah at the Breed Street Shul. Silbert graduated from the Southwestern University Law School.

Legal and business career

Silbert was an entertainment lawyer. He represented actors including

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 193 ...

, Gail Russell, Dan Dailey, and

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 studio and casino executives such as

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

. With investors Bernard M. Silbert and M. A. Borenstein, Silbert acquired "50 retail stores and 12 parking lots" in Westwood, from S. Jon Kreedman in 1961. (The properties belonged to Arnold Kirkeby, but Kreedman had an option on them.) Silbert served as the secretary and treasurer of the Albert Parvin Foundation, which owned stocks in the Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation, until it sold its gambling stocks due to allegations of corruption regarding Supreme Court Justice

William O. Douglas William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 to 1975. Douglas was known for his strong progressive and civil libertari ...

in March 1968. Two months later, in May 1968, Silbert joined the board of directors of the corporation, which owned the

Fremont Hotel and Casino The Fremont Hotel & Casino is located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It is part of the Fremont Street Experience, named after American explorer and politician John C. Frémont. The casino is operated by the Boyd Gaming Corporation. History ...

and the

Stardust Resort and Casino The Stardust Resort and Casino was a casino resort located on along the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. The Stardust was conceived by Tony Cornero, and construction began in 1954. Cornero died in 1955, and the project was taken over by h ...

. Also in May 1968, he joined the board of directors of the Riviera, a hotel and casino on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

, alongside

David Merrick David Merrick (born David Lee Margulois; November 27, 1911 – April 25, 2000) was an American theatrical producer who won a number of Tony Awards. Life and career Born David Lee Margulois to Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri, Merrick grad ...

and Harry A. Goodman. Silbert, who by December 1968 served as the vice president of the Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation, oversaw the acquisition of the Aladdin Resort & Casino from Milton Prell for US5.45 million in December 1968. Three years later, in 1971, he served as the president of the Riviera casino. Silbert developed the Sheraton Plaza Hotel in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, in 1984. Silbert was a lawyer at Loeb & Loeb, an international law firm based in

Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown Los Angeles, Cent ...

, in the 1990s. From 1998 to 2002, Silbert belonged to Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil and Shapiro.

Philanthropy

Silbert served on the board of directors of the

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

, the Bet Tzedek Legal Services, and the Shaare Zedek Medical Center. He made charitable gifts to the Anti-Defamation League and the

Milken Family Foundation The Milken Family Foundation is a private foundation established by Lowell Milken and Michael Milken in 1982. Lowell Milken serves as chairman and co-founder of the foundation. Goals The foundation is focused primarily on supporting education ...

. Silbert served on the board of trustees of his alma mater, the Southwestern University School of Law, where he endowed the Harvey L. and Lillian Silbert Public Interest Fellowship Program with his wife. He also served on the board of trustees of the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA). He also endowed the Silbert International Scholars Program at UCLA's School of Medicine. Silbert served as the chairman of the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. With his wife, he endowed the Harvey L. Silbert Center for Israeli Studies and supported the construction of the Lillian and Harvey L. Silbert Humanities Building, the Silbert Family Wing in the Louis Boyar Building, and the Lillian Silbert Garden on its campus. Moreover, Silbert helped Bernard Cherrick, its vice president, bring Hollywood celebrities to attend fundraisers on campus. He persuaded

to endow the construction of the Frank Sinatra International Student Centre on campus. He also persuaded

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

to endow the Emanuel Streisand Building for Jewish Studies in 1984.

Personal life, death and legacy

Silbert married Lillian Schwartz around 1935. They had a son, Kenneth, and a daughter, Lynne. They resided in a house designed by architect Harold Levitt in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. Silbert died on September 28, 2002, in Los Angeles, California. His funeral was held at the Temple Israel of Hollywood. The American Friends of the Hebrew University named the annual Harvey L. Silbert Torch of Learning Award in his honor. It was awarded to attorney William Shernoff in 2008. By 2015, it was awarded to Jonathan H. Anschell, the Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Secretary for the

CBS Corporation CBS Corporation was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing and television production. It was split from Viacom on December 31, 2005, alongside an entirely new Viacom; both ...

, and Richard S. Volpert, a partner at the law firm Glaser Weil.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silbert, Harvey 1912 births 2002 deaths People from Boyle Heights, Los Angeles Lawyers from Los Angeles Businesspeople from Beverly Hills, California American entertainment lawyers American corporate directors American businesspeople in real estate American casino industry businesspeople Philanthropists from California 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews