Leslie Buck (September 20, 1922 – April 26, 2010) was an American business executive and

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor who designed the

Anthora The Anthora is a design for a disposable paper cup for coffee that has become iconic in New York City daily life. History The cup was originally designed by Leslie Buck of the Sherri Cup Company in 1963, to appeal to Greek-owned coffee sho ...

coffee cup, which has become an iconic symbol of New York City since its introduction in the 1960s.

Early life

Buck was born Laszlo Büch into a Jewish family on September 20, 1922, in

Khust Khust (, ; ; ; ; ; ) is a city located on the Khustets River in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is near the сonfluence of the Tisa and Rika Rivers. It serves as the administrative center of Khust Raion. Population: Khust was the capi ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(now part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). Buck's parents were murdered during the

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Buck was imprisoned by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

during the occupation, surviving his captivity at

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

and

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

s. Buck moved to the United States following World War II, settling in New York City. Once in the United States he adopted the anglicized name, Leslie Buck.

Career

Buck partnered with his brother, Eugene, and ran an import-export business. The two brothers launched a

paper cup A paper cup is a disposable cup made out of paper and often lined or coated paper, coated with plastic-coated paper, plastic or wax paper, wax to prevent liquid from leaking out or soaking through the paper. Disposable cups in shared environment ...

maker based in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Moun ...

called Premier Cup sometime in the late 1950s. Buck left the family business to take a position with a start-up paper cup manufacturer called the Sherri Cup Company during the mid-1960s. He originally worked as Sherri Cup's

sales manager Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales, through the sale of products and ...

, before becoming the company's

marketing director A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a chief brand officer (CBO), is a C-suite corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. The CMO leads brand management, marketing communications (including adverti ...

Anthora coffee cup

As marketing director of Sherri, Buck wanted to get its products into New York City's

diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

s and other eating establishments, many of which were owned by Greeks or

Greek Americans Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greeks, Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 p ...

. Buck designed the

paper

coffee cup A coffee cup is a cup for serving coffee and List of coffee drinks, coffee-based drinks. There are three major types: conventional cups used with saucers, mugs used without saucers, and disposable cups. Cups and mugs generally have a Handle (gri ...

with Greek themes to appeal to them. Leslie Buck retired from Sherri Cup in 1992. The company gave him 10,000 specially made Anthora cups, each with an inscription, to celebrate his retirement.

Personal life

Buck married Ella Farkas in 1949. They had two daughters and a son. At the time of his death, Buck lived in

Glen Cove, New York Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. The city's population was 28,3 ...

and

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, De ...

. He previously lived in

Syosset, New York Syosset is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York (state ...

. Buck died of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

at his home in Glen Cove on April 26, 2010, at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Leslie 1922 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American business executives American designers American people of Czech-Jewish descent Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Businesspeople from New York (state) Czechoslovak Jews Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Deaths from Parkinson's disease in New York (state) People from Delray Beach, Florida People from Glen Cove, New York People from Khust People from Syosset, New York