Ralph R. Perlman (May 16, 1917 – May 24, 2013) was the state budget director in his adopted U.S. state of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
, having served under four governors of both parties from 1967 until 1988. Thereafter, Perlman continued to hold other public service positions.
Perlman was born in New York City, the only son of a Jewish couple of European descent, Harry and Bessie Perlman. He received his undergraduate degree from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...
in
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County, New York, Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca m ...
, and a master's in business from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
in New York City. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Perlman served with distinction in the
European Theater
The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...
as an artillery officer with the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
63rd Infantry Division. While stationed at Camp Van Dorn in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...
, he met and subsequently married the former Carol Herzberg, who was also Jewish. The Perlmans established residence in
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of countie ...
, where he was first engaged in business. Carol Perlman died of cancer in 1981; in 1984, Perlman remarried.
In 1964,
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
John McKeithen appointed Perlman as the executive assistant to the commissioner of administration, W. W. McDougall. In 1966, he briefly joined the staff of then-
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
Shreveport
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
lawyer, who subsequently became a
state senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 ...
in 1968 and a
U.S. senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
in 1972. In 1967, Governor McKeithen named Perlman as state budget director. In that capacity he developed the Office of State Group Benefits, which handles the medical claims of state employees and retirees. He also oversaw the state's $5 million investment in the
1984 Louisiana World Exposition
The 1984 Louisiana World Exposition was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It was held 100 years after the city's earlier World's Fair, the World Cotton Centennial in 1884. It opened on Saturday, May 12, 1984, and ende ...
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III (October 4, 1943 – May 17, 2021) was an American politician, investor, and banker who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana from 1988 to 1992, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives f ...
,
Edwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972� ...
, and Murphy J. Foster Jr. In 1997, Foster appointed Perlman secretary of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, a position that he held for five years.
In 2002, then
University of Louisiana System
The University of Louisiana System (UL System) is a public university system in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It enrolls more students than the other three public university systems in the state. Its headquarters are in the Claiborne Building in ...
President
Sally Clausen
Sally Clausen (born July 4, 1945) is executive director of the Ingram Center for Public Trusteeship and Governance, an affiliate of the American Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. She earlier, in 2010, retired as Loui ...
hired him as a special assistant. According to Clausen, whom Perlman considered his "goddaughter", Perlman "treated every budget as though it was coming out of his own pocket. ... If I was running the state, I'd want Ralph Perlman watching my dollars. ... In the first year s executive assistant he saved me a million dollars from minor stuff. He was a magician in common sense." Son Gerald Lee "Jerry" Perlman (born c. 1947) of
Shreveport
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
, Louisiana, described his father as "very detail-oriented, and he always had all the facts at his fingertips. He had a very retentive memory."
Perlman died in a Baton Rouge hospice at the age of ninety-six after a brief illness.
In 2011, Perlman was inducted into the
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame located in Winnfield, Louisiana. Created by a 1987 act of the Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature (french: Législature d'État de Louisiane) ...