Theodore Roosevelt Kupferman (May 12, 1920 – September 23, 2003) was an American politician who was a Republican member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and a judge of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

Biography

Kupferman was born in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He graduated from

DeWitt Clinton High School DeWitt Clinton High School is a public high school located since 1929 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Opened in 1897 in Lower Manhattan as an all-boys school, it maintained that status for 86 years before becoming co-ed in 1983. From i ...

(1937),

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

(1940), and

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

(1943). He was a member of the legal department of

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...

from 1943 until 1948 and from 1949 until 1951. He was a member of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's legal department from 1951 until 1953. He served as president of the

City Club of New York The City Club of New York is an independent, not-for-profit organization based in New York City. In 1950, ''The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Tim ...

from 1956 to 1958."Durable Campaigner: Theodore Roosevelt Kupferman,"
''New York Times'' (August 22, 1962). He was a counsel and legislative assistant to

Stanley M. Isaacs Stanley Myer Isaacs (1882–1962) was a Republican politician from New York City who served as Manhattan Borough President from 1938 to 1941 and later as a member of the New York City Council from 1942 to 1962. He was Minority Leader of the co ...

, the New York City Council minority leader, from 1958 to 1962, during which time he wrote ''The Family Legal Advisor'' (Greystone, 1957); it was later republished by

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by A. A. Wyn, Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mystery fiction, mysteries and western (genre), westerns, and soon branched out int ...

. Kupferman was an assistant and adjunct professor of law at

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

from 1959 until 1964. He was a member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

from 1962 until 1966. Kupferman was elected to Congress in 1966, defeating

William vanden Heuvel William Jacobus vanden Heuvel ( ; April 14, 1930 – June 15, 2021) was an American attorney, businessman, author and diplomat of Dutch descent. He was known for advising Robert F. Kennedy during the latter's campaigns for Senate in 1964 and pr ...

to fill the vacancy caused when

John V. Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...

resigned to become

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

. He was elected to a full term in November 1966 and served from February 8, 1966, to January 3, 1969. In the fall of 1966 Kupferman proposed a special committee to review the

Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the A ...

's work and conclusions, but the proposal was not acted on. In 1969 Kupferman became a justice of the

, and he served until 1996. After retiring from the bench he returned to practicing law, and represented clients including

Abraham Hirschfeld Abraham Jacob Hirschfeld (December 20, 1919 – August 9, 2005) was an American real estate investor, Broadway producer and political candidate from New York City. He was the owner of several buildings in Manhattan. He served as treasurer for the ...

and the

Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA) is the largest police union representing police officers of the New York City Police Department. It represents about 24,000 of the department's 36,000 officers. The PBA was origin ...

. Kupferman died in New York City on September 23, 2003. He was interred at

Kensico Cemetery Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, New York, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city ...

Valhalla, New York Valhalla ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The name wa ...

Sources

External links

* Columbia Law School alumni City College of New York alumni 1920 births 2003 deaths New York Law School faculty Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Burials at Kensico Cemetery New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department justices 20th-century New York (state) politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Jewish state legislators in New York (state) {{NewYork-Representative-stub