Jerrold Wexler (June 27, 1924 – November 10, 1992) was a noted American businessman and film producer. He was the brother of cinematographer Haskell Wexler and the stepfather of actress Daryl Hannah.
Early life and education
Wexler was born to a
American Jews family
[Cutler, Irving The Jews of Chicago: From Shtetl to Suburb p. 177] in
Chicago, the son of Lottie and Simon Wexler. His brothers were Haskell Wexler, Yale Wexler, and his sister was Joyce Wexler Isaacs. He attended Northwestern University.
His father founded the Columbia Radio Corporation in 1921
[ Radio Museum: "History of the radio manufacturer: Allied Radio Corp. (Knight, Roamer, Wextark); Chicago (IL)" retrieved April 25, 2015] and the Allied Radio Corporation in 1928. Allied Radio was an American radio manufacturer and retailer, which sold radio sets, tubes, capacitors, amateur radio equipment, citizen's band (CB) radios, and consumer audio systems through retail stores and beginning in 1962, also via mail-order.
[ Vintage Amplifiers Collectors Magazine: "Knight Allied Radio Corporation Chicago Illinois" retrieved April 25, 2015] In 1970, Allied Radio was purchased by the Tandy Corporation, the parent company of
Radio Shack.
His brother was cinematographer, film producer, and director
Haskell Wexler.
Business ventures
By his early 30s, he was building a reputation for financing monumental
skyscrapers, including 400 East Randolph a luxury apartment building in Chicago's Loop. With his father's help, he brokered the construction of the Executive Plaza Hotel on
Wacker Drive (now known as Hotel 71).
In 1979 he, along with his business partner Edward W. Ross, purchased the Drake Hotel.
When Bertram Lee failed to come up with his ten percent share to purchase the National Basketball Association Denver Nuggets in 1989, Peter Bynoe recruited Jerrold Wexler and Jay Pritzker to keep the deal alive. The group held an interest in the team until 1992 when COMSAT bought out Drexel Burnham Lambert, Bynoe and his partners.
Personal life
In 1946, Wexler married Lolly Lurie; they had four children: Susan Wexler Piser; Jane Wexler Feil; Diane Wexler Grant; and Judith Wexler Gigliotti.
They divorced in 1968. In 1969, he married Susan Jeanne Metzger, with whom he had one child: film director
Tanya Wexler.
[ Crain's Chicago Business: "HEIR-SPLITTING" By Betsy Wangensteen March 24, 1997][ Chicago Tribune: "Filmmaker and Lincoln Park native Tanya Wexler on her romantic comedy 'Hysteria'" by Nina Metz May 24, 2012] He has three stepchildren from his marriage to Metzger: actress
Daryl Hannah, Donald Hannah, and actress
Page Hannah.
[ Chicago Tribune: "Jerrold Wexler Partner Sues In Wake Of Ouster - Jupiter Coup Spawns A Bitter Asset Battle" By J. Linn Allen March 29, 1996]
Death and legacy
In November 1992, Wexler died of
lymphoma at the Stanford Hospital in
Palo Alto,
California.
In 1993, he was inducted posthumously into the Chicago Association of REALTORS Hall of Fame.
His estate continued to sell off his business interests for several years after his death.
In 2003, the United States National Film Preservation Board added the 1969 film Medium Cool, co-produced by Jerrold and Haskell Wexler, to the National Film Registry.
External links
