Richard L. Simon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Leo Simon (1899-03-06)March 6, 1899 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 29, 1960(1960-07-29) (aged 61) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder ofSimon & Schuster |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 4; includingJoanna,Lucy andCarly |
| Relatives | George T. Simon (brother) Sally Taylor (granddaughter) |
Richard Leo Simon (March 6, 1899 – July 29, 1960) was an American book publisher. He was the co-founder, withMax Schuster, of the publishing houseSimon & Schuster and father of singer-songwriterCarly Simon.[2]
Richard Leo Simon was born on March 6, 1899, inNew York City to a wealthy Jewish family.[3] His father, Leo Simon, was a prosperous feather- and silk manufacturer andmilliner of German Jewish descent, while his mother, Anna (née Meier), was a German Jewish immigrant.[4][5] Simon’s parents were active in theEthical Culture movement, which emphasized universal morality.[4] They sent Richard to theEthical Cultural School and then toColumbia University.[4]
After serving inWorld War I, Simon returned to the United States and, leveraging his talent for music, worked as a piano salesman before eventually launching his career in book publishing.[4]
Richard Simon was the eldest of five siblings – Henry, Alfred, George, and Elizabeth – all of whom were named after British monarchs.[4] His brotherGeorge T. Simon was a jazz drummer who played withGlenn Miller and later became a prominent critic, magazine editor, and author onjazz, particularlybig bands and theswing era. Another brother, Henry W. Simon, was an English professor atTeachers College, Columbia University, a classical music critic for the newspaperPM, and an author of numerous books on opera. He eventually became an editor and vice president atSimon & Schuster. Alfred, another sibling, was a rehearsal pianist forIra andGeorge Gershwin; the programmer for light opera and show music at WQXR; and a noted author onmusical theatre. His sister, Elizabeth, married physician Arthur Seligmann.[5]
Simon began his career as a sugar importer and then became a piano salesman. It was while selling pianos that he met Max Schuster. Simon then became a salesman for the publisherBoni & Liveright where he quickly rose to sales manager.[5]
Simon pooled $8,000 together withMax Schuster to publish the first book of crossword puzzles in 1924.[6]
Simon was a pioneer in emphasizing marketing, merchandising, promotion and advertising for booksellers. Simon wrote a weekly column and advertorial inPublishers Weekly called the Inner Sanctum. His partner Max Schuster wrote a column of the same name forThe New York Times. The title was also the name of the editorial room between their offices.[5]
Michael Korda said that when he arrived to work as an editor at Simon & Schuster in 1958, he found a bronze plaque on his desk designed by Richard Simon that said, "Give the reader a break." This was a reminder to every editor that their job was to make things as easy and clear for the reader as possible.[6]
Simon retired in 1957 after having two heart attacks.[5]
On August 3, 1934,[1] Simon marriedAndrea Heinemann, who worked as a switchboard operator at Simon & Schuster. Raised inPhiladelphia, Heinemann was the daughter of aCuban-born, Roman Catholic mother, Asunción María del Río, and a German-speaking Swiss father who had abandoned the family.[4] She asserted that she was of partial "Moorish" origin based on her mother's exotic looks, but she was of Afro-Cuban descent.[4]
They had four children:
Simon died in 1960 after suffering a heart attack. Simon was a resident ofFieldston, an area withinRiverdale inthe Bronx.[7]
He's the co-founder and partner in the publishing firm of Simon & Schuster, and she, until August 3, was Miss Andrea Heinemann of New York.
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