By Kevin McCauley
Cleveland PR veteran Bill Silverman died July 19 after a long struggle with diabetes. He was 82.
He began his career as a journalist covering the Korean War for the Army’s Stars & Stripes. Returning to Cleveland, he covered the police beat for The News for five years before taking PR jobs and local firms and Reynolds Metals in Richmond.
Silverman moved into the political arena via handling PR for Republican mayor candidates Ralph Perk and Seth Taft.
Carl Stokes, who defeated Taft in 1967, hired Silverman to work for the non-profit Greater Cleveland Associated Foundation.
Silverman launched Silverman & Co., which had offices in Toledo, Columbus and Charleston, W.Va. Clients included Gould Inc., boxing promoter Don King, Waxman Industries, BCC Industries and a raft of politicos and real estate interests.
In 1996, S&C rose to No. 40 in O’Dwyer’s Rankings of PR Firms with fees of 4.2M. Silverman retired in 1997 and the firm closed the following year.
He had retired to Colorado and New Mexico. He died at his home in Albuquerque. |