Bernard Korman

Died

KORMAN--Bernard. December 17, 1925-July 14, 2019. "Bernie", as he was known to family, friends and colleagues alike, passed away peacefully on Sunday afternoon with Anne, his beloved wife, by his side. He is also survived by his son Keith (Maxine) and his nephew Jason (Rebecca). He was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind and a tender heart. Bernie was born and raised in Brooklyn and lived his entire life in New York City. After two years of service with the Army in WWII, he received his undergraduate degree from Columbia and his law degree from Yale. He went to work immediately for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the world's largest performing rights organization, dedicated to ensuring that its hundreds of thousands of songwriter and music publisher members are properly compensated for the public performances of their musical works. It was a fateful decision; he spent 42 years at ASCAP, virtually his entire professional career, becoming General Counsel in 1973 and serving in that demanding role for 20 years. His tenure was marked by several "bet the farm" legal challenges to ASCAP's licensing structure on anti-trust grounds and Bernie often remarked that he was proudest of having safely guided ASCAP through this turbulent period. He was also proud of his work in this important field abroad where he was admired and respected as a thought leader. But Bernie was not merely wedded to his work. He and Anne shared a lifelong passion for travel and epicurean delights. They traveled the world, making new friends along the way and returned frequently to those locales that had captured their hearts. As the years flew by, their bodies may have weakened, their travels may have been reduced to walks to the market, but there remained one great constant - their enduring love for each other. And so it was only fitting that Anne was by Bernie's side when he passed as she had been for so many years. She is not alone in her grief; those of us who knew him or worked with him and, consequently, loved him, were all fortunate to have had him in our lives. He will be greatly missed by so very many.

Source: The New York Times

Published on: 21-07-2019