Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch, 68, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who also won three Oscars, four Emmys and four Grammys, died August 6 in Los Angeles. He is one of a few artists to win every major creative prize, including an Oscar for “The Way We Were” (1973, shared with the lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman), a Grammy as best new artist (1974), and a Tony and a Pulitzer for “A Chorus Line” (1975, shared with the lyricist Edward Kleban, the director Michael Bennett and the book writers James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante).
Hamlisch, who became a traveling ambassador for music, often criticized the cuts in arts education. During an interview at the Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana, he said, “I don’t think the American government gets it. I don’t think [government officials] understand it’s as important as math and science. It rounds you out as a person. I think it gives you a love of certain things. You don’t have to become the next great composer. It’s just nice to have heard certain things or to have seen certain things. It’s part of being a human being.”
Hamlisch, who was accepted into the Juillard School of Music at the age of 7, is survived by his wife, Terre Blair, a television broadcaster and producer.
Harry Eisen
Holocaust survivor Harry Eisen, who died on July 16 at the age of 95, had no money and knew no English when he came to the U.S. from Poland in 1948 with his wife, Hilda. Ultimately, he founded Norco Ranch in Riverside County and built it into one of the state’s leading egg producers, processors and distributors.
Locally, Eisen was a donor to North County Chabad, The Hebrew Academy in Huntington Beach, Jewish Federation & Family Services, the Merage Jewish Community Center and Chapman University’s Holocaust Program. He was very generous to the Food Industries Circle of the City of Hope.
Eisen was a member of several Holocaust survivor organizations and served as president of the Lodzer Organization of California, a philanthropic Holocaust survivor group. The Eisens contributed financially to the building of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and attended its 1993 dedication.
Eisen is survived by his wife of 67 years; his daughter, Mary Cramer of Orange County; his other daughters, Frances Miller and Ruth Eisen; his son, Howard; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Sam Eiferman
Sam Eiferman, 70, an engineer who was involved with Chabad and Temple Beth Emet, died on July 26. He was also a Jewish engineer, who walked 2½ miles to the synagogue on Shabbat and steered the direction of Temple Beth Emet toward the traditional, according to the congregation’s rabbi, Joel Berman. He served as vice president of religion and religious chair for the TBE Men’s Club.
Born in the Bronx, New York, Eiferman obtained an engineering degree from City College of New York, an MBA at Cal State University at Northridge and a Masters of Science in Quality Assurance at Cal State University at Dominguez Hills. He worked for virtually every aerospace and aeronautical company in southern California: Hughes, Boeing, Northrop, Rockwell, McDonnell Douglas, DynCorp, SMS, TRW and Raytheon. He had a real estate license and insurance sales license and kept them current.
Eiferman is survived by his wife, Ellen; his children, Carl, Veronica, Christine and Garret; his brother Barry; and his sister, Joyce.
Everett Jacobson
Everett Jacobson, 67, who was active at Temple Beth Emet since moving to Anaheim from Chicago with his family in 1970, passed away on July 22. A psychologist, he held a position at Orange County Medical Center, now UCI Medical Center, before starting his own practice. He was committed to Men’s Club, and once he committed, it was unshakable. Educated at a yeshiva, Jacobson earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Loyola University in Chicago.
Food, sports and politics made up the triumvirate of Jacobson’s life’s pleasures other than family. Learning the Torah lesson to help the underprivileged, he championed the little guy in political situations, spoke out against injustice, supported those who spoke for the underdog, carried spare change for the homeless, liked movies where people overcame great odds to succeed and cheered the Clippers and the Cubs. There is no underdog to compare with the Cubs, and there was never a bigger Cubs fan. He also had an appreciation and love of classical music and opera and had a bit of a career as an actor and performer.
He is survived by Doris, his wife of 45 years; children, Donna, Jeff and Holly; and two grandchildren.
