Maurice Kanbar
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| Maurice Kanbar | |
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| Born | 1930 (age 81–82) Brooklyn, New York[1] |
Maurice Kanbar (born 1930)[2][3] is an American entrepreneur and inventor who lives in San Francisco, California. He is particularly well-known for his creation of SKYY vodka, and is also noted for his extensive real estate investments.
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[edit] Biography
Kanbar is stated to own 36 patents on various consumer and medical products, invented the D-Fuzz-It comb for sweaters, Tangoes Puzzle Game, the Safetyglide hypodermic needle protector, a cryogenic cataract remover, a new LED traffic light, and Zip Notes,[4] rolled sticky notes with a centerline adhesive strip.[5] He created New York's first multiplex cinema, the Quad Cinema, which was the first movie theater in Manhattan to have four small auditoriums in one building.[6]
In the beverage industry, Kanbar had a success with SKYY vodka,[7] also introduced Vermeer Dutch Chocolate Cream Liqueur[8] and most recently has launched Blue Angel Premium Vodka.[7]
He produced the animated film Hoodwinked! which was released in January 2006[9] and grossed over $100M worldwide.[7]
Kanbar owns many commercial buildings in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[10] His extensive investments in Tulsa led to a legal dispute with his former business partner Henry Kaufman, with each suing the other.[11] [12] At one point Kanbar's company was reported to have owned as much as one-third of all available office space in downtown Tulsa[13] although some of these properties were subsequently sold or reported to be for sale.[3][14]
Kanbar is a graduate of Philadelphia University, where he studied Materials Science. In 2005, he donated $6 million dollars for the construction of the school's new campus center, the largest donation in the school's history.[15] In 1997, Kanbar donated $5 million to the Tisch School of the Arts, part of New York University, which named its film school after him: The Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television.[16][17] Through a donation from the Kanbar College Charitable Trust, Kanbar Hall was constructed at Bowdoin College, the alma mater of Maurice's brother, Elliott.[18]
Kanbar owns and lives in an eight-story residential tower in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco; he received attention for his 1999 decision to evict his tenants in order to become the sole occupant of the building.[19] He is a member of Mensa.[20] He has received honorary degrees from Kenyon College,[21] Bar-Ilan University,[22] and Yeshiva University.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Maurice Kanbar, Doctor of Humane Letters, Yeshiva University website (retrieved March 2, 2010).
- ^ Copyright registration for Maurice Kanbar, Secrets from an inventor's notebook (accessed March 2, 2010).
- ^ a b Robert Evatt, "Downtown Tulsa investor a man of many passions", Tulsa World, December 3, 2010.
- ^ Zipnotes.com
- ^ "Zip Notes Sticky notes on a roll", OPI.net (Office Products International), October 18, 2007 (accessed March 2, 2010).[unreliable source?]
- ^ Edward Lewine, "New Yorkers & Co.; The War of the Film Worlds", New York Times, December 7, 1997.
- ^ a b c http://www.northsidesf.com/mar09/features_coverstory.html
- ^ Mark Athitakis, "Crushed", SF Weekly, April 11, 2001.
- ^ Dennis King, "Review: 'Hoodwinked' ", Tulsa World, January 13, 2006.
- ^ http://www.kanbarproperties.com/about-us
- ^ Robert Evatt, "Kanbar sues former business partner", Tulsa World, August 16, 2007.
- ^ Robert Evatt, "Kaufman countersues ex-pal Kanbar", Tulsa World, May 16, 2009.
- ^ Robert Evatt, "Building a portfolio", Tulsa World, June 14, 2006.
- ^ Robert Evatt, "Kanbar selling assets to push development", Tulsa World, March 2, 2010.
- ^ "Philadelphia University to Dedicate The Kanbar Campus Center on Saturday, September 30", Philadelphia University press release, September 27, 2006 (accessed March 2, 2010).
- ^ Monica Roman, "Kanbar gives $5 mil to NYU film school", Variety, April 10, 1997.
- ^ http://filmtv.tisch.nyu.edu/page/home.html
- ^ http://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1bowdoincampus/002964.shtml
- ^ Emily Gurnon, "Eviction Shock in Pacific Heights", San Francisco Examiner, July 27, 1999.
- ^ American Mensa (PDF). Famous and Notable Mensans (whitepaper). http://www.us.mensa.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=6509&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
- ^ http://www.kenyon.edu/x31748.xml
- ^ Edon Ophir, "The Inventor Who Makes Movies", Jerusalem Post, May 6, 2008 (also available here).
[edit] External links
[edit] Bibliography
- Secrets from an Inventor's Notebook, by Maurice Kanbar, Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-200056-6
