HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-05-05 Publisher, philanthropist George Delacorte dies at 97 (Palm Beach Post)24A THE PALM BEACH POST SUNDAY, MAY 5, 1991
Publisher, philanthropist
George Delacorte dies at 97
'The Associated Press
NEW YORK — George Dela-
ctirte, the founder of Dell Publish-
ing Company and a philanthropist
whose gifts became Central Park
landmarks, died
early Saturday
at his Fifth Ave-
nue apartment.
He was 97.
Mr. Dela-
corte, who kept
-a residence in
North Palm
Beach, died in
'his sleep, said
his son, Albert.
Delacorte
corte Dela-
elacorte
corte grew up in New York and
raised a family of six children,
developing a special attachment to
Central Park. Even in his 90s, the
publishing magnate liked to walk
the Manhattan park and visit his
:gifts.
There was the bronze Alice in
Wonderland statue he donated to
the city in 1959, a fixture at the
north end of the Conservatory
Pond. He intended it as a memorial
to his late first wife Margarita,
who liked to read the Lewis Carroll
book to their children.
His other gifts in the park in-
cluded the Delacorte Theater,
home to the summer Shakespeare
in the Park festival, and the ani-
mated Delacorte Clock at the Chil-
dren's Zoo.
"I like whimsical things," he
once said of the clock, which Mr.
Delacorte recruited a sculptor
from Italy to fashion.
Ironically, he and his second
wife Valerie were mugged during
one of their strolls through the park
in 1985.
But his philanthropy was not
limited to Central Park. Mr. Dela-
corte also built the majestic foun-
tains at City Hall and Columbus
Circle, along with the geyser at the
tip of Roosevelt Island.
Mr. Delacorte, a 1913 graduate
of Columbia University, also pre-
sented several large gifts to his
alma mater over the years. All
told, he gave more than $4 million
to establish the Delacorte Center
for Magazine Journalism, a train-
ing ground for future magazine
writers, editors and publishers at
the college.
He retired from Dell in 1976.
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