Max Palevsky, a computer executive and philanthropist who helped to save the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, died Wednesday morning of heart failure at his Los Angeles home, according to his family.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday at the Max Palevsky Aero Theater at 1328 Montana Ave in Santa Monica.
Palevsky (at left with his wife, Jodie Evans, and Diane Keaton at a Hammer Museum gala in 2007) produced several films, including the Oscar-winning feature documentary "Marjoe," about former child evangelist Marjoe Gortner, in 1972. Other films on which Palevsky was credited as a producer are "Islands in the Stream, "Fun With Dick and Jane" (both the 1977 original and the 2005 remake) and "Endurance."
Born to Polish immigrant parents in Chicago, Palevsky went into the Army after high school, serving as a meteorologist in the Philippines during WWII. He attended the University of Chicago on the G.I. Bill, earning degrees in philosophy and mathematics.
He worked as a computer logic designer at Bendix Corp. and as director of Packard Bell Computer Corp. before founding Scientific Data Systems in 1961. Xerox Corp. acquired SDS for a reported $1 billion in 1969. Palevsky became a director and chairman of the Xerox executive committee before retiring in 1972. He later helped found Intel Corp.
He was active with the American Civil Liberties Union, the Constitutional Rights Foundation and People for the American Way.
He also helped to finance various political campaigns, including Tom Bradley’s first successful run for mayor of Los Angeles in 1973. He was an early supporter of George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign and also backed the presidential runs of Robert Kennedy and Jimmy Carter.
When Rolling Stone was faced with financial ruin in 1970, Palevsky put up much of the money to rescue the music magazine, joining its board and befriending Hunter S. Thompson.
In the late 1990s, Palevsky stepped up with a donation to save the endangered Aero Theater, which was restored and is now managed by the American Cinematheque. He was a regular at the theater that bore his name.
"The American Cinematheque is eternally grateful to Max Palevsky for sharing his passion for the movies with the people of Los Angeles. His generous contribution enabled us to reopen the Aero Theatre, which in just five short years has become a beloved institution for film lovers," the Cinematheque said in a statement.
"He was one of our staunchest supporters. He really loved movies and came to the theater all the time," said Barbara Smith, exec director of the Cinematheque, told Variety. "The loss is really to the community, not just to the Cinematheque."
A resident of Los Angeles since 1950, the longtime art collector bequeathed his collection of Arts & Crafts furniture and Japanese prints to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Survivors include his wife, Jodie Evans; sons Nicholas, Alexander, Jonathan and Matthew; daughter Madeleine; four grandchildren; a stepson, Jan Krajewski III; and his sister, Helen Futterman.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Palevsky’s favorite organizations: the ACLU, LACMA and the American Cinematheque.
