Michael Silberkleit, chairman and publisher of Archie Comics who joined the family business as a teenager and strove to keep the comic rooted in an idealized, clean-cut past while allowing it to reflect contemporary pop culture, has died. He was 76.
Silberkleit died Aug. 5 in New York City after a short battle with cancer, the company announced.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday, August 16, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Silberkleit obituary: The obituary of Michael Silberkleit, who was chairman and publisher of Archie Comics, in Friday's California section said the cartoon band the Archies starred in 1968 in the Hanna-Barbera-animated "The Archie Show." The show was animated by Filmation Associates.
His father, Louis Silberkleit, founded the company in 1941 with John Goldwater, who thought up the "every teen" character of Archie Andrews during an era when superheroes reigned. They hired illustrator Bob Montana to realize the carrot-topped Archie and his perennially 17-year-old high school friends in the mythical town of Riverdale.
"Archie is who you wish you were but aren't. . . . Kids really believe Archie lives because they call here and ask to speak to Archie," Silberkleit, speaking from company headquarters in 1990 in Mamaroneck, N.Y., told The Times.
Sometimes, he or his business partner -- Richard Goldwater, son of the company's other founder -- talked to the callers as Archie, who was reportedly inspired by the Andy Hardy movies that starred Mickey Rooney.
The character was an instant success when it debuted in December 1941. Archie soon had his own stand-alone comic book and a wholesome retinue that would include best friend Jughead, girl-next-door Betty and the fashionable Veronica. The first issue reportedly sold 1 million copies.
"Servicemen wrote us during World War II that they dove into a foxhole during battle and when the smoke cleared, they found an Archie comic at the bottom of the foxhole, and they sat there and read it because it reminded them of back home," Silberkleit said in the 1990 Times interview.
After more than 65 years, the Riverdale teenagers managed to stay current while adhering to "Archie's Code of Decency," which meant the comic "has no sex, no drugs, no nudity," Silberkleit once said, and parents "who may be goofy at times" but are never stupid.
In the 1940s, the characters "would throw spitballs at each other to communicate," Silberkleit said on the company's website. "Now they text message . . . and BlackBerry each other."
As the characters embraced e-mail, the comic might reflect such darker issues as AIDS, drug abuse or terrorism. Yet the overall message would remain optimistic.
