Gerald "Jerry" Albert was born on November 13, 1917 in New York City. His father, Israel Albert, born 1883 in Russia of Jewish ancestry. In 1888 at the age of five, Israel Albert came to America with his parents, who settled in Brooklyn. In 1909 at the age of twenty-six Israel Albert legally changed his name to Andrew Irving Albert. On April 19, 1910 he married Lena "Eleanor" Walder. She was born in 1891 in NYC of German Jewish ancestry. They had two children, Sylvia (b.1911) and Gerald (b.1918). The family lived in the Bronx at 1580 Crotona Park East. The father was a lawyer.
The children attended NYC public schools.
In 1930 the U.S. census recorded the Albert family in the Bronx at 1840 Grand Concourse. The father was listed as an attorney and both kids were in school.
On May 28, 1934 the older sister, Sylvia Albert, age twenty-two, married Harry Steinberg in Manhattan.
In June of 1934 Jerry Albert, age eighteen, graduated from high school in the Bronx. In September he began to attend City College of New York (CCNY) as a Freshman.
In 1937 he was the editor of Mercury, the student newspaper at CCNY. He also joined the editorial staff of the school yearbook, Microcosm.
In April of 1938 CCNY presented a varsity show, "In The Groove," a satirical music revue that was written by Jerry Albert and other members of the Senior Class.
In June of 1938 Jerry Albert graduated from CCNY. After graduation he entered the workforce as a sales representative at Morton, Freund Advertising Company, which produced advertisements for magazines, newspapers, and direct mailings for the clothing industry.
In 1940 The Albert family lived at 2065 Grand Boulevard in the Bronx. Jerry Albert was listed as a salesman at an advertising company. His father was no longer identified as a lawyer, but was instead listed as a salesman at a publishing company. That company was PDC, which was owned by Irving S. Manheimer, who also lent credit to want-to-be publishers in exchange for control of production, printing, personnel, advertising, distribution, accounting and most potential profit. Manheimer provided financial credit to Adrian Lopez, Martin Goodman, and William M. Cotton to start their publishing companies.
In March of 1940 The New York Times reported, "Jerry Albert, formerly with Morton Freund Advertising, has joined Vanguard Advertising as an account executive." Vanguard Advertising was located at 19 East 48th Street. The company sold copies of "Uncensored! New York, Behind The Scenes" by Lee Mortimer, a risqué book about Manhattan night club showgirls, which was sold through mail order advertisements in the back pages of magazines handled by PDC.
In September of 1940 Jerry Albert and his father, Andrew Irving Albert, accepted financial credit from PDC to form Albing Publishing company at 19 East 48th Street, in the same office as Vanguard Advertising Company. The name Albing was derived from the first syllable, "Alb," from the family name Albert, and the last syllable, "ing," from the father's name, Irving. All magazines from Albing Publications were handled by PDC.
Their first periodical was the pulp magaine Stirring Detective and Western Stories, which was dated November 1940. Jerry Albert was the editor and all illustrations were drawn by Roland Patenaude.
In February of 1941 Albing Publications produced Stirring Science Stories. The editor was Donald A. Wollheim and the artists were Leo Morey, Hannes Bok, and Elliott Dold.
In March of 1941 Albing Publications produced the pulp magazine Red Mask Detective, edited by Jerry Albert. Artists included Marshall Lincoln Lee and Roland Patenaude. That same month Albing Publications also released Cosmic Stories, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and illustrated by Leo Morey and Hannes Bok.
The father, Andrew Irving Albert, wrote "Murder For a Hollow Shell," which appeared in the March 1941 issue of Red Mask Detective. The title of that magazine was changed to Red Hood Detective Stories for the July 1941 issue. The cover was drawn by Samuel Cahan. Back page advertisements included "Uncensored! New York, Behind The Scenes" by Lee Mortimer from Vanguard Sales Company at 19 East 48th Street.
July 1941 was the final month in which any magazines were released by Albing Publications. Although the father-and-son team had produced fifteen innovative issues of pulp magazines over the previous eight months, profits were too low to sustain production. On December 16, 1941, The New York Times reported Andrew Irving Albert was $23,603 in debt. He filed for bankruptcy, after which his debtors, PDC, sold Albing Publications to Benjamin Sangor at 45 West 45th Street, who renamed the company Creston Publications.
At that same time, Manhattan Fiction Publications at 45 West 45th Street released the first issue of Movie Detective Magazine, which was dated Janaury 1942. The magazine was produced by Benjamin Sangor, and included the story, "The Maori Murder Case," by Andrew Irving Albert.
In March of 1942 Benjamin Sangor produced the final issue of Stirring Science Stories, which had a cover by Hannes Bok.
On April 27, 1942, during WWII, Andrew Irving Albert reported for draft registration. He was recorded at the time to be age fifty-nine. He lived with his wife Eleanor Albert at 141-42 79th Avenue in Flushing, Queens, NY. He listed his occupation as free-lance writer.
In May of 1942 Gerald Albert married Norma Clara Holm. She was born on January 17, 1917 in NYC. The married couple moved to Queens, where they had two children, Laurie Albert (b.1943) and Jay Albert (b.1944).
In June of 1942 Gerald Albert reported for draft registration, at which time he was recorded to be age twenty-five and married. He was not selected for military service.
In July of 1942 Creston Publishing Company, located at 33 Union Square, produced Rare Detective Stories Magazine, which featured fact-based reports of gruesome crimes. It was edited by Jerry Albert and was distributed by PDC
In July of 1942 Creston Publishing Company, located at 365 Broadway, produced Spark Magazine, which featured pin-ups, showgirls, and news of theaters, nightclubs and burlesque. It was edited by Jerry Albert and distributed by PDC.
In August of 1942 Creston Publications filed registration as a newly formed corporation, located at 45 West 45th St.
The first issue of Spotlight Detective Cases Magazine was dated September 1942. It featured gruesome fact-based accounts of actual crimes. The editor was Jerry Albert and it was distributed by PDC.
On October 1, 1942 was The Creston Publishing Company and Albert Publications registered co-ownership of the copyrighted title, Spotlight Detective Cases with the U.S. Patent Office.
In October 1943 Creston Publications at 45 West 45th Street released its first two comic books, Ha-Ha Comics and Giggle Comics. They were both edited by Jerry Albert and produced by Benjamin Sangor.
In 1944, Andrew Irving Albert's story, "The Maori Murder Case," was re-printed as a digest paperback by Vulcan Mystery Book Company. One year later his story, "Murder For a Hollow Shell," was also re-printed by Vulcan Publications, at 147 Fourth Avenue and 120 Liberty Street. Vulcan produced a series of mystery paperbacks that were distributed to newsstands by PDC.
In 1945 Jerry Albert and Bob Oksner (1916-2007) wrote and drew the comic strip, Miss Cairo Jones, for Associated Newspapers Syndicate.
In June of 1947 Jerry Albert left the comic strip, Miss Cairo Jones, to become Assistant Director of Public Relations at United World Films, Inc., the 16mm division of Universal Pictures.
In November of 1948 Jerry Albert became the Director of Advertising and Publicity at United World Films, Inc.
On December 16, 1949 The New York Times reported that Andrew Irving Albert, with $69,485 in debt, again filed for bankruptcy protection. His business was Vulcan Publications, located at 147 Fourth Avenue and 120 Liberty Street.
On August 24, 1951 The New York Times reported Jerry Albert, National Director of Advertising and Public Relations for United World Films, had left the company to set up his own organization, Advertising Enterprises, Inc.
In 1954 Jerry Albert became director of the Continental Research Institute in Queens.
In 1962 Jerry Albert returned to school to study education and psychology at Columbia University. He received a doctoral degree in 1964, after which he practiced marriage counseling. He also taught psychology at Long Island University and directed a clinic at C. W. Post College.
On October 1, 1968 his father, Andrew Irving Albert, died at the age of eighty-five in Miami, FL.
In 1971 Dr. Gerald Albert wrote a popular self-help book, "Choosing and Keeping a Marriage Partner."
On July 1, 1975 his mother, Eleanor Albert, died at the age of eighty-three in Miami, FL.
Dr. Gerald "Jerry" Albert died at the age of ninety-six on December 12, 2013.
© David Saunders 2016 |
