 FEBRUARY 6 • 2020 | 55

 
HOWARD B. 
ABRAMS, 79, a 
longtime resident 
of Huntington 
Woods, passed 
away Jan. 27, 2020. 
Howard was born April 26, 
1940, in Chicago to Hyman 
and Fay Abrams. While he 
grew up in Chicago, his love for 
Michigan was solidified when 
he became a student at the 
University of Michigan in 1959. 
After his undergraduate studies, 
Howard attended University of 
Chicago Law School. He began 
his career as an assistant public 
defender in Cook County, Ill., 
but eventually transitioned to a 
lifetime career as a professor at 
the University of Detroit Mercy 
School of Law. 
As a world-renowned copy-
right and entertainment law 
expert, he was passionate about 
educating, not just his students, 
but also local musicians. He 
helped many build successful 
careers. His loss will be felt 
strongly throughout the legal 
community, the Detroit music 
scene and by his many friends 
and family members around the 
world.
Howard is survived by his 
beloved wife, Nina Abrams; 
his sister, Sharon (John Lewis) 
Abrams; and brother, Robert 
(Helene) Abrams. He is also 
survived by in-laws, Roberta 
(Fred Fechheimer) Patt, Susan 
(Richard) Roth; and many lov-
ing nieces and nephews. 
Contributions in loving 
memory of Howard can be 
made to the following: Access to 
Justice Fund, Access to Justice 
Campaign, Michigan State Bar 
Foundation, 306 Townsend 
St., Lansing, MI 48933-2012; 
Copyright Society of the USA, 
1 E. 53rd St., Floor 8, New 
York, NY 10022; or to Temple 
Emanu-El, 14450 W
. 10 Mile 
Road, Oak Park, MI 48237. 
Arrangements by Dorfman 
Chapel.

ROBERT 
BIEDERMAN, 73, 
of West Bloomfield, 
died Jan. 24, 2020. 
He is survived by 
his wife of 50 years, 
Carmen Biederman; daughter 
and son-in-law, Debbie and 
Dr. Albert Klemptner; grand-
children, Ryan and Emily 
Klemptner; brother, Dr. Jason 
Biederman; brother-in-law 
and sister-in-law, Fred and Lea 
Arredondo; nephews and niec-
es, Charles Biederman, Chris 
Arredondo, Jayme Arredondo, 
and Manina and Kao Phan. 
Mr. Biederman was cherished 
father of the late David Aaron 
Biederman; the devoted son of 
the late William and the late 
Edna Biederman; the loving 
son-in-law of the late Ralph and 
the late Peggy Arredondo; the 
dear brother-in-law of the late 
Bryna Biederman. 
Interment was at Clover Hill 
Park Cemetery. Contributions 
may be made to Yad Ezra, 
2850 W
. 11 Mile Road, Berkley, 
MI 48072, yadezra.org; or 
to a charity of one’
s choice. 
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman 
Chapel.

CONSTANCE 
“CONNIE” 
BORKIN, 86, of 
West Bloomfield, 
died Jan. 26, 2020. 
She is survived 
by her daughter and son-in-
law, Gail Borkin-Jones and 
Daniel Jones; son, Michael 
Borkin; brother and sister-
in-law, Dr. Harvey and Lois 
Hershey; sister, Dr. Barbara 
Hershey Handler; grandchil-
dren, Robert Jones, Sydney 
Jones and Kendall Jones; 
many loving nieces, nephews, 
other family members and 
friends. 
Mrs. Borkin was the 
beloved wife of the late Morris 
Borkin; the sister-in-law of 
the late Dr. Leonard Handler. 
Interment took place at 

continued on page 56

Fred Silverman, TV 
Executive, Dies at 82
J

ewish entertainment 
mogul Fred Silverman, 
who led CBS, ABC and 
NBC at different times in his 
30-year career, died Jan. 23, 
2020. He was 82.
As ABC’
s entertainment 
chief, Silverman had turned 
the network’
s fortunes 
around with shows including 
Roots, Rich Man, Poor Man 
and Charlie’
s Angels.
Raised in New York, 
Silverman was the son of a 
Jewish father and Roman 
Catholic mother. 
He graduated from 
Syracuse University in 
1958 and received a mas-
ter’
s degree in television 
and theater arts from Ohio 
State University a year later, 
writing his thesis on pro-
gramming practices at ABC. 
He worked at TV stations 
in Chicago and New York 
before joining CBS in 1963.
He became vice president 
for programming at CBS in 
1970, building a schedule 
that eventually included 
All in the Family, M-A-S-H, 
Kojak and The Waltons. 
 
He also became adept at 
the spin-off at CBS: Maude 
and The Jeffersons were spun 
off from All in the Family. 
Good Times was spun off 
from Maude, and Rhoda 
was spun off from The Mary 
Tyler Moore Show. 
As ABC Entertainment 
president in the mid-1970s, 
Silverman introduced the 
Happy Days spin-off Laverne 
& Shirley and the Six Million 
Dollar Man spinoff The 
Bionic Woman. His orig-
inal hits ranged from the 
groundbreaking miniseries 
Roots to Charlie’
s Angels. 

He gave the green light to 
shows like The Love Boat, 
Fantasy Island and Three’
s 
Company. He also launched 
such differing shows as Good 
Morning America and Soap, 
which featured one of the 
first openly gay characters 
on a scripted network show.
Thanks to his success 
at picking popular shows, 
Silverman was featured on 
the cover of Time magazine 
in 1977 as “TV’
s Master 
Showman.”
Silverman was less suc-
cessful at NBC in the late 
1970s. There, he had a mix 
of flops (Pink Lady, Hello, 
Larry) and successes (Hill 
Street Blues and The Facts of 
Life). 
After being dismissed 
from NBC in 1981 with 18 
months left on his contract, 
Silverman formed his own 
company whose productions 
and co-productions included 
the Perry Mason TV mov-
ies, Matlock and Diagnosis: 
Murder. 

Compiled from wire service reports.

Fred Silverman

WIKIMEDIA

