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