Page created by: Julie Langsam

LANGSAM, Edwin Sanford, 93, died peacefully on Saturday, October 8, 2022. He is survived by his children Julie Langsam (Lee Herlands), Jacqueline Langsam, Jonathan Langsam (Rosie), granddaughters Astrid and Nadia, step-granddaughter Andrea, ex-wife Janet Langsam and pre-deceased by ex-wife Joan Kuehl. Born in the Bronx in 1928 to Philip and Lillie Langsam, Edwin and his siblings Anita and Mortimer grew up on Collier Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens. Growing up during the depression had a profound impact on our father who often recalled how the family lived on ketchup sandwiches during hard times. Driven by the horror unleashed by Hitler and the Nazis, upon graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School at age 17 Ed lied about his age and joined the Army Air Corp, serving as a radarman until 1949. Ed attended Syracuse University on the GI Bill where he graduated cum laude from the School of Journalism and continued his education taking graduate courses in public relations at NYU. As a young man Ed worked as a reporter for the Park Row News Service and the Rockaway Wave, followed by a position with British & Irish Railways where he found his niche in public/press relations, continuing at Western Electric from 1956-62. From 1962-75 Ed worked for AT&T where he produced corporate, marketing, employee and training films; was responsible for all corporate displays and exhibits; and later as advertising manager, was responsible for all consumer product advertising for AT&T. Ed left AT&T when the company split up starting his own firm The Public Relations Company with colleague and friend Dave Manahan and clients such as Faber-Castell and Rockwell International. But to really know our father you need to know that his greatest love was skiing (until age 88!); followed by sailing; tending to his Japanese garden; and cooking gourmet meals. He was the last of the dapper gentlemen, dressed to the nines in whatever attire was called for. Post-retirement he did not stop working: he was a beloved volunteer at Lenox Hill Hospital; his mean martini-making skills led to a gig as a bartender at Gallagher’s Steakhouse; he got his SAG card and worked as an actor and model; became a ski instructor at Stratton; took classes at Hunter College; and even took gliding lessons to ‘soar above the clouds’. Ed loved New York City: the nightlife, restaurants, plays, museums. He lived life large and his absence leaves an enormous hole in the lives of all he touched.