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Charles “Corky” Goodman was a key part of overseeing the operations of one of Chicago’s most prominent business families, and as a philanthropist, he also was a forceful and passionate advocate for a host of Jewish causes.
“I think he was probably the most unselfish human being that I have ever known, and you add that to his brilliance and his humility, and you have what is obviously a very, very good member of the family and a very good business partner,” said Goodman’s cousin Lester Crown, who is the chairman emeritus of Henry Crown & Co. “He always stayed in the background as much as he could, as he wasn’t interested in the foreground, but he did an awful lot of things, primarily in the Jewish world. That’s where his interest was.”
Goodman, 90, died of natural causes on Dec. 16 at his Gold Coast home, said his wife of 20 years, public relations executive Marjorie Korshak. He was a longtime Chicago resident.
Born Courtney Goodman in Chicago, Goodman was the son of David Goodman, an attorney and nut merchant, and Mollie, a homemaker. In Yiddish, the name Courtney is Corkala, and even though Goodman later legally changed his name to Charles, Corky “stuck as a nickname for the rest of his life,” Korshak said.
Goodman grew up in Winnetka and graduated from New Trier High School, where he excelled in math and science and also competed on the swim and golf teams, his family said.
While vacationing in Florida during high school, Goodman met his future wife, Suzanne Crown, whose father, Irving, had co-founded Chicago-based Material Service Corp., with two of his brothers, Col. Henry Crown and Sol R. Crown. Goodman and Suzanne Crown struck up a romance and married while Goodman was attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
[ Col. Henry Crown, 94, a co-founder and retired chairman of Material Service Corp. ]
After Goodman graduated from MIT, he was asked to join the Crowns’ business. For decades afterward, he was closely involved in decisions that Henry Crown & Co. made, serving as vice chairman and working closely with the Tishman Speyer real estate investment firm to acquire New York City’s Rockefeller Center complex in 2000.
Dating to the 1950s, Goodman devoted a significant amount of his energy to working to develop Israeli cultural institutions and research facilities, and he participated directly in the development of the city of Jerusalem. Those efforts included helping to structure the Operation Exodus movement, which helped relocate more than a million Jews from Eastern Europe to Israel.
Among his roles, Goodman was president of the Council of Jewish Federations from 1990 until 1993, and he worked closely with the Jewish Agency for Israel and Israeli banks to provide guaranteed loans valued at more than $1 billion to assist immigrants to Israel with what they needed to start new lives and to start businesses.
“He was really brilliant, he was kind, and he was so humble. I don’t know that I’ve met many people who had zero ego. (And) he did. Zero. For him, his involvement in nonprofit work was (because) he just wanted to do what was best,” said Steve Nasatir, the former president and current executive chairman of the Jewish United Fund and Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
[ Crown family puts new face on empire ]
Goodman also chaired the Jewish Agency for Israel-North American Council from 1995 until 1999, and in 2006 he was named chairman of the board of governors of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2015, a newly built, four-story contemporary-style brain research building, known as the Suzanne and Charles Goodman Center for Brain Sciences, was dedicated to honor Goodman and his first wife.
“He just did a tremendous amount of good for Israel,” Lester Crown said.
Other roles included serving on the board of directors of American Friends of Hebrew University, and as treasurer and then president of the Jewish Federation. Goodman also is the namesake of the Charles “Corky” Goodman chair in Middle East history at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, where he was once a trustee.
Afternoon Briefing
“He put in so much time and effort, and he was as bright as bright can be. He really understood and took apart problems and came to solutions in pretty quick time,” Nasatir said. “He was just a joy. He was my partner and we worked together for decades, and I loved spending time with him and loved traveling with him. He cared very much about his family, and he was just an all-around mensch. When you were his friend, there wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t do for you. He was there for people in need of a hand and an ear — he provided both.”
Goodman never retired from Henry Crown & Co. Outside of work and his philanthropy and advocacy, Goodman enjoyed opera, skiing, golfing, playing tennis and spending time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Goodman’s first wife died in 2002. In addition to Korshak, Goodman is survived by two sons, Richard and Leonard; a daughter, Barbara Manilow; a stepdaughter, Susan Chernoff; a stepson, Steven Chernoff; seven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and two brothers, Jimmy and Michael.
A funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 18, at Am Shalom synagogue, 840 Vernon Ave., Glencoe.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
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