FRANKLIN WEISSBERG

WEISSBERG--Honorable Franklin R. Hon. Franklin R. Weissberg, a New York entertainment attorney, litigator and retired judge died on March 11, 2020 in Palm Beach, FL. He is survived by his beloved wife Honorable Marylin Diamond, his cherished daughter, Melissa I. Weissberg, his stepson Jonathan Diamond (Anne Diamond, MD), stepdaughters Alison S. Diamond (Craig Ingber) and Lexi Diamond (Jeffrey A. Fuisz), stepgrandchildren Rebekah C. Diamond, MD (Paul C. Bousquet), Thaddeus C. Diamond (Kelsey Warkentine), Nathaniel C. Diamond, Gabriel C. Diamond and Oliver Davis Fuisz, step-great-grand- children Elizabeth Florence Bousquet, Theodor and Eliot Diamond. Born January 23, 1931 in New York City, Judge Weissberg graduated from Bronx High School of Science, Syracuse University and Harvard Law School. Judge Weissberg was the managing partner of Colton, Weissberg, Yamin, Hartnick & Sheresky. As an entertainment attorney, he represented numerous theater owners, playwrights, Broadway shows, producers, directors, and performers. A member of the Tony nominating committee, he served as the President of the Board of Trustees at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. His activities in the Republican Party include serving as District Leader of the Upper East Side Republican Club and as Mayor John V. Lindsay's Special Consultant for the performing arts. Elected as a delegate to the 1967 New York State Constitutional Convention, Judge Weissberg served on the Executive Branch and Legislature Committees. He was a member of the Temporary State Commission on Cultural Resources. Judge Weissberg served as a New York Court of Claims Judge and an Acting Supreme Court Justice as well as President of the Association of Court of Claims Judges of the State of New York. Judge Weissberg was known for his keen wit and unflappable demeanor on the bench. Once when he was about to sentence a defendant, Judge Weissberg asked the defendant if he had anything to say before sentencing. The man replied "*"%*@! you, Your Honor." There was a gasp in the courtroom. Without any emotion or reaction, Judge Weissberg simply said, "Application denied," and proceeded to sentence the defendant.