Harold Koplar
Harold Koplar | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 27, 1915 |
| Died | May 3, 1985 (aged 70) |
| Resting place | New Mount Sinai Cemetery Affton, Missouri 38°33′18″N 90°18′18″W / 38.554868°N 90.304865°WCoordinates: 38°33′18″N 90°18′18″W / 38.554868°N 90.304865°W |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Marie Koplar |
| Children | 3 |
Harold Koplar (February 27, 1915 – May 3, 1985) was a Russian-American hotelier and businessman in St. Louis, Missouri.
Biography[]
Early life and education[]
Harold Koplar was born February 27, 1915. His father, Sam Koplar, built the Park Plaza Hotel in 1929.[1] Harold Koplar was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, graduating from Soldan High School before going on to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied architecture and engineering but left without graduating.
Career[]
Koplar linked together and managed the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1959, he launched the television station KPLR-TV (the call letters came from his last name) in a converted apartment building near the hotel. He established a development at Lake of the Ozarks in 1964 that includes the Lodge of Four Seasons hotel, two golf courses, a marina, and Spa Shiki. In 1966 he was listed as part-owner of the troubled midtown landmark Continental Life Building, along with St. Louis mayor Alfonso J. Cervantes and nationally known defense attorney Morris Shenker, who was also Koplar's brother-in-law.[2]
Marriage and children[]
Harold and Marie Lauer Koplar married on March 30, 1931. The couple had three children: Robert "Bob" Koplar (d. 1977), Edward J. "Ted" Koplar (d. 2021), and Susan Koplar Brown.
Death and afterward[]
On May 3, 1985, Harold Koplar was found unconscious in an indoor lap pool in his home. He was rushed to the hospital and declared dead of a massive heart attack. Funeral services were held at Temple Emanuel in St. Louis and he was interred in the Koplar family mausoleum at New Mount Sinai Cemetery, Affton, Missouri.
References[]
- ^ O'Connor, Candace (2005). Meet Me in the Lobby: The Story of Harold Koplar and the Chase Park Plaza. St. Louis, Missouri: Virginia Publishing. ISBN 1-891442-32-5.
- ^ Life Magazine, May 29, 1970, pages 24–31.
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| General | |
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- 1915 births
- 1985 deaths
- American hoteliers
- American people of Russian descent
- Businesspeople from St. Louis
- 20th-century American businesspeople