Legendary Columbia West Coast A&R exec RON OBERMAN has passed away

from Michael Oberman

Ron Oberman 8/28/1943 to 11/21/2019

Ron started as a copyboy at age eighteen in 1961.  He quickly moved to the position of dictationist.  From 1964 to 1967, Ron wrote the weekly Top Tunes column in addition to general assignment reporting.

In 1967, Ron went to work at Mercury Records in Chicago as Director of Publicity.  Later, Ron became VP of A & R (artists and repertoire) at Columbia Records.  After a long stint at Columbia, Ron became Executive VP of A & R at MCA Records.  When he retired from MCA, Ron played poker.  Ron passed peacefully in his sleep in Reno, NV.
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from allaccess.com
Legendary COLUMBIA WEST COAST A&R exec RON OBERMAN has passed away.  During his storied career OBERMAN helped shape the careers of artist like DAVID BOWIE, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, THE BANGLES, TOAD THE WET SPROCKET, WARRANT, WILDERNESS ROAD, MARTIKA and many others.

OBERMAN had been suffering from dementia for the last decade. Details on services are pending.
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from TimesofIsrael.com
David Bowie didn’t start his first trip to the United States with a drug-filled party or a wild show, but instead with a quiet evening at the home of a Maryland Jewish family.

The now-iconic English rocker had just released the album “The Man Who Sold the World,” which built on the success of his popular “Space Oddity” album in Europe. But he wasn’t yet a household name in the States when his first US tour was set to kick off in January 1971.

Bowie’s North American publicist, Ron Oberman of Mercury Records, invited him to stay at his parents in Silver Spring for a night before setting out to play shows in cities from New York to Los Angeles.

The Rev. James M. ‘Mike’ Coram, who had dual careers as an Episcopal priest and a newspaperman, dies - November 15, 2019

The Rev. James M. Coram worked in The Sun's
Howard and Carroll bureaus.

The Rev. James M. “Mike” Coram, who had dual careers as an Episcopal priest and a Baltimore Sun newspaperman, died Nov. 15 of complications from a blood infection at Mercy Medical Center. The Columbia resident was 80.

“Mike was a straightforward reporter, and the best thing I can say about him was that he had a great wit,” said William T.M. Grigg, a former Washington Star reporter and newspaper colleague. “Then he chucked his newspaper career and went into the ministry and then came back to newspapers when he joined The Baltimore Sun.”

“Mike was a wonderful guy, and we called him ‘Captain’ in those days when we were kids in the Howard County bureau,” said Mike James, a former Baltimore Sun editor who is now national editor for USA Today. “His beat was government, but he was a jack of all trades and could cover anything.”

Anne Haddad, a North Baltimore resident, was a reporter with Mr. Coram in The Sun’s Westminster bureau, where they were staff reporters on the paper’s old Carroll Sun zoned edition.

Charles Thomas Alexander - Professor Emeritus, Assistant City Editor - November 15, 2019

Professor emeritus, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, passed away November 15, 2019 in Alexandria, VA at 91. A long-time Alexandria resident, he is survived by his wife of 68 years, Elizabeth Brown Alexander; daughters Elizabeth "Liza" Alexander Marshall (John) of Arlington, VA; Lucy Alexander Murphy (Braden) of Potomac, MD; grandchildren Charlie and Emma Marshall.
Born in Minneapolis, MN on September 21, 1928 to Dr. Charles Thomas and Mary Stinson Alexander. His family home was in Mount Vernon IN. He received his BA from Duke University in 1950. After two years military service during the Korean War, Ft. Belvoir, VA, and two years studying at Boston University School of Theology, he obtained an MS from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He began his journalism career with the Washington Star (1956-61) as assistant city editor, followed by managing editor of the Wilmington (DE) Morning News and Evening Journal (1961-66), and editor and publisher of the Dayton (OH) Journal Herald. He returned to Washington, DC in 1975 as professor of journalism and director of the Medill News Service, retiring in 1994.

He had a lifelong love of sports, music, theater, travel and the church, serving as elder of the Georgetown Presbyterian Church for over 30 years. A memorial service will be held at Georgetown Presbyterian Church Jan 4, 2020 at 2 pm. Interment in 2020 at Christ Church, St. Simon's Island, GA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions should be made to Georgetown Presbyterian Church, 3115 P St., NW, Washington, DC 20007.

Published in The Washington Post on Nov. 22, 2019

Attribution: Legacy.com
Story: Alexander