Colorado Symphony CEO Jerome Kern speaks during a press conference at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver, Sept. 18, 2014. (Denver Post file)
Jerome H. Kern, who fiercely advocated for some of the biggest artistic, philanthropic and business causes in Denver and the U.S., has died at age 87.
Kern died Friday, Dec. 13, after being diagnosed a month ago with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, said Mary Rossick Kern, his wife of 26 years. His illness lasted only three weeks.
“It was a shock,” she said, noting that Jerry — as friends and family called him — always spoke of his own father living until 101, when he was celebrated with a birthday dinner at New York City’s famed Rainbow Room. “I used to think, ‘Well, I might not be here. But Jerry will be around.’ ”
Indeed, Kern and his vanilla-and-caramel Havanese, Mikey, were common sights at the Four Seasons Hotel when he and Mary lived there until a few years ago. Kern’s own dogged devotion to deal-making allowed him to seal tense, complex agreements that spanned his and Mary’s restoration of the Colorado Symphony, Kern’s own colorful past as a cable-industry lawyer and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, and national nonprofit causes.
The Kerns have for years been significant leaders in the arts community who are widely credited as saving the Colorado Symphony from ruin in 2011, friends and former city leaders said.
“Jerry was a very formidable person, and he made it clear in our first meeting all the reasons he was unhappy with the city,” said Alan Salazar, former chief of staff for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
For years, Kern had worked to replace the symphony’s current home of Boettcher Hall with an upgraded concert venue — in the process butting heads with many others as he tenaciously pursued more favorable deals (and, at one point, floated the idea of moving the organization out of Denver; the Boettcher-upgrade push continues today, friends noted.).
“But I also quickly detected his wry sense of humor and his satirical nature,” Salazar said. “Under the gruff and intimidating exterior, he cared deeply about this city. I appreciated his provocative, East-Coast-lawyer style. We hit it off in part because we were able to have fun with one another even when we were in conflict.”
Every great city requires a great orchestra, Kern came to believe, despite the fact that he didn’t know Dvořák from Debussy when he first got involved, Mary said.
“The Colorado Symphony deeply mourns the loss of Jerome H. Kern, a visionary leader and advocate for the arts whose impact on our organization will be felt for generations to come,” Symphony officials wrote in a statement provided to The Denver Post. “As CEO and President of the Board, Jerome and his wife Mary’s leadership were instrumental in the survival of the Colorado Symphony during a pivotal period in our history and the organization is forever grateful. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends, and all who were touched by his remarkable life.”
Kern’s contentious relationship with the city’s arts and political leadership doesn’t take away from his important work. Ginger White Brunetti, who formerly led Denver Arts & Venues, said Kern’s impact continues with the “tremendous” success of the Colorado Symphony.
“He was instrumental in the Symphony’s growth, financial stability and innovative programming,” said White Brunetti, now the city of Aurora’s director of Library and Cultural Services. “Singular in style, he led with a great passion for the art form and a deep appreciation for its talented musicians. His legacy will echo throughout Boettcher Concert Hall and venues across Colorado.”
From left: John Hickenlooper, Robin Pringle Hickenlooper, David Koff, and Jerome Kern. (Tuan Vo, Denver Post file)
Kern’s New York accent and unapologetic personality instantly set him apart from most Denverites. He was born in Brooklyn on June 1, 1937, and graduated cum laude from the New York University School of Law, where he was a Root Tilden Scholar and managing editor of the New York University Law Review from 1959 to 1960, Mary said, following his 1957 bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.
As a trustee of the New York University School of Law, he donated $5 million to the Root-Tilden Scholarship program and led a $30 million endowment effort. His success led to the program’s renaming as the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship, Mary said.
“Jerry always joked that he blamed me for his (philanthropy),” said Mary. “It was funny, because when Jerry did that big NYU gift, afterward (NYU Law School) President John Sexton would get down on his knees whenever he saw me and kiss my hand and say, ‘We owe it all to you, Mary!’ ”
Kern was vice chairman and a board member at Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI), and architect of the AT&T/TCI merger. He would represent TCI in other high-profile mergers and acquisitions, including the Time Warner/Turner Broadcasting merger, Mary said. Before TCI, Jerry was a senior partner at Baker & Botts, LLP, and the senior corporate lawyer in the New York office. For more than 20 years, he was the principal outside legal counsel to TCI and Liberty Media.
He also served as interim chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises Inc., which he was happy to talk about when prompted, although many of his anecdotes about that time are unprintable in this publication. He was also founder and managing partner of Enki Strategic Advisors, consultants to the broadband and mobile industry from 2007-2009; and the chairman and CEO of hospitality-entertainment company On Command.
“When I led Theatres and Arenas, as we called it then, Jerry and I were working on reauthorizing SCFD (an arts-funding tax district) and I got to know him very well,” said Jack Finlaw, who serves as president and CEO of the University of Colorado Foundation. “We were both lawyers in the cable business, which was one of the things that bonded us, and we both gave up those careers to focus on new things.”
Kern’s tenacious approach extended to his nonprofit work as his career progressed, Mary said, including founding and chairing the Institute for Children’s Mental Health, and endowing the Mary Rossick Kern and Jerome H. Kern Chair in Endocrine Neoplasms Research at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He worked as chairman of the Volunteers of America Colorado board, and sponsored the building of the Michael Kern Kitchen, which provides Meals on Wheels to Colorado recipients. In 2002, the Kerns were awarded VOA’s Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Kern retired from his role at Colorado Symphony in 2021, having saved the organization from financial ruin in 2011, and left it with an $88 million endowment, he told The Denver Post at the time. As Mary noted, he did not start out as a classical music fan. But once he identified a goal, his commitment never wavered.
“He very sweetly sat with me through the whole, 20-hour Ring Cycle (opera) at the Met in New York, which was one of the great moments in my life,” she said. “I’m sure he would have rather been at a Broncos game, but he did it — including one show that was six hours. That was true love.”
This story was originally published by The Denver Post, a BusinessDen news partner.
Colorado Symphony CEO Jerome Kern speaks during a press conference at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver, Sept. 18, 2014. (Denver Post file)
Jerome H. Kern, who fiercely advocated for some of the biggest artistic, philanthropic and business causes in Denver and the U.S., has died at age 87.
Kern died Friday, Dec. 13, after being diagnosed a month ago with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, said Mary Rossick Kern, his wife of 26 years. His illness lasted only three weeks.
“It was a shock,” she said, noting that Jerry — as friends and family called him — always spoke of his own father living until 101, when he was celebrated with a birthday dinner at New York City’s famed Rainbow Room. “I used to think, ‘Well, I might not be here. But Jerry will be around.’ ”
Indeed, Kern and his vanilla-and-caramel Havanese, Mikey, were common sights at the Four Seasons Hotel when he and Mary lived there until a few years ago. Kern’s own dogged devotion to deal-making allowed him to seal tense, complex agreements that spanned his and Mary’s restoration of the Colorado Symphony, Kern’s own colorful past as a cable-industry lawyer and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, and national nonprofit causes.
The Kerns have for years been significant leaders in the arts community who are widely credited as saving the Colorado Symphony from ruin in 2011, friends and former city leaders said.
“Jerry was a very formidable person, and he made it clear in our first meeting all the reasons he was unhappy with the city,” said Alan Salazar, former chief of staff for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
For years, Kern had worked to replace the symphony’s current home of Boettcher Hall with an upgraded concert venue — in the process butting heads with many others as he tenaciously pursued more favorable deals (and, at one point, floated the idea of moving the organization out of Denver; the Boettcher-upgrade push continues today, friends noted.).
“But I also quickly detected his wry sense of humor and his satirical nature,” Salazar said. “Under the gruff and intimidating exterior, he cared deeply about this city. I appreciated his provocative, East-Coast-lawyer style. We hit it off in part because we were able to have fun with one another even when we were in conflict.”
Every great city requires a great orchestra, Kern came to believe, despite the fact that he didn’t know Dvořák from Debussy when he first got involved, Mary said.
“The Colorado Symphony deeply mourns the loss of Jerome H. Kern, a visionary leader and advocate for the arts whose impact on our organization will be felt for generations to come,” Symphony officials wrote in a statement provided to The Denver Post. “As CEO and President of the Board, Jerome and his wife Mary’s leadership were instrumental in the survival of the Colorado Symphony during a pivotal period in our history and the organization is forever grateful. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends, and all who were touched by his remarkable life.”
Kern’s contentious relationship with the city’s arts and political leadership doesn’t take away from his important work. Ginger White Brunetti, who formerly led Denver Arts & Venues, said Kern’s impact continues with the “tremendous” success of the Colorado Symphony.
“He was instrumental in the Symphony’s growth, financial stability and innovative programming,” said White Brunetti, now the city of Aurora’s director of Library and Cultural Services. “Singular in style, he led with a great passion for the art form and a deep appreciation for its talented musicians. His legacy will echo throughout Boettcher Concert Hall and venues across Colorado.”
From left: John Hickenlooper, Robin Pringle Hickenlooper, David Koff, and Jerome Kern. (Tuan Vo, Denver Post file)
Kern’s New York accent and unapologetic personality instantly set him apart from most Denverites. He was born in Brooklyn on June 1, 1937, and graduated cum laude from the New York University School of Law, where he was a Root Tilden Scholar and managing editor of the New York University Law Review from 1959 to 1960, Mary said, following his 1957 bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.
As a trustee of the New York University School of Law, he donated $5 million to the Root-Tilden Scholarship program and led a $30 million endowment effort. His success led to the program’s renaming as the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship, Mary said.
“Jerry always joked that he blamed me for his (philanthropy),” said Mary. “It was funny, because when Jerry did that big NYU gift, afterward (NYU Law School) President John Sexton would get down on his knees whenever he saw me and kiss my hand and say, ‘We owe it all to you, Mary!’ ”
Kern was vice chairman and a board member at Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI), and architect of the AT&T/TCI merger. He would represent TCI in other high-profile mergers and acquisitions, including the Time Warner/Turner Broadcasting merger, Mary said. Before TCI, Jerry was a senior partner at Baker & Botts, LLP, and the senior corporate lawyer in the New York office. For more than 20 years, he was the principal outside legal counsel to TCI and Liberty Media.
He also served as interim chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises Inc., which he was happy to talk about when prompted, although many of his anecdotes about that time are unprintable in this publication. He was also founder and managing partner of Enki Strategic Advisors, consultants to the broadband and mobile industry from 2007-2009; and the chairman and CEO of hospitality-entertainment company On Command.
“When I led Theatres and Arenas, as we called it then, Jerry and I were working on reauthorizing SCFD (an arts-funding tax district) and I got to know him very well,” said Jack Finlaw, who serves as president and CEO of the University of Colorado Foundation. “We were both lawyers in the cable business, which was one of the things that bonded us, and we both gave up those careers to focus on new things.”
Kern’s tenacious approach extended to his nonprofit work as his career progressed, Mary said, including founding and chairing the Institute for Children’s Mental Health, and endowing the Mary Rossick Kern and Jerome H. Kern Chair in Endocrine Neoplasms Research at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He worked as chairman of the Volunteers of America Colorado board, and sponsored the building of the Michael Kern Kitchen, which provides Meals on Wheels to Colorado recipients. In 2002, the Kerns were awarded VOA’s Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Kern retired from his role at Colorado Symphony in 2021, having saved the organization from financial ruin in 2011, and left it with an $88 million endowment, he told The Denver Post at the time. As Mary noted, he did not start out as a classical music fan. But once he identified a goal, his commitment never wavered.
“He very sweetly sat with me through the whole, 20-hour Ring Cycle (opera) at the Met in New York, which was one of the great moments in my life,” she said. “I’m sure he would have rather been at a Broncos game, but he did it — including one show that was six hours. That was true love.”
This story was originally published by The Denver Post, a BusinessDen news partner.
