Edward Rosenthal

Edward Rosenthal (July 7, 1903 – May 23, 1991) was an American businessman who served as the former vice chairman of Warner Communications, and president/owner of the Jewish funeral home chain Riverside Memorial Chapel.

Biography Rosenthal was born on July 7, 1903, to a Jewish family. He had two siblings: Miriam Rosenthal Passerman and Morton Rosenthal. In 1924, he graduated with a B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1933, he divided the company into two brands, the Riverside Memorial Chapel and Parkwest Chapels and expanded to Miami, Florida (1935); Brooklyn (1938); the Bronx (1940); and Westchester County, New York (1950).

The company diversified after he brought his son-in-law Steve Ross (who married his daughter Carol in 1953) into the business. They established a separate company that would lease out their vehicles in the evenings when they were not needed for funerals and then opened a rental company, Abbey Rent a Car. They later merged the funeral home and Abbey with a parking lot operator, the Kinney Parking Company, The resulting holding company, Kinney Service Corporation, was taken public in 1962 with a market valuation of $12.5 million. In 1966, Kinney expanded into the entertainment business by purchasing the Ashley-Famous talent agency and then in 1969, Kinney paid $400 million for the ailing Warner Bros.-Seven Arts film studio and record business. He died on May 23, 1991, aged 87, of leukemia, at his home in White Plains, New York. His son-in-law Steve went on to become a businessman.