Herbert Wolff

Herbert Wolff's Amazon works include a textbook/guide on business presentation skills, a unique novel/screenplay, several stage plays, and memoirs (including on actor James Dean). He also co-authored, with John Quick, "Small-Studio Videotape Production" (Addison-Wesley, 1976); and with his wife, Carol T. Robbins, "The Very Best Ice Cream and Where to Find It" (Warner Books, 1985). The latter afforded the couple U.S. and U.K. ice cream consulting gigs, and a "People Magazine" cover story. To view all his books on Amazon, please go to "Very Best Publishers," using quotation marks.

Herb died on March 7, 2021, in Fearrington Village, NC, where he and Carol lived since 2000. They also kept a retreat in the Berkshires, where he was on-air reviewer of summer theater and opera performances for NPR affiliate WAMC Northeast Public Radio, for 30 seasons. His wit and warmth stood out in these insightful four-minute critiques, along with his love of theater done brilliantly. His other passions were travel, classical music, wine and just talking with friends.

Born in New York just before the Great Depression, Herb grew up in orphanages and foster homes. He began university studies in theater and English, intent on becoming a playwright, following service in the Marine Corps post-World War II. After graduation he headed back to New York, where he got caught up in acting. He studied under Lee Strasberg and had roles with summer theater companies in upstate New York and on "live" television. Eventually he moved behind the camera to begin a career in preparing and coaching audiovisual presentations for engineers in aerospace industries in Denver, where he formed a consulting firm that included advertising and public relations services.

In the 1960s, New York again beckoned: Herb was recruited to head new business and presentations at the Interpublic Group of Companies, then the largest advertising firm in the world. After executive positions in New York and Boston, he again created his own firm, to develop videos for industry, government and the legal profession. This sent him to such diverse cities as Cairo, Tbilisi, Caracas and Ekaterinburg. He and Carol lived in Ukraine in 1994-5; while she worked for USAID, he taught business English at the Kyiv National Linguistic University.

Herb was vice president of the International Television Association, and chaired the Massachusetts Advisory Council on Scientific and Technical Education. In the Berkshires, he was a Selectman in Great Barrington and founded Ten Plus, an acting troupe that staged productions as fundraisers for nonprofits. Herb had a B.A. from the University of Denver, where he taught undergraduate courses in business writing and presentations. His M.S. was from Boston University, where he taught graduate courses in video production in the College of Public Communication.