Lee Gelber
Lee Peter Gelber (February 8, 1938 – January 19, 2020) was an American tour guide and urban historian whose primary expertise was New York City and its environs.
Early life[edit]
Gelber was born in Bronx, New York, where he was raised in the Fordham neighborhood by his parents Max Gelber and Rebecca Spiegel. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and from Queens College, where he majored in history. He initially worked as a toy industry executive before going into the tour business following the occasion of the firm that he was working for having been subsumed by a larger entity in a merger.[1]
Professional career[edit]
With an earlier tenure as a Big Apple Greeter under his belt, he became a tour guide for Gray Line in 1994. His breadth of knowledge and tour guide finesse soon led him to become a trainer of other guides for Grayline and then a subsequent series of other outfits. Therein he was popularly known as the so-called (New York City) "Dean of Guides"[2][3] and was referred to as such in reflective attribution by among other publications the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times.[4] He was a co-president of The Guides Association of New York City (GANYC) (with Carol Ann Seidelman), an organization which honored him in March 2016 with their inaugural "Guiding Spirit Award" at the second annual apple awards.[5] in 1993, while still a toy executive, Gelber was a contestant on the seniors edition of the American game show Jeopardy! and finished second on the episode in which he appeared with a total of $10,400.[6]
Prior to his retirement in 2018, Gelber operated his own tour guide outfit, "Here is New York Tours", while also continuing to work with other firms.[7]
On January 19, 2020, Gelber died in Schenectady, New York, from complications after having suffered a series of strokes.[8] He was 81.
References[edit]
- ^ Jacobs, Andrew (January 14, 1996). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: MIDTOWN;The Guides' Guide, Champion of Truth in Touring". The New York Times.
- ^ Lee, Denny (September 15, 2002). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: NEW YORK UP CLOSE; Voices Stilled, Gray Line Guides Battle Their Former Employer". The New York Times.
- ^ "Lee Gelber, Dean of New York Tour Guides, Dies at 81". New York Times. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- ^ "Leading questions". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "2016 GANYC Guiding Spirit Award Winner Press Release" (PDF). ganyc.org. January 27, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "J! Archive - Show #2056, aired 1993-07-12".
- ^ "Welcome to nginx!". Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ Roberts, Sam (January 22, 2020). "Lee Gelber, Dean of New York Tour Guides, Dies at 81". The New York Times.
External links[edit]
- Lee Gelber interview GANYC podcast – Destination New York Podcast #3 Interview with Lee Gelber | GANYC