Comics: Bernard Klein, Artist, Boxer and Combat Photographer

Bernard Klein was born on July 26 or 29, 1918, in Trenton, New Jersey. The first date was from his World War II draft card. The second date was recorded on a headstone application filed by Klein’s father. 

Klein has not yet been found in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 United States Censuses. 

The Trenton Evening Times said Klein graduated from the School of Industrial Arts in Trenton. 

He was profiled in the Trenton Sunday Times-Advertiser, November 29, 1936.

Making Good

Cartoonist Has Aimed for Job Since 2d Grade.

If perseverance is truly the pathway to success, you’ll be hearing some day of the eminent cartoonist, Bernard Klein. 

Since the second grade the 18-year-old Trenton, N.J., boy has been aiming toward his ambition “to make good on a newspaper or magazine.”

Recognition came when Bernard was a sixth-grade student and received an honorable mention in a cartoon contest. “The next year,” Bernard writes from 1109 Division street, “I took first prize in a school contest with a picture of ‘Popeye.’ In the eighth grade I began drawing for a high school paper, the first ever to do so without having reached high school.”

His work has appeared in The Trenton (N.J.) Advertiser.

The Trenton Evening Times, November 18, 1938, said

Boys from All Walks of Life in K. of C. Try-County Tourney

Boys from all walks of life are contenders for championships of the eight weight divisions in the Knights of Columbus Tri-County amateur boxing tournament at the Arena. ...

... Bernie Klein, a flyweight hopeful, is employed in a grocery store, but is better known as an amateur cartoonist. He has several times drawn cartoons depicting well-known boxers. Perhaps he dreams of sketching one of himself sometime. ...

The Trenton Evening Times, January 27, 1939, published a photograph of Klein who was competing in the flyweight division of the third annual Trenton Times A. A. Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament. The flyweight division was won by Harry Varava.

The Comics Journal #271, October 2005, published an interview with Jerry Robinson who broke into the comics in September 1939, according to Jim Steranko’s History of Comics (1970). In the interview Robinson recalled meeting Klein at a New Year’s party and described him as a young John Garfield. Klein had been a Golden Gloves boxer who worked on the loading dock at the Trenton Times newspaper and also contributed sports cartoons. Eager to get into comics, Robinson explained to Klein what to do. 

On October 16, 1940, Klein signed his World War II draft card. His address was 1109 Division Street in Trenton. Klein’s employer was M. L. J. Magazines. He was described as five feet five-and-a-half inches, 130 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Some of Klein’s credits are at the Grand Comics Database. 

Steranko said 

Robinson shared an apartment on 33rd Street with another DC artist, Bernie Kline [sic]. They had installed two drawing boards, one of which was so big that two people could work on it at the same time. The flat became a hangout for comic men. Frequently a half dozen artists and writers like Charles Biro, Bob Wood, Mort Meskin and Whit Ellsworth would congregate there to finish a few pages and discuss storytelling techniques.

I believe the location of the apartment was on Robinson’s draft card: 207 East 33rd Street. He signed the card on June 30, 1942.

Samples of Klein’s art

Silver Streak Comics #11, June 1941

Daredevil Comics #2, August 1941

Silver Streak Comics #18, February 1942

Military Comics #8, March 1942

National Comics #23, June 1942

The Trenton Sunday Times-Advertiser, May 31, 1942, said

Bernard Klein, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Klein of 1109 Division Street, has joined the United States Army Signal Corps. Klein, who is stationed at Fort Monmouth, near Red Bank, enlisted on May 22.

Klein became a photographer. 

The Trenton Sunday Times-Advertiser, April 11, 1943, said

Corporal Bernard Klein, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Klein of 820 Southard Street, is in North Africa with the U.S. Army fighting forces. Corporal Klein is a member of a signal detachment. 

Sports page readers of Trenton and vicinity will recall cartoons drawn by Klein a couple of years ago and published in the Sunday Times-Advertiser. One of his cartoons was on Golden Gloves boxers, and so enthused the young artist that he decided to try his own hand as an amateur boxer. He was eliminated in his first bout, however, and decided to be a cartoonist instead of boxer. He went to New York and obtained a position with a syndicate publishing cartoon magazines. He has continued to draw cartoons since entering the service, and has had several of them used in army publications.

The Trenton Evening Times, September 29, 1943, published Klein’s portrait of General Mark W. Clark. 

Klein’s death was reported in the Trenton Evening Times, March 15, 1944.

Sergeant Klein Killed in Action

Trenton Artist Victim of Italian Campaign, Officials Report

Sergeant Bernard Klein, Trenton artist, was killed in action in Italy, according to word received yesterday from the War Department by his father, Harry Klein, 820 Southard Street. 

A graduate with high honors of the School of Industrial Arts who had had his drawings published often on the sports pages of the Trenton Times and Sunday Advertiser, young Klein attracted the attention of art circles in New York and before his enlistment was a staff member of a comic strips company. 

Sergeant Klein sketched, by official request, Generals Douglas MacArthur and Mark Clark and had received personal notes of congratulation from both. His sketches were published in “Stars and Stripes.”

A member of the 163d Signal Photo Detachment he had served in many of the African and Italian campaigns and many of his photos of warfare in action were published by leading newspapers throughout the country.

He recently sent to his father a collection of war souvenirs seized from German forces. 

The Trenton Evening Times, April 18, 1944, said

Tribute Is Paid to Klein’s Record

High tribute was paid the combat service record of the late Sergeant Bernard Klein, cartoonist and former Trenton Times artist, by his commanding officer, Captain Ned Morehouse, in a letter received by Harry C. Klein, 820 Southard Street, father of the youthful sergeant killed in February.

The officer wrote: “Bernard was a fine man, a true soldier, a happy friend. His faithfulness, continued eagerness to be on the job of photographing the war are signs which everyone is following in taking up where he left off. He has a long combat record and many, many fine pictures to his credit. I think his eagerness to go back on the job time after time when he had already been through other complete campaigns are indications of the highest type of American manhood. He knew, with the wisdom of a veteran, what he was facing each day, but was always eager to go and could not stand being idle.”

Mr. and Mrs. Klein also were informed by the Jewish chaplain, Aaron Paperman, that, at the traditional Hebrew rites, all members of Sergeant Klein’s unit, including his commanding officers, were present, according him all due military honor.

Klein’s father’s April 24, 1944 letter to entertainer Bob Hope was edited and transcribed in the book, Dear Bob ... Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of World War II (2021). 

The Trenton Evening Times, May 9, 1944, said

Posthumous Award for Sergeant Klein

The Purple Heart has been awarded posthumously to a former Trenton artist, Sergeant Bernard Klein, killed in the North African area February 23.

The emblem was received by the late artist’s father, Harry C. Klein, 820 Southard Street, along with the army’s expression of condolence from General Marshall and President Roosevelt.

A letter signed by Secretary of War Stimson to Mr. and Mrs. Klein read: “At the request of the President, I write to inform you that the Purple Heart has been awarded posthumously to your son, Technical Sergeant Fourth Grade Bernard Klein, Signal Corps, who sacrificed his life in defense of his country. Little that we can do or say will console you for the death of a loved one. We profoundly appreciate the greatness of your loss, for in a very real sense the loss suffered by any of us in this battle for our country is a loss shared by all of us. When the medal, which you will shortly receive, reaches you, I want you to know that with it goes my sincerest sympathy, and the hope that time and the victory of our cause will finally lighten the burden of your grief.”

The Trenton Evening Times, February 2, 1949, said

Body of Klein Coming Home

The body of T4 Bernard Klein is being returned from the Mediterranean area aboard the Army transport Eric G. Gibson. His father, Harry C. Klein of 820 Southard Street, has been notified by the War Department.

Klein, 28, a promising cartoonist here before entering the service, was killed at Cassino, Italy on February 23, 1944. He served with the Signal Corps as a member of the 163d Photo Detachment. 

As a cartoonist he had created several comic strips and his drawings of prominent local athletes appeared on the sports pages of the Trenton Times.

Klein was born in Trenton and attended public schools here and the School of Industrial Arts.

The Trenton Evening Times, March 4, 1949 said

Sgt. Klein’s Rites Sunday

A military funeral will be held Sunday for Sergeant Bernard Klein, talented young Trenton artist, who died of wounds received at Cassino, Italy, February 23, 1944.

Service will be held at 2:30 o’clock at the Ullrich Funeral Home, 199 Brown Street. Rabbi S. Joshua Kohn will officiate. There also will be a service by the jewish War Veterans. Burial will be in Brith Sholom Cemetery.

Sergeant Klein is survived by his father and stepmother, Mr. and Mrs. Klein of 820 Southard Street, and a stepsister, Mrs. Vivian Higgins of 1011 Division Street. He was nephew of the late Harry Charlip of Euclid Avenue.

Klein, who was 25 years old, was attached to the 163d Signal Photo Detachment. He served in many of the African and Italian campaigns during the late war. Many of his photographs of battle action were published in the country’s leading newspapers.

During his military career he had the opportunity to make sketches of General Douglas MacArthur and General Mark Clark and received personal notes of congratulations from both. The pose of General MacArthur has been used many times by newspapers and magazines. The original sketch of General Clark is now at West Point.

Klein was part of the “Bloody Five” which made the original landings in North Africa. He was recommended three times for the Legion of Merit and was awarded the Purple Heart.

A graduate of the Trenton School of Industrial Arts, Klein contributed many drawings to the sports page of the Trenton Times before the war. 

He also sketched for “Memo,” a magazine, and did portraits of many of the State’s leading personalities. 

While in service, he made sketches of Bob Hope, Al Jolson and other entertainers, and many of his works were published in “Stars and Stripes,” the Army publication.

Headstone application

The Trenton Evening Times, April 28, 1950, said

Unveil Monuments in Joint Ceremony

Monuments in Brith Sholom Cemetery, Cedar Lane, will be unveiled in a ceremony Sunday at 2 p.m. for Harry Charlip, formerly of 250 Euclid Avenue, and a nephew, Bernard Klein, formerly of 820 Southard Street, a war casualty. Members of the family and friends will attend.

Further Reading

The Rattle of Theta Chi, August, September, October 1948

Internet Archive, C-Span 2, World War II U.S. Army Signal Corps Photos

Naval History and Heritage Command, Operation Shingle: Landing at Anzio, Italy, January 22, 1944 

(Next post on Monday: A Few Details About George Salter, Calligrapher, Designer and Teacher)

Comics: A Few Details About Jerry Robinson, Letterer, Inker and Artist (Plus Ernie Kovacs, Teenage “Pirate”)

Jerry Robinson was born on January 1, 1922 in Trenton, New Jersey according to an interview in Alter Ego #39, August 2004. His first name, Sherrill, was recorded on his birth certificate which was partially transcribed at Ancestry.com. The middle name, David, was on his World War II draft card. Robinson’s parents were Benjamin (1881–1970) and Mae (1884–1968) and siblings, Harold (1907–1963), Avner (about 1909–1983), Maury (1911–1974) and Edith (1914–2008). 

In the 1920 United States Census, Robinson’s parents and siblings (lines 41–46) lived at 38 Atterbury Avenue in Trenton. His father was a theater manager. 

The Robinson family has not yet been found in the 1930 United States Census. 

The Trenton Evening Times, March 21, 1936, said

Har Sinai Plans Special Service

Dr. Pitt Will Be Speaker; Confirmation Day Arranged

The guest speaker during the regular Sabbath Eve service at Har Sinai Temple tomorrow night will be Dr. Lawrence J. Pitt, pastor of the methodist Episcopal Church of Princeton, N.J. Dr. Pitt formerly was at Greenwood Avenue Church, Trenton. ...

... Confirmation services at Har Sinai Temple will be held on Wednesday at 9:30 A.M. The following children of Har Sinai Temple will be confirmed: ... Jerry D. Robinson ...

In the interview conducted by Jim Amash, Robinson did not identify his Trenton high school. He said “I drew posters for my high school’s plays, like The Pirates of Penzance.” One of his schoolmates was comedian Ernie Kovacs. The Trenton Evening Times, March 17, 1937, said Kovacs “will have the role of Pirate King in ‘Pirates of Penzance’.”

Kovacs was a student at Trenton Central High School and a senior in the 1936 Bobashela yearbook. Kovacs, a 1937 graduate, was held back a year because of poor grades in several subjects.

Kovacs in 1936 yearbook

In 1939 Robinson graduated from Trenton Central High School. (The 1939 Bobashela yearbook was not available at Ancestry.com.)

In the History of Comics (1970), Jim Steranko said 

... [Bob] Kane recruited the services of his assistant, Jerry Robinson. ... Kane was impressed by the art work and told him about the Batman strip, suggesting he might be interested in assisting with the book. Robinson began in September 1939. He was 17.

Robinson, intending to pursue the profession of journalism at Columbia [University], was soon caught up in his enthusiasm and the popularity of Batman. He worked with Kane, first lettering, then pencilling backgrounds and finally inking. ...

Regarding the creation of Robin, Amash asked if the name and costume were essentially his ideas?

Well, I wouldn’t say entirely. ... It was a collaborative creation, but the genesis of Robin’s name and look came from Robin Hood. 

The last touch was the “R” on Robin’s chest. If you look at the early Batman stories I lettered—the beginning of each caption—the first letter I enclosed in a circle and dropped out the line. I thought that would be a counterpoint to the Bat emblem on Batman’s chest. 

In Comic Book Marketplace #70, August 1999, Will Murray interviewed Robinson and also asked about the creation of Robin.

... I knew N.C. Wyeth drawings of Robin Hood, so I sketched the traditional costume of Robin ... and put the little “R” on it.

I had been doing all the lettering and had been using the gimmick of putting the first letter of each caption in a circle, but dropping out the line. I thought the “R” on Robin’s vest would be analogous to Batman’s insignia. If you look at the rest of the costume, the little vest, ‘chain-mail’ pants, and the boots were a la Robin Hood. [see Todd Klein’s blog post on Robinson] 

Robinson said he rented an apartment within walking distance from Kane who lived with his parents in the Bronx. According to the 1940 census Kane’s address was 2255 Grand Concourse. Robinson was counted twice in the census. Robinson’s parents included him (line 33) in Trenton at 643 West State Street. Robinson (line 32) resided in the Bronx at 2298 Creston Avenue. His occupation was artist. 

Around 1941 Robinson moved. Steranko said

... Robinson shared an apartment on 33rd Street with another DC artist, Bernie Kline [sic]. They had installed two drawing boards, one of which was so big that two people could work on it at the same time. The flat became a hangout for comic men. Frequently a half dozen artists and writers like Charles Biro, Bob Wood, Mort Meskin and Whit Ellsworth would congregate there to finish a few pages and discuss storytelling techniques.

I believe the address was 207 East 33rd Street which was recorded on Robinson’s World War II draft card, signed on June 30, 1942. Robinson’s description was five feet seven-and-a-half inches, 125 pounds, with brown eyes and hair. 

In many Fall 1946 magazines and newspapers were advertisements for Pond’s Cold Cream endorsed by Ruth Conrad. The first paragraph said

Miss Ruth Conrad, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Claude L. Conrad, prominent in the musical and artistic circles of Rochester, N.Y., is engaged to Mr. Jerry D. Robinson of New York City. Another Pond’s engaged girl ...

The Jackson Citizen Patriot (Michigan), October 6, 1946, said 

... Miss Ruth Conrad, Rochester, N.Y., formerly of Hillsdale college student, appears in a cosmetic advertisement in the latest issue of Life magazine. Miss Conrad, formerly of Quincy, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Claude L. Conrad. Her engagement to Jerry D. Robinson, New York, has just been announced.

In the fall of 1946, they married in New Jersey. In the interview, Robinson did not mention his first marriage. 

Robinson was misspelled Robenson.

In 1949 their divorce was granted in Florida according to a record at Ancestry.com. 

The 1950 census said Robinson (misspelled Robison) was divorced. He was a self-employed cartoonist living in Manhattan at 67 Riverside Drive. He had completed two years of college (line 11). 

Robinson was one of many cartoonists who visited U.S. military bases around the world. The following June 3, 1956 passenger list included Robinson, Marjorie Johnson, Michael Berry, Tony DePrita and Vernon Greene. 

The New York, New York Marriage License Index, at Ancestry.com, said Robinson and Gro Bagn obtained, in 1957, Manhattan marriage license number 29653. 

Further Reading

Jerry Robinson Art

The New York Times, December 9, 2011

Timely-Atlas-Comics, Jerry Robinson (1922–2011)—The Timely Years

Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Formation of a comic book artist

Syracuse University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center

David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview #56, 1988, interview

David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview #57, 1988, interview

David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview #58, 1988, interview

The Comics Journal, interview

Barry’s Pearls of Comic Book Wisdom, Jerry Robinson interview, 1988

Amazing World of DC Comics #4, January–February 1975

Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999

Find a Grave

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(Next post on Monday: Bernard Klein, Artist, Boxer and Combat Photographer)

Comics: Sheldon Stark

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (New York), January 11, 1935, reported Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s announcement that the first issue of New Fun debuted that day on the newsstands. The article also mentioned the staff members Lloyd Jacquet, Sheldon H. Stark and Dick Loederer.

New Fun Magazine for Juveniles Out

New Fun is the title of a juvenile magazine that appeared for the first time today on the newsstands of the principal cities throughout the United States, according to an announcement made by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, president of National Allied Publications, Inc., 49 W. 45th St.

Major Nicholson has secured the co-operation of The Eagle for the publication of this tabloid-size monthly periodical which is designed to please “boys and girls from 2 to 90” with its predominant pictorial contents of new comic strips and special departments devoted to aircraft, sports, the radio and the movies.

Lloyd Jacquet, formerly on the staff of The Eagle, is the editor of New Fun, which is to be converted from a monthly to a weekly in the near future. He is assisted by Sheldon H. Stark as cartoon editor. Dick Loederer, who was art director in charge of animated cartoons for Van Beuren-RKO Film Corp., is art director of New Fun.

Sheldon Hubert “Shelly” Stark was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 7, 1909. Stark’s full name was found in a family tree at Ancestry.com and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper. His birth information was recorded in the New York, New York Birth Index also at Ancestry.com.

The 1910 U.S. Federal Census, recorded Stark in Brooklyn at 1044 40th Street. He was the youngest of two sons born to Abraham, an attorney at law, and Olga, both Russian emigrants.

Stark’s home in the 1915 New York State Census was in Brooklyn at 1456 55th Street. Two more sons had joined the Stark family.

According to the 1920 census, Stark resided with his parents and four brothers (Malcolm, Elliot, Wilbur and Richard) at 1430 49 Street, in Brooklyn. The family was at the same address in the 1925 state census. Stark had a sister named Margery.

In the book, On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller (2014), Rockefeller and Stark were classmates and friends at “Lincoln School. An offshoot of the Teachers College of Columbia University….” After graduating Lincoln School both of them attended Dartmouth.

The Jamestown Post-Journal (New York), January 30, 1954, profiled Stark and said: “When Sheldon Stark was not playing basketball, soccer or lacrosse at Dartmouth College, he was specializing in physics and chemistry and won for himself a science degree.”

Stark attended the wedding of Rockefeller and Mary Todhunter Clark on June 23, 1930. Stark’s marriage was reported in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 20, 1935.

Miss Margery Hamilton Winchell, daughter of Mrs. Walter Barnard Winchell of 137 Berkeley Place and the late Dr. Winchell, was married this morning to Sheldon Hubert Stark, son of Mr. and Mrs. Abraham I. Stark, in the Supreme Court Chambers, with Justice John MacCrate performing the ceremony. A wedding breakfast for the immediate families and close friends, followed at the Hotel Bossert.

The bride is a graduate of Adelphi Academy, class of ’29, and Smith College, class of ’33.

Mr. Stark was graduated from the Lincoln School of Teachers College with the class of ’26 and from Dartmouth College, class of ’30.

Apparently, Stark and Margery went to Bermuda for their honeymoon. A passenger ship list recorded their return from Bermuda on August 5, 1935. Their address was 137 Berkeley Place, Brooklyn, New York.

In January 1935, Stark was on the staff of New Fun which was published by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s National Allied Publications, Inc. Some of Stark’s comic book credits are here.

American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Stark wrote two mid-1930s comic strips. “Chip Collins’ Adventures”, drawn by Jack R. Wilhelm, ran from July 16, 1934 to July 27, 1935. Stark wrote the strip’s final two months from June 3 to July 27, 1935. Edgar Wallace was credited as the writer of “Inspector Wade” but it was ghost-written by Stark from May 20, 1935 to May 17, 1943. Lyman Anderson and Neil O’Keeffe were the artists.

Stark’s material for the H. M. Kiesewetter Advertising Agency was recorded in the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 1, Group 3, Dramatic Compositions, Motion Pictures, 1937, New Series, Volume 10, Number 4: 

Famous jury trials; Apr. 5, 1937. The people versus Victor Jackson, by Sheldon Stark. © 1 c. Apr. 6, 1937; D 48825; H. M. Kiesewetter advertising agency, inc., New York. 2790

— Apr. 26, 1937. The people vs. Charles Tracy, by Sheldon H. Stark. © 1 c. Apr. 19, 1937; D 49171; H. M. Kiesewetter advertising agency, inc., New York. 2792

According to The Billboard, February 13, 1943, Stark resided in Detroit, Michigan, where he scripted a number of radio programs.

Sheldon H. Stark, who has been in Detroit for the last four years writing for Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, Ned Jordan and Federal Ace, will return to New York in April at the conclusion of his contract.

In 1952, Stark was accused by Paul R. Milton, a founder and director of Aware, Inc., of being pro-Communist. Stark lost his writing job on the radio show “Treasury Men in Action.” Milton became a writer on that show. The New York Times, June 16, 1962, reported John Henry Faulk’s libel suit against Aware. Faulk was a CBS entertainer who lost his job in broadcasting after being linked, by Aware, to a Communist conspiracy. During the trial Milton “testified that he had made the charge against Mr. Stark, who shortly afterward was dismissed as a writer for a radio show sponsored by the Borden Company. Mr. Milton subsequently became a writer for the show.”

Stark “pointed out that he was cleared of the charge by a Government loyalty board in 1955.”

In a letter to The New York Times, Mr. Stark, who lives in California said:

“Those were hysterical times. In the three years it took me to catch up with and refute Mr. Milton’s false charge I suffered monetary and emotional damage from which, while not as great as that suffered by many, many others, I still bear scars.”

“Jet Scott” was a daily and Sunday comic strip written by Sheldon and drawn by Jerry Robinson and produced for the New York Herald-Tribune. According to American Newspaper Comics, the strip began September 28, 1953 and ended September 25, 1955.

Jamestown Post-Journal’s 1954 profile of “Shelly Stark”, pictured above with artist Jerry Robinson, also said:

…As much of his time as possible has been spent outdoors making frequent scientific field trips to places like Hudson Bay, the Mohave Desert and Macchu Pichu, Peru. He is a tophand with a gun and holds a pilots license.

In recent years, he has written more than 3,000 scrips for such popular radio and television programs as “The Lone Ranger,” “Straight Arrow,” “The Lux Theater,” “Studio One,” “The Big Story,” “The Ford Theater,” “Theater Guild on the Air,” “Grand Central Station” and “Rocky King, Detective.”

For over eight years, the writers of America have elected him to serve on the council of the Authors’ League of America, a board which concentrates on writers’ problems. Other council members include Oscar Hammerstein II, John Hersey, Rex Stout, Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse.

Mr. Stark lives, with his wife and four children, a dog, a cat, some rare cross-bred songbirds and scores of tropical fish, near the shore of Long Island where he pursues another favorite interest, fishing.

According to the New York Times, January 27, 1954, Stark’s play, “Time of Storm”, would open on at the Greenwich Mews Theatre on February 18. The Brooklyn Eagle’s review of “Time of Storm” appeared February 25, 1954.

Stark’s 1954 crime novel, Too Many Sinners, was published in the Ace Double-Mystery Series.

The California Marriage Index, at Ancestry.com, said Stark married Jacquale M. Murphy on June 1, 1966. The date of Stark’s divorce from Margery is not known.

According to the California Death Index, Stark passed away February 6, 1997, in Los Angeles, California. His death was included in Obituaries in the Performing Arts (1997):

Screenwriter Sheldon H. Stark died in Los Angeles on February 6, 1997. He was 87. Stark began his career writing for radio, scripting episodes of such adventure series as The Lone Ranger, Green Hornet and Batman. He began writing for television in the early 1950s, scripting episodes of such series as Wagon Train, Ben Casey, Hawaiian Eye, Batman, Green Hornet, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Virginian and Quincy. Stark also wrote the 1954 play Time of Storm and authored the novel Too Many Sinners.

The Los Angeles Times, February 13, 1997, obituary said: “…Stark helped form the Radio Writers Guild, which later merged with the Writers Guild of America, and held several offices in each organization. He taught screenwriting at UCLA and Santa Monica College.”

Variety, February 20, 1997, said: “Stark, who was blacklisted in the early 1950s, wrote the Off Broadway play ‘Time of Storm,’ which explored the dangers of McCarthyism.

…He is survived by his wife, Jacquie, as well as a brother, a sister, two sons, a daughter and eight grandchildren.

Stark’s filmography is here. Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 has a brief overview of Stark’s career.

Related post: William H. Cook

(Next post on Monday: The Rotarian)