Howard Rogofsky was born on October 10, 1946 in the Bronx, New York according to the New York, New York Birth Index at Ancestry.com. His father was Nathaniel Rogofsky who was born in Manhattan on April 18, 1921. He married Mildred Weinberg in the Bronx on August 2, 1942. Rogofsky’s paternal grandparents were immigrants. The 1950 United States Census said Harry Rogofsky was born in Poland. According to the 1920 census he immigrated in 1913. Harry married Lillie Alpert in Manhattan on September 30, 1917. She was born in Lithuania, according to her World War II Alien Registration, and immigrated in 1911.
The 1925 New York state census said Rogofsky’s father, Nathaniel (also Nathan and Nat) had an older brother, Philip. They lived with their parents in the Bronx at 850 East 175th Street. Rogofsky’s grandfather did painting.
The 1930 census recorded the family of six in the Bronx at 2143 Clinton Avenue. Nathaniel was the second of four brothers. The next two were Sidney and Murray.
The Rogofskys have not yet been found in the 1940 census.
Rogofsky’s father signed his World War II draft card on February 16, 1942. His address was 1344 Wilkins Avenue in the Bronx. He was employed by New York City Transit in Brooklyn. His description was five feet eleven inches, 200 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
Three months after his marriage, Rogofsky’s father enlisted on November 16, 1942. His hospital file, at Ancestry.com, said he served in a support unit of the Air Force. In March 1945, he was hospitalized at Scott Field, Illinois for an infection, nasopharyngitis, acute.
The 1950 census counted three-year-old Rogofsky (line 3), his parents, newborn sister, Leslie (born in Brooklyn), and maternal grandmother, Pauline Weinberg, in the Bronx at 1680 Vyse Avenue. Rogofsky’s father worked in the powerhouse of the New York City transit system.
In Comic Book Marketplace #18, October 1992, Rogofsky was interviewed and said his family moved to Queens, in 1955, where he graduated high school in 1965. However, the Andrew Jackson High School, in Cambria Heights, said Rogofsky was in the Class of 1964. He did not appear in the 1964 or 1965 Pioneer yearbooks viewed at Classmates.com. (In 1967 Rogofsky’s sister, Leslie, graduated from Andrew Jackson High School.)
The New York, New York Marriage License Index, at Ancestry.com, said Rogofsky and Gail Roth obtained a Queens marriage license, number 3401, in 1965. In 1964, Gail graduated William Howard Taft High School in the Bronx. The yearbook said she planned to be a dental hygienist.
Rogofsky was a teenager when his comic book mail-order business began. In the interview he said
The New York, New York Marriage License Index, at Ancestry.com, said Rogofsky and Gail Roth obtained a Queens marriage license, number 3401, in 1965. In 1964, Gail graduated William Howard Taft High School in the Bronx. The yearbook said she planned to be a dental hygienist.
Rogofsky was a teenager when his comic book mail-order business began. In the interview he said
... in 1960, I got two fanzines, which have long [been] out of business, that listed several people selling comic books. I wrote to them and the rest is history I guess you could say.Comic book dealer Robert Bell, who was interviewed in Comic Book Marketplace #36, June 1996, said
... Howard Rogofsky used to come into my shop all the time and he would have a want list with the amounts people would be willing to pay for certain issues. I would have a whole wall full of books, many on his list. He would just come in and say “I’ll take that, and that and that, and that.” If my price was $3 to $5, Howard would double his money when he sold them. I would discount some depending on how much money Howard spent. ...Rogofsky advertised in numerous publications including the Overstreet Comic Price Guide, TV Guide, Marvel and DC Comics, newspapers, magazines, convention programs, and fanzines such as Rocket’s Blast Comicollector. He also published catalogs.
DC Comics, September 1986, lower left corner
On February 25, 1966, Rogofsky appeared on the Joe Franklin television show. The Associated Press reported Phil Seuling’s 1968 International Convention of Comic Art and noted, “Howard Rogofsky, 21, said he sold a 1939 first edition Marvel Mystery for $330.”
Rogofsky witnessed a murder and testified in court. The Jersey Journal (Jersey City, New Jersey), September 14, 1985, said
Public records, at Ancestry.com, said Rogofsky had addresses in Rosedale, Bayside, Glen Oaks and Jamaica, New York.
Rogofsky’s mother died on September 1, 2002 and father on March 22, 2004. Rogofsky’s wife, Gail, died on October 5, 2016. Rogofsky passed away on April 22, 2024. All were laid to rest at Wellwood Cemetery.
Rogofsky witnessed a murder and testified in court. The Jersey Journal (Jersey City, New Jersey), September 14, 1985, said
… Howard Rogofsky of Queens testified earlier in the day he had seen Cardinale push Miss Cheung onto the tracks.Newsday, December 18, 1989, profiled Rogofsky here and here.
“He gave her a shove with two hands,” Rogofsky said. “She went flying onto the tracks and the train hit her.”
The witness said he heard Cardinale say afterward, “I’m glad I did it.”
Public records, at Ancestry.com, said Rogofsky had addresses in Rosedale, Bayside, Glen Oaks and Jamaica, New York.
Rogofsky’s mother died on September 1, 2002 and father on March 22, 2004. Rogofsky’s wife, Gail, died on October 5, 2016. Rogofsky passed away on April 22, 2024. All were laid to rest at Wellwood Cemetery.
Further Reading
CGC, Howard Rogofsky
CGC, Howard Rogofsky
CBCS, H. Rogofsky/Carbonaro Buy/Sell Event-Action 1
Walter Day, 82—Howard Rogofsky
Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections, Dealer Catalogs
Related Post
Walter Day, 82—Howard Rogofsky
Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections, Dealer Catalogs
Related Post
(Next post on Monday: The Typosium, Los Angeles, 1925)
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