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Leon H. Charney ’64 (1938–2016)
Leon H. Charney, who earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1964, became an entertainment lawyer, author, real-estate investor, television host, and a behind-the-scenes peace broker in Middle East diplomacy. Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1938, he worked his way through Yeshiva University and BLS before entering practice, where his clients included Jackie Mason and, briefly, Jonathan Pollard. His work as counsel to Senator Vance Hartke introduced him to foreign officials and later enabled him to assist President Jimmy Carter in arranging the secret negotiations that led to the 1978 Camp David Accords, roles he later chronicled in Special Counsel (1984) and A Spy for Peace (1993). Charney also hosted The Leon Charney Report, a weekly public-affairs program beginning in 1998, and built major real-estate holdings in Manhattan while donating tens of millions of dollars to medical and educational institutions.