Bernie West (’39, DFA [Hon.] ’98) was not only a devoted Baruch College alumnus but a cultural icon as well. Last on campus in 2004 to celebrate his 86th birthday, West was one of the College’s most famous graduates, a TV legend who gave audiences years of laughter as writer and producer of the culturally significant and long-enduring sitcoms All in the Family, Three’s Company, and The Jeffersons.
Born Bernard Wessler, he grew up in the Bronx, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. After he graduated from Baruch College, he worked as a comedian in nightclubs and Borscht Belt resorts and later as a comic actor on Broadway and television.
West was in the vanguard of philanthropy to his alma mater. In 1997 he donated monies in support of Theatron, the drama club and the oldest student organization on campus. In thanks for his generosity, the College named a renovated black box theater in the Field Building at 17 Lexington Avenue in his honor.
“Bernie was an unforgettable character,” says City University of New York Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, president of Baruch College when West made his historic gift. “Bernie made you laugh, and he made you think. He was always warm and joyous; he lifted my spirits every time I was around him. He loved Baruch College and was very generous in helping us create a small theater space before the new building—the Newman Vertical Campus—was finished. I remember, specifically, a Q&A session he had with students at that time. Bernie talked about his college experience, and, of course, told jokes. He touched students in a very special way.”