Larry Silver the wing man By Catherine Berlin “You know who might be perfect for me? A single mom with kids. I really like kids,” Larry Silver explains. The imagery of Hugh Grant in the movie About a Boy silences me. “And maybe she is someone who hasn’t had a lot of chances to see things,” he continues in earnest. “There is nothing better than watching people’s faces when they are exposed to something amazing for the first time.” Grant’s conniving, opportunistic character fades away. It’s not that single moms are an easy mark. No, Silver has a bred-in-the-bone appreciation for wonderment, the big show, the element of surprise. Which should, actually, come as no surprise. Silver’s father founded Amherst Records, a company that grew to the become the country’s fourth largest distributor of records (keeping Woolworths, Kresges and K-Mart, and W. T. Grants in vinyl), opened the Record Theatre stores, and managed recording artists. Leonard Silver has been called a music mogul and the main embodiment of the entertainment industry around here, and his son has been in it with him since he was eight years old. “I started working for my dad by filling $1 grab bags with 45s. I earned a penny a bag.” I envision the coppery coin alongside the clumsiness of three 45s, the time needed to stuff a bag and fasten a closing device, and the attention span of a third grade boy, and suddenly another Nick Hornby novel gone Hollywood, High Fidelity, comes to mind. There, the John Cusack character is a record shop owner incapable of embracing a business model likely to need to invest in black ink. The association, fortunately, is fleeting because Silver learned to negotiate, and today he is the Executive Vice President at Amherst Records. He also owns Buy My Collectibles, a company that every year sells over 20,000 autographed items and memorabilia. The hallways in his office provide a sampling, with framed pieces from Marilyn Monroe to the cast of the Sopranos, Kiss to Charles Lindbergh. As he explains about being an artist manager, and as you walk past all the images of incredibly famous politicians, athletes, and stars, you might wonder if Silver ever had any interest in being in the spotlight himself. He would tell you no. It is better to be behind the scenes, to observe and work, and to stay beneath the public’s radar. Losing privacy, he says, is ultimately very rough on talent. Silver has five children. His oldest is a movie producer in New York City. His second works in theater production at the Alleyway. The sixteen-year-old plays guitar in a garage band, and the youngest is undecided, but give the child a chance to hit the sophomore year in high school. As for the UB student who seems to focus mainly on an impressive grade point average, perhaps that one will prove to be the most similar: staying back, taking it all in, and working from the wings. Silver likes to go to the movies, or maybe catch a band, see the Bills or the Sabres, or visit an opening. He has also done charity work for Roswell, Camp Good Days and Special Times, the Albright Knox, and the Heart Foundation, insisting that those who are fortunate in life have a responsibility to help those who are less so. Silver’s one dream is to revisit Europe, where he spent too much time focused on business years ago. He wants to see the things he never got a chance to explore, such as a restaurant in Paris, a Van Gogh in Amsterdam, or a jazz club in Stockholm. Perhaps it’s not just an expression of wonderment on other people’s faces he enjoys. It seems Silver is up for a little amazement, too. Catherine Berlin is a writer, photographer, and lawyer raising children and a husband in Buffalo. Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top