Charles Luckman*

Born in 1909 in Kansas City, Missouri, Charles Luckman was the only child of immigrant parents. His father came from Germany and his mother from Yugoslavia. As a nine-year-old, Luckman was tending his newsstand in downtown Kansas City when he noticed the ornate old-world facade of a grand hotel. He was especially entranced with the lobby's chandeliers. When he learned that the person who designed the lobby was an architect, he knew that was what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Luckman finished high school with highest honors and was named Missouri's outstanding graduate. He was awarded a full scholarship to the University of Missouri, but he declined it because the school did not offer a degree in architecture. Instead, he entered the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois in Chicago, working his way through as a draftsman for a well-known architectural firm. When he graduated in 1931, however, the Great Depression had made jobs in his chosen profession scarce. "Men were jumping out of buildings, not building them," he said.

Newly married and seeking a better-paying job, Luckman answered an ad that read, "Need a young man who can draw." Luckman went to work in the advertising department of Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company, planning to return to architecture when the economy improved. What he didn't realize, however, was his knack for merchandising. By the age of 26, Luckman became national marketing manager for rival Pepsodent, and he became its president at the age of 33. Two years later, Pepsodent was acquired by Lever, whose parent company was UniLever of London.

Luckman was just 37 when he became president of all U.S. companies belonging to Lever Brothers. He moved the corporate headquarters from Boston to New York and once again experienced the pleasure of architecture as he worked on the concept and design of the new Lever Building on Park Avenue. Built in the "international style," it created a stir. Some pronounced it "the proud proclamation of a new era."

Soon, Luckman left Lever Brothers to found his architectural firm. His company designed California's Edwards Air Force Base and completed projects for NASA, including Cape Canaveral and the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. The firm specialized in office buildings, medical and sports facilities, hotels, and apartment buildings.