He was born in Offenbach, Germany, May 22, 1929, and came to the United States in 1937, where he graduated from Cleveland Heights High School. At Princeton he was an English major, active in Theatre Intime, the Glee Club, choir, and Triangle. He was a member of Prospect Club and roomed with Bob Bloom and Tician Papachristou.
Herb and Evelyn Ilton were married Dec. 27, 1953. He earned a master’s degree in literature and drama from Columbia in 1955 and then began a long and successful career in broadcast advertising and television production. He demonstrated his strong religious faith by being cantor at the Port Washington Jewish Center for 37 years.
Herb’s greatest devotion was to his family. When in 1984 their daughter Lauri died of leukemia, he and Evelyn dealt with their terrible loss by establishing the Lauri Strauss Leukemia Foundation. For 18 years they sponsored an annual benefit performance for the foundation at Carnegie Hall. Herb died Nov. 25, 2007, the day before that year’s performance.
He is survived by Evelyn; their daughter, Julie Safran; and their grandchildren, Gregory and Emily. Donations in his memory to the foundation at 30 Park Ave., New York, NY 10016, would be most appreciated.