Morton Weisman
Sarna News
Morton "Mort" Weisman, the father of FASA co-founder and BattleTech co-creator Jordan Weisman and working in the publishing industry since 1962, joined FASA as CEO in 1985.
Contents
Personal History
The Swallow Press
In the spring of 1967 Mort Weisman, then president of A. C. McClurg's, a wholesale book distributor, happened to be teamed with Martin Miller at a golf course during a vacation to Las Vegas. Miller, lawyer of the late Adam Swallow, learned of Weisman's involvement with books and asked him for advice on how to proceed with a possible sale of Swallow's publishing house. Weisman convinced Miller and Swallow's widow Mae to sell it to a group of people including himself in July 1967, and moved it to Chicago under the new name 'The Swallow Press'.
In August 1968 Weisman sold his interest in A. C. McClurg's and went to work for The Swallow Press full-time in January 1969 as president and production manager.
After 13 years, Weisman sold Swallow Press in 1980. As of 2006, it is owned by the family of Philip Weisman and Swallow Press was leased (not sold) to O. Mort Weisman stated in an interview that, as far as he knew, the lease was a renewable 10-year term and the current lease term was for 20 years, at the end of which Swallow Press will belong to Ohio University Press.
FASA
In 1985, Mort Weisman joined FASA, his son Jordan's firm. Having worked in the publishing industry since 1962, Mort Weisman brought the experience that was required to organize FASA as it grew into a major game publisher.
On 25 January 2001, a FASA announcement signed by Mort Weisman and L. Ross Babcock III announced that FASA was closing its doors. Reportedly, Mort Weisman had been speaking about retirement for himself and percieved the gaming market to be in a downswing.
After FASA
Mort Weisman was appointed president of WizKids Publishing, an in-house publishing division for WizKids, in 2003.
Personal Information
- Married to Judy Weisman
- Has a brother Robert Weisman, who (as of 1967) was president of Carl J. Liebel, the West Coast division of A. C. McClurg's
References
- Alan Swallow: Platten Press Publisher by Donna Ippolito and Shirley Kopatz, in: Journal of the West, Vol 8. 1969 (PDF)