Longtime publishing attorney and investor Richard Gallen died on December 3 of complications from Parkinson’s disease, at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. He was 80.
Gallen began his career in 1961 as an attorney with Dell Publishing, before embarking on a varied, one-of-a-kind publishing career as a book packager, entrepreneur, and investor. He became involved in partnerships to publish books including The Autobiography of Malcom X and Games People Play, among many others. In the 1970s and 1980s, Gallen ran a wide variety of publishing enterprises and employed as many as 30 people full-time.
Gallen also provided financial backing and counsel to Baen Books, Tor, Publishers Group West, Carroll & Graf, and, most recently, in 2008, The Experiment, which was the last publishing company Gallen helped to found. In 1996, Gallen, along with Tony Schulte and David Lamb, cofounded GSL Publishing Associates, which operated until 2011.
Memorial gifts to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research or Mt. Sinai Hospital, NYC in Departments of Cardiology and Neurology would be appreciated by the family.
