Magnin, Edgar F. (Edgar Fogel), 1890-1984

Edgar Magnin was born in San Francisco, California on 1 July 1890. He attended Temple Israel in San Francisco as a boy and always knew that he wanted to enter the rabbinate. Magnin was ordained from Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1914.

Magnin returned to his beloved California immediately following ordination to serve one year in Stockton, California, before becoming the rabbi at the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, B'nai B'rith Temple (which became Wilshire Boulevard Temple in 1929) in 1916. Magnin served at Wilshire Boulevard Temple for 69 years, a record for the Reform rabbinate. He chaired numerous temple building campaigns, including one in 1923 following damage by an earthquake. In 1962, the temple named their new religious school after their long-term rabbi.

During World War II, Magnin served within his community through both the National Jewish Welfare Board as he had during World War I and the more recently formed United Service Organization (USO). Through his connections to these wartime organizations, Magnin became friends with celebrities such as Bob Hope.

While Magnin only published two full length books (one published posthumorously) - How to Live a Richer and Fuller Life (1951) and 365 Vitamins for the Mind (1984), he was a columnist for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner for several decades. Dr. Magnin Says remained a perennial favorite for readers, and the latter book was a compilation of his best columns. These columns gave information about Jewish traditions, reviewed the latest films and books, and advised on the art of remaining young. Magnin taught at the University of Southern California from 1935 to 1955 and the College of Jewish Studies and in addition was a frequent guest speaker on both radio and television shows.

Magnin was to remain a supporter of his alma mater for the rest of his life, and instrumental in the creation of HUC-JIR's Los Angeles campus. The precursor to the Rhea Hirsch School of Jewish Education was the Jewish College of Studies sponsored by the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in the early 1950s. Later the graduate school of the Los Angeles campus was renamed after Magnin. Additionally, Magnin was named HUC-JIR's "Graduate of the Century."

He was also extremely involved in several non-Jewish organizations. Magnin was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1978- Los Angeles County's highest award for community service. His service included sitting on the board of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, search committees for the Los Angeles Public Schools, the local Red Cross, the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and several other organizations. Magnin was also a dedicated member and leader in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.

Magnin was a friend and advisor to several celebrities in both entertainment and the political world. He participated in the inagurations of both Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan. He was also one of the first rabbis to conduct a Jewish service at the White House in January 1973. Magnin met with Albert Einstein in 1931, an event he always remembered. But the rabbi to the stars regularly married and buried stars such as Irving Thalberg, Adolf Zuker, Eddie Cantor, George Jessel and Jack Benny.

Magnin died of natural causes at his Beverly Hills home on 18 July 1984. He was 94.

Edgar Magnin married Evelyn Rosenthal in 1916. Like her husband, Evelyn Magnin was extremely involved in local affairs, including the auxilary of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The Magnins had a daughter, Mae Brussell, and a son, Henry.

From the guide to the Edgar F. Magnin Papers, 1909-1984, (The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives)