The industry lost a pair of AICP stalwarts in recent months with the passing of Barney Melsky and Carl Zucker.
Melsky, a founder of AICP, passed away on December 4, 2023 at the age of 97.
Melsky began his career in advertising partnering with Howard Zieff, a legendary photographer turned director. The pair worked together for over 15 years, producing commercials in a comedic, slice-of-life style for clients like Volkswagen and Alka Seltzer. He also worked with renowned directors Steve Horn and Norm Griner, and companies like Lovinger Tardio Melsky.
In 1972, Melsky was one of a group of commercial production executives in New York who founded the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP). Melsky served as president of AICP for 10 years, and was a recipient of the Jay B. Eisenstat Award in 1990.
Barney shared his thoughts and memories of the early days of AICP in this film commemorating the 30th anniversary of the founding of AICP and the 10th anniversary of the AICP Show.
He is survived by his daughters Beth, Blaire and Barrie, and six grandchildren.
Carl Zucker
Zucker, a tireless industry advocate and longtime payroll company executive, passed on November 21, 2023 after a battle with cancer.
Most recently Zucker ran his own company, Carl Zucker Consulting; prior to that he served as VP, production business affairs and as a consultant for The TEAM Companies; VP of business affairs at CAPS; and was the longtime VP of marketing at Media Services, where he was instrumental in growing their commercial payroll services. Zucker worked for over a decade in production, working on over 200 commercials and several feature films.
In addition to his expertise in labor and payroll, Zucker was an industry advocate, mentor and educator, serving several terms on the AICP National Board of Directors and the AICP East Board. He frequently taught sessions for the AICP Production Training Seminar, as well as participating in countless Town Halls and Panel Discussions throughout the industry. He was on the Board of Directors of the New York Production Alliance (NYPA) and was serving as a VP for the organization.
Zucker is survived by his wife Jane and his children Drew and Sam. The family has requested that any donations in Carl Zucker’s memory be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
