Bobby Perloff, retired general manager for Universal Record Distributing Corp. and mentor to many, has died at 90

Bobby Perloff, 90, of Ventnor, longtime general manager at Universal Record Distributing Corp., former sales manager for Dot Records, and mentor to many, died Sunday, Jan. 8, of heart failure at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.

Mr. Perloff was a feisty general manager in the tape division at Universal Record and later Universal One-Stop in Philadelphia from the late 1960s until his retirement in the late 1990s. He supervised the tape department’s staff, inventory, sales, and quality control procedures as the company purchased vinyl records and tapes from recording labels and sold them to independent music retailers.

He helped Universal grow from a regional music distributor to a national presence that connected major labels with independent retailers, which were crucial for sales at the time. He mentored sales people, buyers, label representatives, and others, and helped turn Universal into a one-stop full-service supplier for music retail outlets of all kinds.

“He raised a generation of music people in Philadelphia,” a colleague said in a tribute.

The distribution of recorded music was especially competitive in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, and Mr. Perloff was known as one of the industry’s most successful operators. “He was a legend with a crazy drive for business,” a friend and former colleague said in a Facebook tribute. “Nobody was as aggressive as Bobby Perloff.”

Universal was recognized as a top distributor several times by the National Association of Record Merchandizers, and the company’s annual convention in Philadelphia for independent retailers and local and regional sales representatives was routinely well-attended. In July 1996, Billboard columnist Ed Christman wrote that “a key ingredient of the event is to corner Bob Perloff, Universal’s longtime GM, who knows where the industry’s skeletons are buried, but who usually won’t admit it.”

Stories of how Mr. Perloff influenced those he encountered during his years at Universal flooded Facebook after his death. There is one account in which he listed the important and not-so-important industry insiders for a new staffer at the National Association of Record Merchandizers, and she discovered later that he had jokingly listed his main competitors for her attention in the not-so-important column.

Another former colleague recalled how Mr. Perloff shared his strategy in gaining better deals with record labels. “Just shake your head no when their rep is pitching a release” was the advice, the colleague said. Another person said he could correct mistakes and “make you feel like you were still important at the same time.”

“He was more than a boss,” a former colleague said in a tribute. “He was a friend.” Another said: “I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be the person I am today if not for Bob.”

Mr. Perloff worked earlier as a salesman for Dot Records and won a national sales contest in 1967. “He was very well-respected in the business,” said longtime colleague and friend Gary Hendler. “He was a straight shooter and had every good quality you can think of. He was a special guy.”

After his retirement, Mr. Peroff gathered weekly for years with old friends and colleagues to chow down on breakfast or dinner and chew over old times. Part of their schtick was to needle one another over past disputes. “I put him out of business,” Mr. Perloff said at one gathering in 2008, referring to a friend sitting beside him. “I still feel [bad] about the whole thing.” His friend responded: “They grew, and I shrunk.”

» READ MORE: Mr. Perloff and his buddies shared memories at this 2008 gathering.

Born June 4, 1932, in Philadelphia, Robert Perloff grew up in Logan, served a stint in the Army, and married Geraldine Segal in 1957. They lived in Northeast Philadelphia and had son Jay and daughter Sue. His wife and son died earlier.

Mr. Perloff played tennis throughout his life, enjoyed all kinds of music, and loved to hold court on the Ventnor boardwalk. He followed the Eagles, 76ers, Phillies, and Villanova basketball, and rode his stationary bicycle for hours.

He liked to challenge friends to match him doing push-ups and pull-ups, and was known for sending texts filled with holiday emojis. “If you look up the meaning of mench in the dictionary,” a friend said on Facebook, “you will see [his] picture.”

His daughter said: “He was a people person who was interested in those he met. He had time for everyone. He was the best.”

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Perloff is survived by three grandchildren and other relatives.

Services were Jan. 10.

Donations in his name may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, P.O. Box 5028 Hagerstown, Md. 21741.