‘It was an adventure’: Miami Beach media mogul, former assistant to Dalí dies at 74
Jerry Powers, the Miami Beach media mogul and socialite who founded Ocean Drive magazine, died Wednesday, his family announced.
Powers, 74, had colon cancer for several years.
He was born to Holocaust survivors in Tirschenreuth, Germany, and raised in New Jersey. But he fell in love with Miami on vacation and later made his home in the area, where he launched a counter-culture weekly newspaper and did public relations work for the Yippie leaders of the 1972 Republican National Convention protests.
After working as a manager and assistant with artists Andy Warhol, Peter Max and Salvador Dalí in the 1970s, Powers returned to Miami, where in 1992 he launched the glossy Ocean Drive magazine. He leveraged his wealth into philanthropic efforts, including as a board member of the Overtown Youth Center, and tried his hand at creating art of his own.
He sold the magazine in 2008 and briefly served as CEO of the now-defunct luxury local cable network Plum TV.
“It was an adventure,” said Jacquelynn Powers Maurice, his daughter. “He believed in ‘yes.’ He did not like the word ‘no.’
Former editor-in-chief of Ocean Drive magazine, Glenn Albin, wrote a tribute to his onetime boss on Facebook.
“What I loved most about Jerry was for all the yachts, private jets, villas, celebs paraded through our office, all the non-stop buzz and glitz and 500-page issues we created, in the end all he cared about was his family.”
Local nightlife publicist Vanessa Menkes called Powers a “South Beach pioneer,” and noted that his glam publication was one of the reasons she moved to South Florida more than two decades ago.
“I used to read Ocean Drive magazine when I lived in NYC and dreamed about moving here one day — those splashy pages [and photos] of everyone in their ‘90s black-on-black nightlife attire sold me on SoBe just like many others lured to Miami from his pages.”
The flashy, colorful publication immediately became the authority on the burgeoning South Beach scene. The cover parties were legendary, packed with models and celebrity guests including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Steven Tyler, Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian.
Powers moved to Miami in 1968, working as a DJ and concert promoter. The following year he launched The Daily Planet, a counterculture weekly that created buzz with its hard-hitting social commentary.
Powers was arrested in 1969 outside a Coral Gables police station for passing out copies of the underground tabloid, he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a 2015 interview. The front-page cover showed a “picture of [Richard] Nixon and a vagina.”
Later in life, he got involved in philanthropy, serving on the boards of Alonzo Mourning Charities and the Miami Beach Police Athletic League. He was honored by the city of Miami Beach, Miami Dade College and the Ronald McDonald House.
Powers is survived by his wife of 50 years, Sandi, his daughter Jacquelynn, grandchildren Hannah and Henri, and sister Rosalyn.
A private ceremony on Zoom is planned on Friday.
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 11:40 AM.
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