He is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years, Dorothy Miller Philips; son James (Stephanie) and granddaughters Allison and Laura, of Orlando; and son Robert (Charinee) of Los Angeles. Funeral services will be held at Riverside Chapel, 180 W 76th St, New York on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 10:00.
A Bronx native, Philips graduated from City College of New York and the University of Virginia Law School. He served in the U.S. Air Force. He is remembered for his generous smile, expansive sense of humor and love for New York City.
Philips started his career handling matters for clients including Broadway great Alan J. Lerner (“My Fair Lady”). Later, he moved into private practice as a 1960s avant-garde lawyer who represented chart-topping pop musicians such as Spanky & Our Gang (“Sunday Will Never Be The Same”), Oliver (“Good Morning Starshine”) and Melissa Manchester (“Midnight Blue”). His clients also included the legendary Nina Simone, Oscar-winning Alan Menken, Universe City, The Putnam County Pickers, The Yates and early rap pioneers The Last Poets.
Later in his career, he changed focus to representing sculptors and painters such as Claes Oldenburg, Gianfranco Ferroni and Arturo Di Modica, the artist that created the famous Charging Bull on Wall Street.
Studying under Philip Pavia and Chaim Gross, Philips then became an artist, producing several hundred original works in marble, bronze and on canvas.
He had several solo gallery shows and participated in multiple joint exhibitions.
One of his sculptures, “Down the Nile” is displayed at U.Va. Law School.
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