Samson Raphaelson - Family

Family

Raphaelson was married for 56 years to Dorothy Wegman, known to friends and family as Dorshka. The name was given to her by a fellow dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies in the early 1920s. Dorshka Raphaelson published two novels: Glorified, an account of her life in the Follies, and Morning Song, a highly praised story about growing up in New York’s Washington Heights.

Raphaelson’s son, Joel (born 1928), became a senior ad executive and close associate of advertising legend David Ogilvy. Joel edited The Unpublished David Ogilvy: His Secrets of Management, Creativity, and Success - from Private Papers and Public Fulminations, prized reading for advertising professionals. Joel also co-wrote (with Kenneth Roman) Writing that Works. Photographer Paul Raphaelson is Joel's son.

Samson’s daughter, Naomi (1930–2009) was a newspaper reporter and columnist in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A cousin, Bob Rafelson, directed several films in the 1960s and 1970s, including Five Easy Pieces.

Samson Raphaelson died in July 1983, at the age of 89. Dorshka Raphaelson died in November 2005, just 22 days short of her 101st birthday. At her death The New York Times reported that she had been one of the last two living Ziegfeld girls.