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Victor Elmaleh (pronounced el-MAHL-ay; November 27, 1918 – November 17, 2014) was a Moroccan-born American businessman and real estate developer. He was born in Mogador, now Essaouira, Morocco, the eldest of six siblings. He was among the first to import Volkswagens to the United States.

Biography

Elmaleh was born to a Jewish family in Mogador, now Essaouira, Morocco. He was the eldest of six brothers. His surname was an Arabic-Moroccan name that his Sephardic Jewish forebears had adopted after fleeing the Spanish Inquisition to Morocco.

He came to the United States in 1925, and grew up in Bensonhurst and Borough Park in Brooklyn. He attended P.S. 48, and later majored in music at Brooklyn College. He then attended the University of Virginia.

He won the one-wall handball national doubles championship in 1951. At 49, he and Victor Niederhoffer won the national doubles championship. He continued to play squash and win tournaments at an advanced age. He enjoyed watercolor painting, creating 4,000 in his lifetime, some of which were exhibited in galleries.

In 1943, he married Sono Osato, with whom he had two sons. He died on November 17, 2014, at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, New York City.

References

1. ^ Douglas Martin (23 November 2014). "Victor Elmaleh, 95, Builder and Entrepreneur, Is Dead". The New York Times.
2. ^ Peter Vidani. "Old New York Stories – VICTOR ELMALEH – 94". oldnewyorkstories.com.
3. Martin, Douglas (2014-11-23). "Victor Elmaleh, 95, Builder and Entrepreneur, Is Dead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-02.

• 1918 births
• 2014 deaths
• Moroccan emigrants to the United States
• American male squash players
• American male handball players
• Jewish American sportspeople
• 20th-century Moroccan Jews
• American businesspeople in real estate
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• Brooklyn College alumni
• 21st-century American Jews
• 20th-century American sportsmen