Leslie Moss, 40-year Malibu resident and former Malibu Planning Commissioner, died suddenly Dec. 25. He was 79.
After graduating from London’s prestigious Dulwich College, which was founded in the l7th century, Moss served two years in the Royal Air Force and then segued into banking. Soon after, Moss decided to leave England for the U.S.
“His was a rich and fulfilling life story. ‘Go West Young Man’ was his mantra before he’d ever heard of Horatio Alger, as he left his hometown of London in his early twenties to start a new life and career in Southern California,” Ivor Davis wrote to The Malibu Times.
In the early ‘60s Moss worked as the Los Angeles correspondent for the London Jewish Chronicle. He was a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, covering the glitzy show business scene and attending private screenings and premieres.
“With a tenor voice he might have had show business aspirations himself but a sense of responsibility and that British common sense, which he had in abundance, sent him in search of a more reliable career and he became an insurance company executive,” Davis wrote.
In 1964, Moss married Barbara Silbert, a native of Brooklyn.
For more than two decades, until his retirement about 20 years ago, Moss was an executive vice president at Pennsylvania Life, based in Santa Monica. He headed a 1,000-man staff in the company’s Atlanta office for several years before returning to Malibu.
Colleagues recall the Pennsylvania Life boardroom mantra was “If anything needs to be done and done right, give it to Les.” The motto “was something his many friends already knew well,” Davis said.
After retiring, Moss became dedicated to his adopted hometown of Malibu. He worked on the planning commission and became actively involved in local politics. Additionally, Moss was an active member of the Malibu Jewish community.
Moss’ passions included tennis, golf, football and baseball along with his native sports like cricket and soccer. He also enjoyed spending time with the family Dachshunds.
“He was sweet, forthright and very opinionated, and a realist,” Malibu Mayor Laura Rosenthal said. “He and his wife Barbara were willing to do whatever they could for the best of our city. His heart was truly in Malibu. And he could get away with so much with that wonderful English accent,” she added with a laugh.
“Les was a wonderful, elegant man who really understood and loved Malibu very much,” Mayor Pro Tem Lou La Monte said. “He was a vital part of my campaign, working on financial matters as well. And what’s more, he was one of the few people in Malibu I could discuss cricket with.”
Moss is survived by his wife of 47 years, Barbara; son Adam, of Chicago; daughter and son-in-law, Wendy and Andrew Nickerson, of Malibu; two grandsons, Joseph Mossbridge and Trevor Nickerson; and his brother Sidney Moss, of London.
Donations in Moss’ memory can be made to Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue, 24855 Pacific Coast Highway or Learning Ally, Reading for the Blind, 20 Roszel Road, Princeton, NJ, 08540.
A funeral service will take place Thursday at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, 6001 West Centinela Ave., Los Angeles at 1 p.m.
A memorial service will take place Saturday at the Malibu West Beach Club, 30756 PCH, at 1 p.m.