Joseph Bolker, L.A. Philanthropist and Developer, Dies of Cancer at 62

Joseph Bolker, a wealthy developer whose philanthropies included the Music Center and the Los Angeles County Art Museum and who also devoted much of his wealth and influence to championing the cause of low-cost housing for people who couldn’t afford any other kind, died Friday.

Bolker, founder and head of Brighton International Development Corp. and consul general for the Republic of Senegal, was 62 and died of cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.

After graduating from UCLA, Bolker joined Biltmore Homes, gaining experience for the Brighton-Bilt Homes he formed in 1955.

Eventually that firm was to build about 7,000 residences in Southern California, many of which were low cost. By 1971 he merged his then 39 corporations into Brighton International.

He also was chairman and owner of Forty Carrots Inc., a string of restaurants stretching from coast to coast and last year formed Brighton International Consultants Inc. for joint ventures and import/export activities.

He was a former chairman of the International Visitors Program for Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Sister Cities’ Program and was a director of the American Friends of the Israel Museum.

He helped raise more than $2.5 million for the Music Center, of which he was a founding member and was responsible for $1.5 million in donations to the County Art Museum, which he served as a founder-patron.

Bolker donated parkland to Point Hueneme, remodeled shopping centers in Norwalk and built giant apartment projects in Riverside.

But his name surfaced most often in connection with affordable housing for the poor.

One example came in 1982 when he used his considerable political influence to force a City Council investigation into price increases that ran as high as 100% at a downtown condominium project administered by the Community Redevelopment Agency.

He is survived by his wife, Victoria, a son and four daughters. A funeral service will be held Monday at noon at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles.