Chip Silverman

Howard "Chip" Silverman
Born	June 3, 1942 Baltimore, Maryland,United States
Died	March 6, 2008(2008-03-06)(aged 65)
Occupation	Novelist, Screenwriter, college coach, state administrator

Howard Burton "Chip" Silverman,Ph.D,M.P.H.,M.S.,C.A.S.,was the author of five books, coached theNCAA's onlyAfrican-Americancollegelacrosseteam and was the former head of theMarylandDrug Abuse Administration.

Background

Silverman was born on June 3, 1942, inBaltimore, Maryland,United States, the son of a grocer and a homemaker, and grew up on Queensberry Avenue in the city'sPimlico neighborhood.Silverman's exploits growing up inForest Parkduring the 1950s and 1960s were later immortalized in the 1982 filmDiner,which was directed byBarry Levinson.He attended theForest Park High Schoolwhere, among other things, he playedlacrosse.In one of his books he describes himself as "a very uncoachable, selfish and lazy player."He and Levinson graduated in 1960, they would remain lifelong friends and collaborate on several other projects.Silverman attended theUniversity of Maryland, College Parkand earned a bachelor's degree in history from theUniversity of Baltimorein 1966. In 1975 he was awarded an M.S.fromMorgan State Universityand later, earned another master's degree in public health from theJohns Hopkins School of Public Healthand a doctorate in health care management from Century University inAlbuquerque,N.M.

Career

Chip Silverman (left) with the 1975Morgan lacrosse team

Silverman was an assistant dean and acting dean atMorgan State Universityduring the 1970s and during his time at Morgan Silverman realized that many of the city's black high school lacrosse players had matriculated to Morgan but could not play lacrosse because Morgan had no team. In 1970 he founded and coached a lacrosse club at Morgan and in 1972 it was invited to join theUnited States Small College Lacrosse League.Silverman gradually augmented the team with black players from other hotbeds of lacrosse likeLong Island,Philadelphiaand upstateNew Yorkand his teams regularly beat the likes of Notre Dame. In 1975, he led theMorgan Bearslacrosse team to a stunning victory over top-rankedWashington and Lee.His fifth book,Ten Bears,co-written with Dr. Miles Harrison, a Baltimore surgeon, is about that team and was recently optioned toWarner Bros.A movie based on the book is currently in production.In 1991, Silverman was inducted into the Morgan State University Hall of Fame.
Silverman was also a Special Advisor to Maryland GovernorWilliam Donald Schaeferfor Substance Abuse Policy and the Director of the Drug and Alcohol Administration; he worked for the state for 26 years.Silverman was also a part-time journalist, having written for theBaltimore News-American,and produced and hosted segments of theEvening/PM Magazinetelevision program on Baltimore'sWJZ-TV.
On March 6, 2008, Silverman died of melanoma in Baltimore.

Other books

In addition toTen Bears,Silverman wrote or co-authoredThe Block,The Last Bookmakerwith Bob Litwin,Aloha Magnumwith Larry Manetti andDiner Guys.

Filmography

Silverman appeared in the American filmsDinerandTin Men,as well as two episodes of the American television seriesHomicide: Life on the Street.