Mark Gabor and his famous smile
We are very sad to announce that we lost Mark Gabor, our dear friend and author, earlier this year. We miss him, and we mourn the tremendous loss of his wonderful presence in the 111 Places community. Mark wrote 111 Shops in New York That You Must Not Miss (still in print) in partnership with his beloved wife and co-author Susan Lusk. They scoured the city to find the coolest, most unusual, and diverse shops. Not only has it been a great guidebook for shopaholics, but it has been a time capsule for New York City, capturing at a moment in time the quirky, strange, glamorous, and unique shopping experiences for which the city is so famous. This promotional video Mark and Susan made for their book is one for the ages (do watch the whole thing):
True to his innate joie de vivre, Mark wrote other books too about the history of the pinup girl and of girlie magazines, about living on house boats, and the love of vans - from an academic and cultural perspective of course. He enjoyed a long and rich career as a freelance editor. Above all, he was a loving husband and father, a caring neighbor, and a true New York spirit. I only knew him briefly, but we connected immediately from the moment we met. I was struck by his warmth and the way he was fully engaged in every conversation we had from the very first time we spoke until our loud conversation in a hip hop restaurant in the Bronx the last time we saw each other.
Mark's wife Susan Lusk shared these sentiments:
"Sweet Mark. My co-author, co-adventurer, co-conspirator, partner in crime, partner in life. His insatiable appetite for fresh and unique experience made researching our NY Shops book a virtual mining expedition, seeking out the precious nuggets hidden in plain sight all over the city. Mark’s gregarious nature was a magnet for attracting extraordinary, unusual people, and in our thirty years of travels and escapades, we accumulated a trove of dear friends and colleagues, many in the 111 Places community. This gift of enduring friendships is his legacy to me.
"Every morning I miss the sweet smile that started my day. But I’m coming to accept a simple fact: grief is love."
111 Shops in New York That You Must Not Miss
on display at The Evolution Store in Soho
Lena Tabori, a dear friend of Mark's from the publishing world, sent these thoughts: "I knew Mark since we worked together at Abrams when he was Managing Editor, and I was just beginning my publishing career in the late 60’s. When he left there, we never saw each other without his trying to convince me to stop working so hard, to stop working altogether actually.
"He fell in love with the present, the present moment, sitting in Riverside Park watching the world go by. He sat there thinking. He found simple and extraordinary ways to live without ever again having 'a real job,' freelancing here and there, house sitting, handy-manning, writing occasionally or editing, being with Susan, building a new porch. He loved to travel. He loved his daughter. He loved his friends, many of whom were also mine – Andreas and, of course, Achim, who convinced him to do 111 Shops in New York with Susan. We lost Mark to Covid. How utterly stupid."
We send our deepest condolences to Mark’s family and friends.
Karen Seiger
Editor-in-Chief for North America 111 Places Guidebooks