Michael Gottlieb is a third-generation member of the legendary Gottlieb family, son of Alvin Gottlieb and grandson of David Gottlieb, founder of D. Gottlieb & Co., one of pinball's most influential manufacturers. He grew up within the family business and has served as a primary historical source for pinball history documentation, providing insider corrections and clarifications about the company's operations and pivotal decisions such as its sale to Columbia Pictures. His involvement with the Silverball Chronicles podcast demonstrates his active role in preserving and accurately representing pinball industry history.
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Alvin and Judd Gottlieb sold D. Gottlieb & Co. to Columbia Pictures because they were getting older and there was a tax opportunity (Columbia's tax loss carry-forward offset Gottlieb's capital gains).
Michael's earliest childhood memory involves a Gottlieb delivery truck (driven by Chester) coming to his house monthly to swap pinball machines
Michael worked at Data East Pinball at age 16, assembling playfields and assisting with production issues (e.g., sticker adhesion problems on Monday Night Football)
Third-generation member of Gottlieb pinball family, worked at Data East Pinball, founded Alvin G Pinball, later joined Williams/Bally/Midway as game designer (April 1994), now works on video games for PlayStation 2 and Xbox
Grandson of David Gottlieb and son of Alvin Gottlieb, worked in video game industry (~15 years) and slot machine industry (~10 years), worked at Williams Valley Midway with Roger Sharpe
Son of Alvin Gottlieb; grandson of David Gottlieb (founder of D. Gottlieb & Company); provided insider clarification on reasons for company sale to Columbia Pictures
Member of legendary Gottlieb pinball family; praised Dead Flip host's contributions to pinball history
Grandson of David Gottlieb, son of Alvin Gottlieb; grew up in Gottlieb family business; provided primary source corrections to hosts
Son of Alvin Gottlieb, grandson of David Gottlieb (founder of D. Gottlieb & Co.). Contacted Silverball Chronicles to provide primary-source correction about why D. Gottlieb was sold to Columbia Pictures.
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Alvin G Pinball's PCB was a single 8.5x11 inch sheet combining CPU and driver board using MOSFETs, innovative compared to competitors' multiple auxiliary boards
Michael officially joined Williams/Bally/Midway on April 18-19, 1994
Michael conceived Punchy the Clown as a Mushroom World-themed game with the playfield as a clown's face
David Gottlieb (grandfather) founded Gottlieb Hospital in the early 1960s after creating significant wealth from pinball manufacturing
Building a pinball machine is more difficult and complex than developing a $15-20 million video game
Punchy the Clown failed as a redemption machine because it required too much skill and took longer than 7 seconds for gameplay
Alvin G Pinball faced industry downturn in the mid-1990s due to excess inventory and insufficient buyers, causing the company to cease operations
Michael learned valuable lessons about resourcefulness and enthusiasm from Joe Kamenkow and Data East Pinball that influenced his later career at major corporations
Third generation of Gottlieb family; mentioned as having role in company but detailed history promised for episode part two