[1][2] A graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management, Samuels served as a colonel in the Third Army under General George Patton.

Following the principles he set on his senior thesis, Kordite was the first to produce synthetic products for household consumerism and introduced a number of mainstays including the baggie, wax paper, plastic wrap, disposable kitchenware, and a sturdy trash bag that became the Hefty brand.

His resurrection and renewed interpretation of the defunct wartime program Section 8(a) spearheaded the SBA into the forefront of the civil rights movement.

His pioneering methods in the petrochemical industry and success in the then niche household consumer market translated into posts as Vice President of the Mobil Oil Corporation, Commissioner of the North American Soccer League, and Chairman to Elms Capital Management, Alexander Proudfoot PLC, and Communities In Schools.

In 1962, Samuels was among the contenders for the Democratic nomination for Governor of New York, but Robert M. Morgenthau was chosen by the state convention delegates.

In 1971, Mayor Lindsay chose Samuels to be the first chairman of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation, a position which earned him the nickname "Howie the Horse."

In 1969, he irritated many in his own party when he supported a liberal Republican, John V. Lindsay, in his successful bid for re-election as Mayor of New York City.

That year his political work was interrupted when his son, Howard Samuels, was arrested for marijuana possession in Greenwich Village.

Mr. Downe has led annual prayer services with Howard's family for 25 years (2009) in the Southampton, New York cemetery.

Former New York governor Malcolm Wilson, once an opponent, remembered him as "a highly principled gentleman with a well-developed civic and social conscience."