Kolber was also instrumental in two major Bronfman deals: Seagram's purchase of a stake in DuPont and the sale of the Cadillac-Fairview real estate company at the height of its value in 1987.
A character based on a caricature of Kolber appears in the Mordecai Richler novel Solomon Gursky Was Here; the portrait is highly unflattering.
Kolber's late wife Sandra was a published poet and film executive who served on the board of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and was a recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 1994.
Kolber's close friendship with former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres dates back to the 1950s.
[1] In December 2000, the National Assembly of Quebec condemned Yves Michaud, a former Parti Québécois delegate-general to Paris, for repeating on the radio angry remarks he had made to Kolber in a Montreal barber shop.
Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard subsequently resigned, citing support for Michaud within the Parti Québécois as one of his reasons.