Jerry Kern was born in Brooklyn on June 1, 1937. He attended Stuyvesant High School and Columbia University. He graduated from the New York University School of Law (L.L.B., 1960, cum laude), where he was a Root Tilden Scholar and managing editor of the New York University Law Review (1959-60) and was named to the Order of the Coif.

His academic achievements were the foundation of a remarkable career in law, business, and philanthropy. In 1965, Jerry co-founded Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz before shifting to a career blending investment banking, law practice, and consulting. He served in leadership roles in media and telecommunications. As a senior partner at Baker Botts and trusted advisor to Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), Jerry played a pivotal role in landmark transactions, including the TCI/ATT&T merger and the Time Warner/Turner Broadcasting merger. Jerry's leadership extended to numerous executive roles, including CEO of Linkshare, interim chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, Inc., and chairman and CEO of On Command corporation. In his later years, he led Kern Consulting LLC and served as a senior advisor to Moelis & Company, continuing to influence the media and telecommunications sectors.

Jerry's philanthropic contributions were profound. Kern served on the Colorado Symphony Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2005 before returning as Co-Board Chair with his wife, Dr. Mary Rossick-Kern. In 2010, at the request of the Colorado Symphony musicians, he became Chairman and CEO, collecting a salary of $1 per year during his first 5 years. The organization was on the verge of bankruptcy with over $1.2 million in debt. When he retired from the CSO, he left it on firm financial footing and was instrumental in the establishment of an $88 million endowment.

His impact on other Colorado institutions continues.  He was a founder and chairman of the Institute for Children's Mental Health, which supports the work of University of Colorado Denver clinicians and scientists to develop beneficial prenatal regimens for expectant mothers. He funded the Mary Rossick Kern and Jerome H. Kern Chair in Endocrine Neoplasms Research at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Diabetes, and as Chairman of the Volunteers of America Colorado board, funded the Michael Kern Kitchen (named after his father) which provides Meals on Wheels to Colorado recipients. Kern and his wife, Dr. Mary Rossick Kern, were awarded VOA's prestigious Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2002.

His generosity extended beyond Colorado. His significant gift the NYU School of Law in 1998 catalyzed a fundraising campaign to endow the Root-Tilden Scholarship program, renamed the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship program, enabling generations of students to pursue public service careers. He also donated to The Weitzman Institute, Rehovoth, Israel, for the Michael Kern building.

He is survived by his wife, Dr. Mary Rossick Kern, his children and their spouses, Jonathan and Beth Kern, Peter and Kirsten Kern, Peter and Emily Lockley, Katie Lockley Weller and Spencer Weller, and nine grandchildren that include Sara Kern, Adam Kern, Ben Kern, Max Kern, Milo Kern, Graham Lockley, Isla Lockley, Aurelia Lockley Weller, Daniel Lockley Weller and his sister, Leila Kern.

Celebration of Life for Jerome with the Colorado Symphony, Natasha Paremski and Zuill Bailey will be held Saturday, February 15, 2025, 11:00 am at Boettcher Concert Hall Denver Performing Arts Complex 1000 14th St, Denver, CO 80202.