Ocean City's Master of Mirth Prepares to Say Goodbye

By Donald Wittkowski If you were 84 years old and had just broken your hip in a fall, where do you think you would be spending your New Year’s Eve? In the hospital? At home, in bed? Not if you’re Mark Soifer. The man Mayor Jay Gillian credits for putting Ocean City “on the map” is expected to be out and about on New Year’s Eve during the First Night celebration that traditionally draws tens of thousands of revelers to town. For the 84-year-old Soifer, the New Year’s Eve gala will serve as both his final farewell and his victory lap. He is retiring after a colorful, wildly successful 45-year career as the resort’s publicity director. But to simply call Soifer a publicist would be like characterizing P.T. Barnum as a mere circus owner. An incorrigible showman, Soifer conjured up some of the weirdest publicity stunts imaginable as part of his never-ending quest to cast Ocean City in the limelight. “This is my whole philosophy in a nutshell: wacky, but not tacky,” Soifer said of his flair for developing zany, G-rated tourist events that blended perfectly with Ocean City’s family-friendly image. Soifer spoke by phone Thursday from a Millville rehabilitation center where he is recuperating from a fall at his Vineland home on Dec. 28. Wearing socks, he slipped on the steps at home and ended up with a hairline fracture of his right hip. Despite the injury, Soifer confirmed Friday that he has received clearance from his doctors to attend the First Night celebration. He is scheduled to kick off the festivities with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at 4 p.m. at an artificial ice rink that has been set up at Sixth Street and the Boardwalk next to the Sports and Civic Center. “I really want to do it. It’s like putting a cap on my retirement,” Soifer said of his valedictory appearance on New Year’s Eve, his last official duties as the city’s publicist. The city is expected to sell 10,000 admission buttons to the First Night festivities scattered across town. Thousands of other visitors are also expected to pour into Ocean City for the holiday celebration, culminating with a fireworks display at midnight. Soifer can take as much credit as anyone for drawing the New Year’s Eve crowds to town, along with scores of other visitors who were attracted to his screwball publicity events over the years. “He put us on the map, just by his creativity and his marketing skills,” Gillian said of Soifer. “He had absolutely nothing for a budget, but he turned us into a top destination in New Jersey.” City Council President Peter Madden said Soifer has done “an amazing job” in promoting the beach town and its vacation attractions. “Without him getting started, we would not be where we are today,” Madden said. Soifer was joined in November by some of the attendees at the Quiet Festival, an annual event he created to serve as a humorous antidote for the noisy summer tourism season. Soifer laughed when asked how he was able to create so many weird and kitschy events, punctuated with so many oddball, daffy and cartoonish characters. “I’ve been basically making this stuff up since I was 10 years old,” he revealed. Soifer’s background in communications includes a journalism degree from Temple University. He had a stint as an Army journalist when he served in the military in the 1950s. After his Army days, he taught high school English in Philadelphia. Later, he and his wife, Toby, moved to Vineland, Cumberland County. Soifer’s association with Ocean City began in the late 1960s, when he was working at an advertising agency in Vineland. At that time, he had helped to promote an Ocean City art exhibit. He attracted the attention of then-Mayor Harry W. Kelley Jr., who hired him as Ocean City’s full-time public relations director in 1971. The public relations office served as the launching pad for his famous creations. His over-the-top events were so outrageous that the news media found them irresistible, ensuring a steady flow of coverage that gave Ocean City tons of free publicity over the years. His first creation proved to be his masterpiece, as well as his favorite character. In a spoof of Punxsutawney Phil, Pennsylvania’s weather-forecasting groundhog, Soifer dreamed up Martin Z. Mollusk, a hermit crab that emerges from its shell each May to “predict” the arrival of summer. “It showed that these offbeat things could work,” Soifer said of his hugely popular tourist spectacles inspired by Martin Z. Mollusk. He didn’t stop with Martin Z. Mollusk Day. He parodied Atlantic City’s iconic Miss America Pageant with the Miss Crustacean contest, a beachfront beauty show for hermit crabs complete with an official theme song, “Here it comes, Miss Crustacean.” He created the Quiet Festival as a mellow counterpoint for the hubbub of Ocean City’s bustling summer tourist season. The Quiet Festival was humorously adapted this year as an antidote for the raucous and nasty presidential election. The Doo Dah Parade, Weird Week, the King and Queen of Plop and Mr. Mature America Pageant are among his other hits. Often, Soifer himself was at the center of the action. Donning a trash can lid on his head, he relished playing an environmental crusader called Trash Buster. In an undated photo, Soifer showed off some of the flair that made him a public relations master. (Courtesy Ocean City) But, after 45 years of so much fun and frivolity, Soifer believes he’s finally ready to retire. “It’s time,” he said. “First of all, I don’t have as much energy as I used to have. It’s time for younger people to take over.” Soifer said the city will be in good hands with his much-younger replacements, Doug Bergen and Michael Hartman. Bergen, a former news editor, serves as the city’s public information officer and main media contact. Hartman, artistic director of the Greater Ocean City Theatre Company, concentrates on handling special events. Soifer plans to spend part of his retirement pursuing his passion, which is writing poetry. An accomplished poet, he has written eight poetry books and had some of his work featured in national publications. Although he and his wife, Toby, reside in Vineland, they rent an Ocean City home each summer for a week-long family vacation. They have four children and eight grandchildren. They will celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary on Jan. 27. As he contemplated his retirement, Soifer expressed hope that Ocean City will retain its family-friendly vibe after he is gone. He believes that is what distinguishes Ocean City from the rest of the beach communities dotting the Jersey Shore. “I hope it remains a family resort,” he said. “It’s unique in that way. It has a unique atmosphere that nobody else has at the shore.”