The cause was a heart attack, said the University of Pennsylvania,where Kligman was a professor emeritus and had been a member of the faculty for more than 50 years.
"Dr. Albert Kligman will always remain very much alive in the memories of those who loved, respected and treasured him," said Navin Geria, VP-R&D SpaDermaceuticals, who, while at Pfizer, worked closely with Kligman on Lubriderm projects.
Kligman was one of the first dermatologists to work closely with the cosmetics industry. He was a frequent speaker at industry events and was the recipient of the Maison G. deNavarre Medal, the Society of Cosmetic Chemists' highest honor.
"Even though Dr. Albert Kligman was a serious research dermatologist, he had very high regard for the real value of cosmetics, recalled Suzanne Grayson, Grayson Associates. "He always said 'if a woman looks in the mirror in the morning, and says ‘ugh,’ that’s the kind of day she’ll have. Those around her will respond in kind to her attitude. If, on the other hand, she says ‘not bad,’ she’ll walk out the door with a spring in her step and have a great day,” and that’s why I love this industry—it makes happiness happen.'”
In addition to his work on acne, Kligman published hundreds of papers on a variety of topics including athlete's foot and dandruff.
Unfortunately, Kligman is remembered for directing experiments at Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia that became a catalyst for federal restrictions on human testing. From 1951 to 1974, inmates were paid to test a variety of substances that included deodorants and shampoos as well as radioactive, hallucinogenic and toxic materials on behalf of more than 30 pharmaceutical companies and several government agencies.
In October 2000, nearly 300 former inmates sued the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Kligman, Johnson & Johnson (the marketer of Retin-A) and others for injuries they said had resulted from the prison experiments. The suit was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired.
He is survived by his wife, Lorraine Kligman of Philadelphia; a sister, Miriam Rubin of Boston; three children from his marriage to Beatrice Troyan, Gail Kligman of Los Angeles, Michael Kligman of Salt Lake City and Douglas Kligman of Radnor, Pa.; two stepchildren from his marriage to Lorraine Kligman, Keith Lesnik of Princeton, N.J., and Robert Lesnik of Palm Desert, Calif.; and six grandchildren.