H. Baskin; Restaurateur in Malibu

Harvey Baskin, a Malibu restaurateur who founded Art for Hearts’ Sake, an annual sale of celebrity art to raise money for heart research, has died. He was 57.

Baskin died Wednesday at Santa Monica-UCLA Hospital in Santa Monica after a heart attack.

A former investment advisor, Baskin opened Geoffrey’s seaside restaurant in Malibu in 1983. Two years later, he staged a community testimonial lunch for firefighters and law enforcement officers who had saved Malibu structures in two severe brush fires that October.

“I could not believe the char marks that came up to house after house and stopped just short of the structures,” Baskin told The Times after the fires, which burned 11,400 acres and caused $1.3 million in damage. The fires marked firefighters’ change from trying to quench flames to saving buildings.

Baskin rounded up resident celebrities to help him greet and thank the firefighters.

He also used his influence with entertainers and such famous artists as Peter Max and Leroy Neiman to found Art for Hearts’ Sake in 1990. The organization has staged an annual Valentine’s Day “Have a Heart” art sale to raise money for the American Heart Assn. and other organizations that conduct heart research and education.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, Baskin founded three companies--CDX, a national market for federal certificates of deposit; Bio-Marine Industries, which developed products for oceanography, safety and medical life-support systems; and Harvey Baskin & Co., a Washington, D.C., financial services firm.

Baskin is survived by a sister, Leila Kimche McGrath; his stepmother, Esther Baskin; and four nieces and nephews.

The family has asked that any memorial contributions be made to UCLA for heart research at Medical Sciences Development, 10945 Le Conte Ave., Suite 3132, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1784.