Marks, who was also a philanthropist and human rights activist, died Monday of cancer at his West Los Angeles home, said his wife, Suzy.
In 1956, his father founded the Beverly Hills real estate firm that he named for himself -- Walter N. Marks Inc. -- and sold or created many complexes on Wilshire Boulevard from downtown to the ocean.
After his father developed the Santa Monica Mall in the 1960s, the junior Marks helped transform it into the Third Street Promenade in the 1980s.
When the Helms family closed its bakery building on Venice Boulevard in 1969, Marks lobbied to acquire the space. The family turned the building into a center mainly for home furnishings and antiques.
Following his father's lead, Marks looked for ways to use real estate to benefit the community, which included providing affordable space for nonprofits and businesses such as the Jazz Bakery, his wife said.
“He always felt that he never really deserved the good fortune that was bestowed upon him as a young man, and he developed a great sensitivity to the underdog," she said.
