Michael Caplan's Obituary
Michael Caplin, 83 of Weston, Florida passed away on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
They broke the mould. That’s what they say at funerals.
I don’t think it applies to Michael Caplan, though. I don’t think so because it implies that there even was a mould for this in the first place. It implies that God meant to make Michael the way he was, did it, and then decided never to do that again.
And I don’t think that’s how it went down. I don’t think that God created Michael on purpose.
I’m not suggesting that God made a mistake, I just think that he took his eye off the ball for a split second, and in that moment, Michael was born. Special. He was born special.
And because of that, I think that God watched over Michael. And He blessed him. He granted him good looks, financial success, a strong moral code, a big heart, and He gave him the most devoted and loving son ever. And, for the most part, He gave Michael good health. At least until a few years ago.
Toward the end, Michael could barely talk. And that was a crying shame, because if there was one thing Michael Caplan loved to do, it was talk.
He could sell bottled water to fish in the sea. And metaphorically, that’s pretty much what he did. He sold things. And sure, sometimes he sold the things to people who wanted the things but didn’t need them. Or… to people who needed the things but didn’t want them. Such was the powers of his persuasion.
And I’m not the first person to refer to his customer-base as “fish”.
But make no mistake. See through the fleet of luxury vehicles, the multi-million-dollar homes, the designer suits, and the first-class air travel, you’d see a guy with a strangely logical mind and a huge heart.
Sure, he lived fast and hard. He knew no other way.
No maitre d’ went untipped.
No bodyguard unrewarded.
No adversary unpunished.
No wife, unjewelled. (All seven of them)
A little history. He quit school at 16. Well, let’s say school finally quit him at 16. In his mind he’d quit years before. He was not a good student at any of the many, many schools he attended-slash-got kicked out of. If he’d have been born thirty years later, he’d have been diagnosed with a learning disability. Back then he was just a problem nobody wanted in their school. Little did they know, that in his own way he was quite brilliant.
So, no formal education in the traditional sense but Michael graduated summa cum laude in street smarts and was a professor emeritus in advanced I Take No Shit.
He fought, he stole cars, he drank and gambled to excess. He was just the regular kid next door, if the kid next door was Al Capone.
But he was also smart, and industrious, and passionate. Surprisingly – I suspect anyway that this would be surprising to some people – he was also highly emotional, and very sentimental. And Michael was creative. He wrote a book about his life that he showed to nobody. Did you know that? I don’t think many people do. But he told me he did, so he did. And I bet you it’s a helluva read.
The man had so much love in his heart, and he yearned to give it away. And yes, you could argue that at times he gave it too easily. And maybe to a few of the wrong people.
But when his son Max was born, he knew that going forward Max would be the vessel to contain all that love. And Michael gave him every bit of it. The two of them made an odd but inseparable pair, and wherever Michael travelled, Max was surely in tow.
I’d love to list the countries they went to and worked in, but we don’t have all day.
I’d love to list the houses, bought, sold, and rented, there’s just no time.
I’d love to list the wives, but…
Like I said. Michael lived fast and hard. But most importantly he lived life on his own terms and nobody else’s. To Michael, practicality was a loser’s game, conventional wisdom, a tired trick, and humility was for suckers.
My brother was outstandingly unique. He lived like a lot of us wish we could, but don’t. And all of us who knew and loved him are truly fortunate for having done so.
Nah, God knew exactly what he was doing when he made Michael. Michael was a gift to us all.
A Graveside Service will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at Mount Nebo Miami Memorial Gardens, 5505 NW 3rd Street, Miami, FL 33126. Arrangements by Levitt-Weinstein Blasberg-Rubin-Zilbert Memorial Chapel (305) 932-2700.
What’s your fondest memory of Michael?
What’s a lesson you learned from Michael?
Share a story where Michael's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Michael you’ll never forget.
How did Michael make you smile?
