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Some Nicknames Have A Story
That Is Uniquely Their Own

PRESENTS

Bitter
Friends

DANNY RASKIN

Local Columnist

W

Is The American Jew Who Gives
Classified Information To Israel Friend Or Foe?

BY GORDON RAYFIELD

February 6 - March 3

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64

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1991

I

J

hoever it was that
asked, "What's in a
name?" no doubt
wasn't referring to nicknames
. . . Throughout the years,
guys and gals have had these
monickers as both temporary
and permanent tatoos . . . In
many cases, a lot of people
never did know the true name
of nickname holders . . . or
how it came about.
Take Solly "Freckles"
Drapkin . . . He didn't have a
freckle on his body . . . or so
people thought . . . Some say
Solly got the nickname
because he loved the
character "Freckles' in "Our
Gang Comedy" . . . Truth is
they never saw him in a
bathing suit . . . Solly's back
was covered with the brown
spots.
Years back, it was simply
"Pimple's Poolroom" . . . His
customers never did know his
real name.
Then there were cases
where certain acts prompted
the nickname . . . One day,
Sam Mankin walked into a
Halloween party wearing the
mask of a dog . . . Nobody ever
called him Sam again . . .
From then on it was "Dogface
Mankin."
Al W. never did pick up the
piece that fell to the floor at
Boesky's on Hazelwood and
12th, but the nickname or
whatever of "Dirty Corned
Beef" was attached to his
given name.
They called Abe Tacher
"Keys" . . . Abe had a thing
about carrying a lot of keys
. . . and none fit anything he
owned.
Jake "Winchell" Binder,
George "Midge" Rashkin,
Benny "The Bulldog" Stein-
berg, Jimmy "Groucho"
Rachleff, Jack "Cyclops"
Chizik, Morris "Felsy"
Felsenfeld, Ben "The Mad
Russian" Bolton (today it's
just "B.B.").
"Big Joe" and "Little Joe"
Bale were basketballer
cousins at Central High .. .
Morris "Moe" Bobroff, Saul
"Hoagy" Horowitz, Irving
"Itsy" Cooper, Morris "Moe"
Brandwine, Jules "Lucky"
Lachman . . . Harold
"Cooney" Finegood, Sam
"Naudy" Finegood, Martin
"Mutty" Band and Joe
"Yuss" Silberschein were
brother members of the old
Rex A.Z.A. and BBYO Lodge.
Bernie "The Moose"
Plotkin, Morrie "Mutty"

Beresh, Marcus "King of the
Rock" Plotkin, Julius
"Cookie" Spoon.
Maxie Silk, who at over 80
years old finally was bar mitz-
vah at Downtown Synagogue,
never had a nickname
himself, but recalls . . . Izzy
"The Rat" Sutker, Albert
"Chink" McNamara, Jack
"Yonkel" Selben, Hymie
"Rubber Nose" Slotkin,
"Rocking Chair Helen"
Crain, "Pig Arlene" Dalton
(blind pig operator), David
"Poopsie" Brenner, Charlie
"Chickie" Sherman, Nathan
"Shorty The Bum" Levenson,
Sammy "Bathhouse"
Sherman.
It was Billy "The Kid"
Jacobs, Morrie "Pip" Fenkell,
"Blackie" Berris, Isadore
"Squilley" Berris, Henry
"Honey" Berris, Harold "Et-
sie" Kulich, Aron "Rocky"
Ross, Carl "Cooby" Bayer,
Seymour "Zeke" Wohlman.
Harry "Bathhouse Harry"
Meltzer, Max "Tootie"
Horenstein and his brother
"Big Tootie," Irving "Rico"
Rike, Dave "Duddy" Litwin,
Walter "Mockie" Offman,
Myron "Suzie" Schecter, Ben
"Ungie" Siegel.
Irving "Jew baby" Kushner,
Irving "Bay City" Kahn, Irv-.
ing "Schnoz" Lewis, one of
the world's finest trumpet
players, Marvin "Mick"
Raskin, Marvin "Mick"
Schwartz, Myron "Joe"
Ginsberg, former Detroit
Tiger catcher; Ed "Fast Ed-
die" Wolfe, Roy "Deacon"
Sampson.
Lots of "Reds," "Leftys,"
"Whiteys," "Fats," "Hanks"
and "Richies."
Never did know why they
called Ray Atchell "Lefty"
though, because he was right-
handed . . . Al "Boomick"
Diamond, Benny "Tojo"
Fader, "Little Willie" Ziskind,
Louie "The Champ" New-
man, Dr. Jules "Yudie"
Goldsmith.
Arnold Seligsman was
known as "Socks" because he
wore such wierd hose and
changed twice a day . . . Joe
"Bananas," Paul "Chief'
Chaiken, Harry "The Horse"
Pollack, Jake "Lacko"
Shnurowitz . . . Nathan
"Babe" Raskin was the baby
of the family but few knew
him as anything except for
his nickname . . . In fact,
we nephews all called him
"Uncle Babe."
Alan "Muckie" Chafetz,
Jordan "The Swede" Kahn,
Don "Cool Tunes" Lakind (he
couldn't carry a note), Sandor
"Obliadutin" (whatever that

was) Eisenberg, Bob "Bud-
dha" Schwartz, Earl "The
Snake" Woolf, Sol "Barn-
smell" Scholnick, Sheldon
"Square Deal" Miller, Harold
"Duddy" Guttenberg.
Few of his friends know him
as Willie Ehrlich . . . He's
"Buffalo," former Detroiter
now long-time maitre d' at
the Holiday Casino in Las
Vegas.
Everybody knew Herman
Prujansky as "Turk" . . . The
name came from his walking
down the street with girls on
each arm and people saying,
"There goes Turk and his
harem" . . . The nickname
stuck and he became "Turk"
Prujan, emcee, singer, nite
club owner and operator and
songwriter legend.
Stanley "Bushy" Berlin,
Anna "Shefke" Shulman, An-

Most people
thought Solly
Drapkin didn't have
a freckle on his
body.

na "Chanke" Fordgang,
Dorothy "Dusie" Moss, Lind-
say "Kiki" Finegood, Marcus
"Maco" Taub, Meyer
"Phoebe" Waterstone.
Beryl Sklar didn't like hair-
cuts, hardly ever took one, so
they called him "Shag Dog."
"Joe Blow" Ryke, Morrie
"Shoes" Shuster, Dr. Harold
"Harry" Ekelman, Irving "It-
sy" Katz, Benny "The
Weasel" Stauber, Ben "The
Muff' Corsen, Louie "The
Rat" Litzer, "Sneaky Sam"
Peltzer.
And you can bet the mor-
tgage that I've left out plen-
ty, plenty more . . . Tell me
some.

DR. RICHARD E. MAR-
BURGER, president of

Lawrence Technological
University here, writes about
his recent visit to four
restaurants in Atlanta .. .
"Nickolai's Roof (sometimes
spelled without the 'c') is
arguably the finest restau-
rant in Atlanta. It has a Rus-
sian atmosphere but the
cuisine seems to be French. It
is located atop the downtown
Hilton Hotel. The specialty of
the house is vodka presented
in several flavors and, for
dessert, a souffle which must
be ordered at the beginning of
the meal. No menus are
available; the waiters rattle
off the description of each
dish in French and then
pause to translate. Since the
fixed price of the meal alone

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