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Since then he's had the touch
of gold. He reached back to his
Catskills experience to put to-
gether a "Dirty Dancing' tour in
the wake of that movie's success
and tapped a group of rock radio
favorites (Bachman-Turner Over-
drive, Grand Funk's Mark Farn-
er, the Guess Who) for a "Super
'70s" package. His "American
Gladiators" touring show was a
family favorite.
Then there's Ringo. They
hooked up in 1988, after Pepsi,
which sponsored the "Dirty Danc-
ing" tour, asked Fishof to put to-
gether another tour for the
company.
"I always had this dream, be-
cause my brother is a drummer,
to go sign the world's greatest
drummer," Fishof says. And he
decided that instead of the usual
oldies package show, he would ap-
proach Starr with the all-star
band concept, surrounding him
with other major rock talents to
play each other's songs in addi-

Marty Fishof:
The Jewish "Jerry Maguire"?

tion to Stari-'s hits with the Bea-
tles and as a solo artist.
Starr, whose business manag-
er had been raised as an Ortho-
dox Jew, liked the idea, and he
and Fishof have done two tours
together. "In 1989, I was saying,
`What to do?' and then David
calls," Starr remembers. "He had
an offer from Pepsi to do some-
thing, and he thought of me, and
we've been doing this ever since.
If I go on tour, he puts it togeth-
er."
It a busy and hectic life;
Fishof may almost singlehand-
edly keep the manufacturers of
cellular phone batteries in busi-
ness. But you can count on find-
ing him in one place every day.
"I believe in going to synagogue
every morning, not just on Shab-
bos," explains Fishof. When he's
on the road, he finds somewhere
to attend services. And when he's
in Manhattan — where he lives
With his second wife, Judy, and
the 'Six children they have be-
tween them — he attends Lincoln
Square Synagagde.
"I live this wonderful world of

Marty Fishof, left, with Peter Frampton, a member of this year's All-Starr Band,
which performs tonight with Ringo Starr at Pine Knob.

show business and pro sports,
which has so many ups and
downs. The one thing I love about
going to synagogue every morn-
ing is that you see the same
friends every morning, and you
have the same ritual, and life is
steady."

Fishof is active in several Jew-
ish charities, particularly those
that deal with disabled children,
such as Parents for Teaching
Torah Education (P'TACH) and
the Hebrew Academy for Special
Children (HASC).
"For a long time we never

acknowledged in the Jewish com-
munity that we had learning dis-
abilities or the mentally retarded,"
he explains. "These types of or-
ganizations are relatively very
new in Jewish fields. That's why
I feel like this is an area [in which]
I can do something to help."
And as much as he loves his
businesses, Fishof does foresee a
day when he will make aliyah in
Israel.
"I go there as often as I can," he
says. "I've had lots of talks over
there, but I don't want to go there
and do business. I want to enjoy
and get spiritual. I'm afraid to mix
in business over there.
"As long as I have fun doing
this, I will, but [Israel's] the even-
tual place I want to be."

❑

e

Ringo Starr & His All Starr
Band, featuring Pethr Framp-
ton, Jack Bruce, Gary Brook-
er, Simon Kirke and Mark
Rivera, perform at 7:30 tonight
at Pine Knob, Sashabaw Road
at I-75, Clarkston. Tickets are
$22.50 pavilion and $12.50
lawn. Call (248) 377-0100.