Obituaries

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Tip Of The Hat

David Sachs
Senior Copy Editor

A

nyone tuning in to Detroit
radio during the 1960s
and 70s Motown heyday
will remember the blare of the fast-
paced, fever-pitched commercials:
"Does Louis the Hatter have suits?
... Does Louis the
Hatter have pants?"
Yes, Louis the
Hatter did. And, of
course, Louis the
Hatter had hundreds
of hats.
William "Bill"
Bradlin, who worked
with his father, Louis,
at his hat store on
Cadillac Square in
Bill Bradlin
downtown Detroit,
eventually taking it
over and expanding it to include
other clothing lines and new loca-
tions, died Sept. 2, 2007. Mr.
Bradlin, of Southfield, was 75.
For decades, Louis the Hatter,
along with Sibley Shoes, was a
landmark on the street level of the
Fox Theatre building in downtown
Detroit. Mr. Bradlin later opened
stores on the Livernois "Avenue of
Fashion" in Detroit north of Seven
Mile and at the Green-8 shopping
center in Oak Park.
"Bill listened to his customers -
that was his specialty," said his wife,
Eleanor. "I remember one year when
a salesman came in showed him
sharkskin suits and coats, and my
husband really made a splash with
that. From then on, he was having
fun as a buyer and retailer. He made
the business grow. He had a gift."
Eleanor Bradlin said the busi-
ness gradually evolved a focus on
African American clientele. "Not
on purpose, but Bill listened to
customers and followed trends,"
she said. "Then, an advertising man
from [rhythm & blues radio station]
WCHB came wanting to place ads. It
took off like topsy! But we also had
plenty of white customers."
In the early 1990s, when down to
the last store in Oak Park, the land-
lord suddenly terminated all leases
for the shopping center, Eleanor
said. Mr. Bradlin held a huge going-
out-of-business sale and managed to

compensate all of his suppliers. "He
paid every penny off," said his wife.
"That's the kind of man Bill was."
When Bill and Eleanor finally
closed the store, one of their suit
vendors needed sales reps for Ohio
and Michigan and offered them the
job - a role they continued in.
Bill Bradlin was a graduate of
Cass Technical High
School in Detroit and
an Army veteran. He
started in the family
business at Speedy
Laundry on Jefferson,
then Bradlin Cleaners
on Randolph and final-
ly Louis the Hatter,
which his father origi-
nated as a hat clean-
ing shop, then a hat
maker.
"Since he died, I've
gotten so many calls from people
who loved and cared about my hus-
band - sales reps, customers," said
Eleanor. "Many are more like friends
than customers.
"I know what a mentsh he was."
Bill Bradlin is survived by his
wife of 46 years, Eleanor Bradlin
of Southfield; children, Michael and
Sue Richmond of Beaverton, Ore.,
Kimberly and Mike Anthony of St.
Louis, Dan and Hannele Bradlin
of Apache Junction, Ariz., Jim
and Linda Bradlin of Detroit, Nina
and Christoph Meier of Binningen,
Switzerland; grandchildren, David
Richmond, Emily Richmond, Leslie
Richmond, Sean and Christy Carr,
Alexandra Meier and Sophie Meier;
great-grandchildren, Louis and
Madysin Carr; brother and sister-in-
law, Dr. Joseph and Sophia Rivkin of
Southfield; sister, Harriet Machado
of Pasadena, Calif.; many loving
nieces, nephews, sisters-in-law and
brothers-in-law.
Interment was at Adat Shalom
Memorial Park. Contributions may
be made to Jewish Hospice &
Chaplaincy Network, 6555 W. Maple,
West Bloomfield, MI 48322; Multiple
Sclerosis Society of Michigan, 21311
Civic Center Drive, Southfield, MI
48076; or the Holocaust Memorial
Center, 28123 Orchard Lake Road,
Farmington Hills, MI 48334.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel. - 1

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From Generation to Generation

September 6 2007

1299170

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