Arts & Entertainment
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Wild Bill Comes Home
Noted Westerns author remembers PR days here.
H
e talks with words that fire out
like the fast draw of those gun-
slingers he now writes books
about ... Big Bad Bill is back in town ...
But not so big and not so bad ... Never
was ... He's still the same of Bill that
many folks said was going places.
Bill Garwood, longtime entertainment
publicist of the stars and public relations
expert, left here in 1984 and hit the trail
again to come home with wife, Arlene
... He returns here after being away on
what Bill calls his Rip Van Winkle stint
... While in Pennsylvania, he served as
contributing editor of a major national
magazine plus turning out one Western
novel after another ... Bill and Arlene are
now living in South Lyon.
He's a highly regarded author of Western
tomes (Catch Kid Curry, Kill Him Again,
Ringo's Tombstone, West Wandering Wind,
etc., plus a few ghostwriting book stints
... Bill's recent penning of Hunt Down
(Leisure Books, N.Y.) is the paperback ver-
sion of his Hunt Down Harry Tracy hard-
cover ... Ride Past Peril and two more are
at the publishers, Roy Bean's Gold and Roy
Bean's War ... He is also nearing comple-
tion of a frontier novel about Fort Detroit
in the early 1760s with Chief Pontiac and
other historical figures.
Bill views the present showbiz area with
interest of it sure not being like yester-
year, as he takes a long look back, mulling
over the changes wrought in nearly two
decades ... He recalls editing both the old
Detroit Skyliner and entertainment weekly
Key magazine, with their abundance of
show business material ... "There was
always so much:' says Bill ... At the same
time, he also handled many
Among his memorable
top talents that appeared at
memories were sweet-talk-
Windsor's Elmwood Casino,
ing a nervous Liza Minnelli
"owned by Al Siegel, a Ricardo
making her first professional
Cortez look-alike."
engagement at the Elmwood
While a celebrity-studded
Casino, teaching Kenny
publicity expert, Bill remembers
Rogers to play eight-ball
deviating a bit by handling
billiards, consoling a "justifi-
public relations for 600 town-
ably irate" Milton Berle fired
Danny Raskin
houses in Versailles, France, and Senior Columnist ("first time in his life, claimed
turning out complete articles
Berle") by Sam Hadous at
on how to window dress your
Lofy's ("Uncle Miltie walked
new house together with other chi-chi
off the stage after asking a trio of spifflicat-
fashion tips that appeared every Sunday
ed Ann Arbor cops to keep their flash cam-
in the Chicago Tribune . . . But he says one
eras out of his eyes, for fear of his tumbling
of his most heart-warming assignments
off the stage"), and Bill. handling Jimmy
was with Rube Isaacs and his Reuben
Hoffa's last press conference just three days
Advertising, where Bill chanted the praises before the labor czar vanished.
of Balantine Whiskey.
He sounds like the Western book writer
On his return to Bill's first love, enter-
of today while recalling local tales, "There
tainment, he landed a dream account with was more than a whiff of gun smoke in
Stan Kasmarek's beautiful Moon Supper
the air in those days. Just before I took
Club in Hazel Park, with its beautiful
on the Moon, its manager, John Curry,
Moon Maids waitresses. From there, his
resigned and went to Vegas where he was
local clients included Chin-Tiki, Twenty-
shot dead by persons unknown. Later, the
Four Karat, Golden Coach, Crystal Pistol,
Raleigh House had to look for a new man-
Mickey's Back Door, Topinka's, Dearborn's ager after that outgoing but quarrelsome
DB's, Raleigh House, Lofy's in Livonia,
Branko Lukas, gambling in an after-hours
Port O'Three and Michigan Palace ...
card game in the Greektown area, got into
All this involved a very busy schedule
an argument over how many aces there
handling artists like Edgar Bergen, Jimmy were in the joint's deck and wound up
Durante, Mickey Rooney, Liza Minnelli,
nailed to the floor with three pistol bul-
Mamie Van Doren, Tony Martin, Al
lets. The other players had seen nothing
Martino, Sammy Davis, Jr., Milton Berle,
unusual when the cops arrived."
Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Buddy
MAIL DEPT. ... "I cannot describe all
Rich, Fred Waring, Les Brown, Jerry Lee
the fond memories I had while reading
Lewis, Mel Torme, the Ink Spots, the Four
your column on Southfield restaurants of
Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Chubby days gone by. So many that you mentioned
Checker, etc. ... "The list is darn nigh
brought back numerous fond memories
endless:' says Bill.
of life back when. It was like going back
in time to past decades with wonder-
ful remembrances of the joys of dining
out with so many loved ones. As I read
your column, it brought back the names
of many people from my past, some no
longer with us, but still alive in spirit.
When you talked about Raleigh House
on Telegraph, where I attended at least 50
bar and bat mitzvahs, I remembered the
excitement of being 13 and dressing up
to go to its lavish parties while Dick Stein
and his orchestra among others, played.
Anybody who grew up in Metro Detroit
in the '60s and '70s couldn't help but feel
the power of all those flashbacks. Thank
you for a wonderful look into the rear view
mirror." ... Lisa Lapides Sawicki
GOOD MANAGER DEPT. ... Katey
Moses, at Deli Unique of West Bloomfield,
Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield ...
A coveted Matt Prentice veteran who
knows how to please customers with her
beautiful smile, amiable ways and high
efficiency so necessary for complete din-
ing satisfaction.
BEST BET of the Weekend ... Walk
of Ages by Auxiliary for Jewish Home
& Aging Services, this Sunday, May 18,
9 a.m. registration, 10 a.m. walk, at the
Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish
Community Campus on Maple at Drake,
West Bloomfield.
CONGRATS ... To Allen "Singing
Window Washer" Schwartz, on his 76th
birthday ... To Susan Levin on her 65th
birthday ... To Ceal Bogrow on her 80th
birthday. 111
Danny's e-mail address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.
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