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Time Machine
Recalling many tales of yesteryears Detroit.
S
OME MEMORIES ...
Jackie Kannon appeared at the
Michigan Palace and recalled per-
forming here at the little Gay Haven nitery
and practicing at the Allendale Avenue
home of Hilda and Jack Erman, while
Hilda's aunt Selma Klein played piano for
him ... Jackie hit the big time as a comic,
author and publisher whose creative abil-
ity made him a world-renowned favorite.
Jackie's comic bits on the recordings,
You Don't Have to Be Jewish (1965) and
on the edge of Greektown
Today, Bouzouki Lounge is a
strip joint by the same name.
To Mayfield Chop House
on Griswold in Detroit, just
down the street from Kosins
Clothes, considered by many
to be among the smallest and
best dining spots in town,
where owner Joe Luft looked
like Orson Welles ... To
Pontchartrain Wine Cellars on
When You're In Love the Whole World Is
West Lamed in Detroit that
Jewish (1966) brought worldwide laughs
looked as if it had been there
... At the Michigan Palace, Jackie was
for at least a century and seemed to always
billed as "The World's No. 1 Rat Fink"
have the same people wait on you each day
because of his books and
with its luscious French
appearances for years at
and continental food ...
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE JEWISH
the Rat Fink room of the
To Dummy George's on Six
WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE
THE WHOLE WORLD IS JEWISH
Round Table Club in New
Mile in Detroit, owned by
York.
Larry Rattner, with excel-
In Birmingham, when
lent food and the name sort
only six people could sit
of a take-off on its moniker
on the benches inside, but
when the site was known as
folks gladly stood and ate
Silent Woman.
the goodies they bought at
The story told over and
the little Greek sandwich
over again about the group
These two mid-1960s
shop in the Continental
auditioning at the former
comedy albums have been
Market ... They had some-
Club Trocadero on Fenkell
reissued on one CD.
thing new there called
in Detroit, a 9-year-old boy,
a Souvlaki (Greek lamb
his father and uncle being
sandwich) on homemade
hired by localite owner
pita bread baked by owner
Herman "Turk" Prujansky
Olga Loizon ... It was the
who told me that he
first time in Michigan ...
employed the trio for $180
introduced by her at Olga's
... Somebody tipped off a
Kitchen.
truant officer, said Turk,
Going to Top of the
who came to the Trocadero
Flame on the then-Michi-
and took the little guy off
gan Consolidated Gas Co.
the stage because he was
Comedian Jackie Kannon
Building in Downtown
under age ... According to
Detroit, where if you want- was known as the
Turk, the dad and uncle said
ed to dine at a higher eleva- "World's No. 1 Rat Fink."
that he was a "midget" and
tion, one would have had
the boy was allowed to per-
form ... The 9-year-old lad
to board an airplane ... to
Bouzouki Lounge on Lafayette in Detroit,
was Sammy Davis Jr.
Al and Kerry Stutz built their home
for Greek music, dancing, food and wine
in an attractive, colorful muraled room
years ago in Huntington Woods because
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BaL-Mitzvah, Oct, 2012
they couldn't find that up-
and-coming community called
Oak Park ... Charlie Robinson
bought tickets for a Knights
of Pythias #55 testimonial
for barrister Milt Hubert but
couldn't attend because he
had to stay at his Shell service
station on Nine Mile to fix a
fuel pump for Judge Charles
Kaufman ... guest speaker at
the dinner for Milt that eve-
ning.
Mary Lou Zieve considered
the best that ever produced the local seg-
ments of Jerry Lewis' Muscular Dystrophy
Labor Day weekend telethon over at
Channel 2 ... Darbys, a place where owner
Sam Boesky said his restaurant had 115
children (his employees) and one father
figure ... himself.
Specialties at internationally known
London Chop House in Detroit were
originally only two very simple entrees,
hamburger and perch ... Radio personal-
ity Dick Purtan and wife, Gail, married
years ago in true brotherhood fashion ...
with a Catholic, a Protestant and a Jewish
judge.
Mary Tamaroff played paddle ball
and tore ligaments in his left leg ... And
showed no partiality the next year by tear-
ing his ligaments again ... in his right leg
... Larry Santos left his vocalizing at local
night spots to gain national fame with
radio commercials for Chevy, Kellogg,
Revlon and other biggies ... Bob Allison
hosted Ask Your Neighbor on WWJ radio
and called it quits to play piano for cock-
tail time at the Gold Key on West Grand
Boulevard ... Barrister Denise Alexander
didn't want to go empty-handed to visit
her sister Rochelle Gray in California, so
took 48 of her own home-cooked matzah
balls with her on the plane.
None of Chuck Muer's eating spots listed
their fish, even though it was the main
item at his restaurants ... Chuck was a nut
on serving fresh fish only and wanted his
waitstaff to tell what the fisherman's daily
catches were.
Attending his first Passover at the home
of Grandma Minnie Raskin, 6-year-old
Brian Gussin was told not to wipe his
hands on his shirt, so wiped them on his
pants.
Irving Aran, head of Crown Furniture
in Taylor, with a trophy at home presented
to him with the inscription, "Last Place
Champs:'
A gent went into John Laffrey's Steaks-
on-the Hearth, signed his tab with "Great
Scott Markets" and was told there were
only two people authorized to sign so his
could not be accepted ... Until discovering
that the signer was Nate Fink, owner of
Great Scott Markets.
Dr. Ronald Miller visiting his dad, Moe
Miller, who introduced him to a friend as
"My son, Dr. Miller" ... "Oh, you're the
smart one in the family:' said the friend,
and Ronald replied, "No, my brother is
the smart one. He's in business with his
father."
RESIDENTS, PAST AND PRESENT,
historians or just interested readers will
enjoy the book Oak Park by its former
mayor, Gerald "Jerry" Naftaly, whose ten-
ure of 20 years in office makes him very
knowledgeable in regards to his beloved
city ... Jerry's excellent pictorial revue is
accompanied with histories of Oak Park
sights throughout the years, issued by
Arcadia Publishing, and will be available
Nov. 26 at local retailers and bookstores or
by calling (800) 313-2665.
CONGRATS ... To Marilyn Tringale
on her 61st birthday ... To Leonard Moss
on his 85th birthday ... To David Jaffa on
his 66th birthday ... To Bruce Markman
on his 61st birthday ... To Bart and Hope
"Cookie" Chimoff on their 25th anniver-
sary.
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