40 January 24 • 2019
jn
continued from page 38
Siegel’
s old girlfriend. Carlos called
me up and said something about
making a record.
I knew nothing about the
business, but I went ahead and
started a record company with
my friend Al Marks. Our record
labels were “Seville” and “Lorelei.
”
Carlos cut his tune and I had him
sing a Duke Ellington song on the
reverse side. Th
e local disc jockeys
were playing it left
and right. An
exec from Mercury Records hap-
pened to be in town, heard it on
the radio and bought the rights to
it. But, nationally, it went nowhere.
I don’
t remember how many
records our company sold. All I
can say is we papered the walls of
my rec room with all the unsold
records.
One day, Les and Sam Gruber
at the Caucus Club in Downtown
Detroit wanted me to hear this
unknown young singer from
New York, Barbra Streisand. So,
I listened to her. I didn’
t like her
voice at fi
rst — I thought she was
yelling. I told my friends she’
d nev-
er make it. Later, she went on Jack
Paar’
s late-night TV show and hit
the big time. What a dope I was!
I also had an advertising agency,
and I used to produce TV com-
mercials.
I was good friends with Bill
Kennedy over at CKLW television
in Windsor. I fi
lmed commer-
cials for various companies, and
Kennedy loved them! For one
of my clients, we did a spot with
Tigers announcers Ernie Harwell
and George Kell, and I was in the
booth.
Tell me about your personal life.
I was married the fi
rst time for
about six months. Next, I was
married to Gerrie Katz for about
10 years, and we had a son, Scott.
Th
en, I was married for 35 years
to Frieda, who passed away about
eight years ago.
Scott now lives in San Francis-
co. He’
s the CEO of an internet
company and has two children,
Matthew and Hannah.
Can eating well explain
your longevity?
I can’
t explain it. Maybe, it’
s good
living. I try to eat smart whenever
possible.
Every morning for breakfast, I’
d
have cereal. It could be three, four
or fi
ve cereals together. I put in a
banana, maybe some blueberries
and raspberries in a nice big bowl
because I didn’
t have time to have
lunch. Th
en, I’
d have a full belly
and no hunger pangs all day.
Danny’
s son, Scott Raskin, with his daughter Hannah and son Matthew in 2006
100 years young!
continued on page 42
Hours: M-F 10am to 9pm
Sat & Sun 9am to 9pm
Located @ 6724 Orchard Lk Rd
Just South of Maple
This special day calls for a
celebration.
Like a bottle of the finest wine,
you’ve gone past
‘’Old’’ and became ‘’Vintage’’.
Happy 100th Birthday,
Danny
and many more.
Best wishes,
Team Pickles and Rye Deli