Jews in the D
continued from page 22
name came from, but it’
s the
moniker he took to the airwaves
for the first time on July 1, 1947,
at WKMH, the former call let-
ters of WKNR.
His parents, Clara and
Herman Altman, immigrated
to America in the early 1900s as
youngsters. Clara’
s family came
from Romania and Herman’
s
left the Ukraine to escape the
pogroms. His folks, who kept a
kosher home, spent their entire
lives in Detroit and are buried
in Beth Moses Cemetery in
Roseville.
Robin loved Hebrew school
and recalls two Detroit syna-
gogues from his childhood, the
“Blaine Shul” and the “Taylor
Shul.” Because of the generosity
of a Rabbi Lawton, Robin was
allowed to prepare for his bar
mitzvah even though his parents
could not afford the $5 weekly
tuition.
His bar mitzvah celebration
took place in the Altman’
s down-
stairs flat on Taylor Street. “After
weeks of cooking, our flat was
decked out with tables,” Robin
shares in his book. “They were
lined up end-to-end and groaned
with food and drink. I got 10
fountain pens, two watches and
$100 cash. I never felt so rich.”
Like many of his Greatest
Generation, Robin put his life
on hold during WWII. After
graduating from Central High
School and turning 18, he was
drafted into the Army and, in
May of 1944, began a two-year
stint during which he would be
a witness to the atrocities of the
Holocaust.
“We were near Steyr, Austria,
the day after the war in Europe
ended,” said Robin, who earned
a Bronze Star. “The Germans
left the nearby concentration
camp gates open and just walked
away. We saw a group of 20 or
30 walking, starving skeletons,
pitifully wandering, helpless
as their eyes bulged from their
sockets, filthy black and white
striped rags hanging from their
bodies — a sample of Germany’
s
leftovers. I stood in disbelief, not
able to move for several min-
utes.”
A stint on Armed Forces
Radio in Frankfort, Germany,
further solidified Robin’
s career
ambitions. After his discharge,
he would cut short his college
education at Wayne University
in 1947 to accept an on-air
opportunity at WKMH, “a new
station located in Dearborn,”
later becoming WKNR Keener
13 in 1963. It was a 90-minute
combined streetcar and bus ride
to the studio for his first profes-
sional job that paid 90 cents an
hour.
Robin Seymour was more
than an entertainer who helped
launch musical careers, he was an
innovator. In helping popularize
sock hops, Motown concerts at
the Fox Theater and introducing
listener feedback as a sales tool,
his career is arguably unparalleled
in a golden era of Detroit broad-
casting.
Over the course of three
decades, Metro Detroit and
Windsor youth tuned into
Bobbin’
with the Robin on
WKMH, WKNR, The Big 8
CKLW and on television. He
was, as author Carolyn Rosenthal
says, “the right person, in the
right place, at the right time.
”
Robin Seymour will be at the Motown
Museum from 3-5 p.m. Thursday,
Sept. 12, during studio tours; info at
motownmuseum.org or (313) 875-
2264. “The Last Radio Reunion,”
takes place 1-6 p.m. Saturday, Sept.
14, Suburban Collection Showplace
in Novi. $35. Leealancreative.com/
reunion.html. Find Seymour’
s book
on Amazon.com.
PAM
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NBERG-
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rn
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&
CEO
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ned
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nterventi
oni
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EF
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oni
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don’
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24 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2019