them that he would only stay for 
10 minutes and, three hours later, 
he was still there. That’s always 
been the case. There I was with 
best friends 1 and 1A. It’s always a 
wonderous night when I can share 
it with B.G.”
Back in 1966, when Berger 
was 27, Gordy hired Berger to 
run the Motown Records Los 
Angeles office. Gordy was initially 
skeptical of the “White, Jewish 
particularly” guy — a line that 
would eventually end up in the 
award-winning musical Ain’t Too 
Proud: The Life and Times of the 
Temptations, which features the 
Shelly Berger character. 
In fact, after wondering how 
Berger could possibly make good 
on all his production promises, 
Gordy told his Jewish lawyer, 
Ralph Seltzer, “Berger’s either 
the biggest liar or he’s on drugs,” 
recalls Berger. “But on a Las Vegas 
trip for two weeks, that’s when the 
love affair started with B.G.”
Reassured of Berger’s talents, 
Gordy gave Berger the opportuni-
ty to manage the Temptations and 
Diana Ross and the Supremes. 
And the rest is literal history.

BRINGING IT “HOME”
On Aug. 10, during a red-carpet 
premiere at the Detroit Opera 
House, Williams and Berger final-
ly — after the pandemic delay 
— brought their Ain’t Too Proud 
musical home to the Motown-
loving crowd. Joining the duo in 
the celebration was award-win-
ning playwright and Detroit native 
Dominique Morisseau who wrote 
the book for Ain’t Too Proud. 
 Based on Williams’ 1988 mem-
oir, Ain’t Too Proud follows the 
Temptations’ incredible journey 
from the streets of Detroit to 
the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 
The show features many of the 
Temptations’ 42 Top 10 hits and 
Tony award-winning choreogra-
phy by Sergio Trujillo.
“This show was the culmination 
of many years of dreaming and 

working and putting it together. 
We were extremely successful 
when it ran on Broadway, but 
you’ve got to make it in your own 
hometown. And Detroit had an 
extra-special meaning that night,” 
said Berger, who attended the pre-
miere with his daughter, Linda, a 
casting director.
While not at the premiere, 
Berger’s son, Josh, is a producer 
on Ain’t Too Proud. And although 
Berry Gordy didn’t attend Josh’s 
bris over 56 years ago, Gordy is 
Josh’s godfather.
“
Anything that my kids are 
involved in is very, very important 
to me,” Berger says. “Motown is 
very important to Josh, and when 
we started working on this proj-
ect, he very much wanted to be a 
part of it.”
Berger had day-to-day involve-
ment with the creation of Ain’t 
Too Proud, including meetings 
with Morisseau to discuss Berger’s 
history and friendship with 
Williams, Gordy and life with 
Motown. Berger also meets with 
each actor who plays the Shelly 
Berger character to discuss life 
through the Motown experi-
ence. On this first national tour, 
Reed Campbell, a University of 
Michigan acting grad, plays Shelly 
Berger.
“Watching the show is kind of 
an out-of-body experience,” says 
Berger, who’s seen Ain’t Too Proud 
about 150 times. “Shelly Berger is 
not me; it’s a character in a play 
about the Temptations. It’s not a 
documentary; it’s an entertain-
ment piece. I love to have the 
audience feel the emotions that 
people have felt for 56 years when 
they watch this group and the 
human feeling and the toll that it 
took to happen.
“From my perspective, the 
greatest part of my life has been 
being involved with Otis and the 
Temptations and Berry Gordy and 
Motown,” adds Berger. “The great-
est joy of my life is to be able to 
achieve what we have achieved.” 

DETAILS

Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and 
Times of The Temptations will be 
performed at the Detroit Opera 
House through Aug. 28. Tickets are 
available online at Ticketmaster.
com, by phone at (800) 982-2787 
or in person at the Fisher Theatre 
Box Office. For more information, 
go to www.broadwayindetroit.com.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY BROADWAY IN DETROIT

Ain’t Too Proud runs at the Detroit Opera 
House through Aug. 28.

PHOTO BY MEG DARKET 

The Temptations’ longtime manager Shelly Berger and group 
founder Otis Williams on the red carpet at the Detroit Opera 
House.

AUGUST 25 • 2022 | 73

PHOTO BY MEG DARKET 

