Thank you, Danny you gave us the best!

GOODBYE, DEAR FRIEND

Thank you, Danny...

you gave us the best!

The life and legacy of Danny Raskin.

JACKIE HEADAPOHL

DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL

DAVID SACHS

JN Director of Editorial Jackie Headapohl and Danny Raskin after they both received honors from the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2019.

An era ended at the Detroit Jewish News on July 26, 2021, with news of the death of community icon and our beloved colleague Danny Raskin at age 102, after having suffered a fall several weeks before. For the first time in the history of the paper, we have to move forward without him, and it won’t be the same. You’ll have to forgive us for wishing we had more time with someone who had already enjoyed so many years — all lived to the absolute fullest.

Danny has been with the paper since its beginning in 1942. Although he turned down founding Publisher Philip Slomovitz’s invitation to become his associate editor, he offered to help by writing a column, the “Jewish Youth’s Listening Post,” and he’s had a column appear in every single issue — every single one — through July 29, more than 79 years’ worth.

Over those 79 years, Danny has impacted countless lives and shared countless stories in our pages and with his co-workers, some of them hard to believe, like the time he shared pie with the junior varsity of the Purple Gang or being given a watch by the gangster Bugsy Siegel’s former girlfriend or the time he sent a personal note to Hitler himself, scrawled upon a bomb by an American airman just before it was dropped. All the stories were

true. Danny led a storied life. But perhaps we should start at the beginning.

HIS EARLY YEARS

Danny was born the youngest of three siblings on Jan. 23, 1919, to Louis and Minnie Raskin at Hastings and Brady in Detroit. Louis died shortly after Danny’s birth. Louis was an immigrant from Belarus who landed in Detroit and brought over his siblings and parents. Family lore says he was the first Jewish fireman in the city. Minnie raised Danny and his siblings alone. The family soon moved to Dover Court apartments near Pingree and 12th Street, right behind the Cream of Michigan restaurant, where members of the Purple Gang hung out in the mid-’30s.

Danny was a teenager when young members of the gang were in their 20s. “They were wonderful fellows — with me they were,” he once said. “And they were very dedicated to defending Jews.” He told a story about how he had been eating banana cream pie with the gang when they invited him along for a ride and he witnessed them put the fear of God into an antisemite by threatening him with an (unloaded) gun in the mouth. “It was a scare tactic,” Danny said.

He went to High School of Commerce in Detroit, where he learned typing and wrote columns as a teenager for the Center News at the old Jewish Center on Hazelwood. After that, he went to Detroit Institute of Technology for a year to study journalism. Then, he worked as a reporter with the Lansing State Journal and, later, covered the midnight shift at the Detroit News, where his first scoop was blowing the lid off an illegal poultry operation — someone was trying to sell plucked pigeons as chickens.

He was 23 when he wrote that first column for Detroit Jewish News founder Phil Slomovitz. The paper Danny originally thought “wouldn’t last” took off in popularity, and he left the Detroit News to work for the JN. He has said Phil offered him a “terrific deal.” He did all kinds of writing, sold advertising and helped out in many other ways.

During World War II, he used to do a lot of work with the boys in service. “They would send me letters, and I would send letters to a lot of them,” he said at one time. “One of them, Bobby Shan, dropped a bomb on Germany that said, ‘From Danny Raskin to Hitler.’ We put the picture in the paper. I also worked with the USO. I sang and danced. And I helped sell a lot of War Bonds and got a citation from the War Department.”

One of his better efforts came in the Oct. 23, 1942, issue of the JN with a poem titled: “When Hitler’s Goose is Cooked.”

At first, Danny worked at the paper while pursuing other interests on the side. In the 1950s, Danny started a record company with his friend Al Marks. The labels were “Seville” and “Lorelei.” The company did not sell many records. As Danny recalled, “We papered the walls of my rec room with all the unsold records.” He also had an advertising agency and produced TV commercials for various companies.

He often liked to share the story about how, while at the Caucus Club in Downtown Detroit, he once heard an unknown young singer from New York. Her name was Barbra Streisand. Danny did not like her voice at first and said she would never make it. “Then she went on the Jack Paar late-night show and the rest is history,” Danny said.

Germany that said, ‘From with the USO. I sang and danced. And I helped sell a lot of War Bonds and got

One of his better efforts came in the Oct. 23, 1942, with a poem titled: “When side. In the 1950s, Danny started a record

FAMILY LIFE

Danny was married three times. His first marriage, which he never spoke much about, lasted only six months. Next, he was married to Gerrie Katz for about 10 years. They had a son, Scott. After the divorce, it was just the two of them, Scott said.

“We lived in Oak Park at the time,” Scott told the JN.

FROM THE TOP:

Performing at a USO show during WW II. Danny as a toddler. Having fun at a Tigers game at the former Briggs Stadium. Dapper Danny looking cool on a hot day.

GOODBYE, DEAR FRIEND

FROM THE TOP: Danny and Frieda Raskin with

entertainer Wayne Newton. Danny’s son Scott Raskin with his daughter Hannah and son Matthew in 2006. Danny with his wife, Frieda, and dog Gigi.

continued from page 15

“It was him and me. Most of the time, we spent our nights going to restaurants, usually a three-hour affair, which I hated when I was a kid.

“Back in the day, my dad used to smoke cigars, seven inches long. He’d always be sitting in a booth, smoking a cigar, drinking coffee and talking to people, while I would sleep in the booth. It was his happy place. “He’d tell me we’d leave when he finished his cigar or his coffee. But he never wanted his coffee warmed up — had to be fresh every time, so it was basically never-ending coffee.” When Scott was 15, Danny married Frieda, “the love of his life,” and the family moved to Southfield. The couple was together 35 years, until her death in 2010.

Scott now lives in Salt Lake City and is the CEO of an internet company. He has two children, Matthew and Hannah, and two grandchildren, Mason and Olivia.

He said the three things his dad loved most were his column, the Jewish community and baseball.

Scott also remembers Danny as a father “who knew how to draw the lines.”

“I remember being in the car with him on our way to a Tigers game. My dad always drove the biggest, longest Cadillacs they had. I was playing with the power windows, and he told me to stop and if I did it again we would go home. I did it again, and he turned around when we were nearly there and drove home. He came home and put his robe on, and we watched it on TV.”

When he was home, Danny was always in a robe. But when he went out? “Everything had to match. Suit, tie, shoes,” Scott said.

“He had dozens of custom suits, and when he bought shoes, he’d buy a pair in every color. When he left the house, he was dressed to the nines, something he continued all his life.” Scott said his father took great joy in helping the community. He was involved in the American Cancer Society, Variety and the Shriners, was a 32nd degree Mason and belonged to the Knights of Pythias, a non-sectarian fraternity that did community philanthropy. “And he loved to support Jewish-related charities,” Scott said. “If he were asked to help, he did, promoting charity be fresh every time, events in his column and attending so it was basically nev- them in person.” er-ending coffee.” Over the years, Danny lent his support to multiple Jewish organiDanny married Frieda, zations, such as Jewish Senior Life “the love of his life,” and and the Michigan Jewish Sports the family moved to Hall of Fame. And he was also a Southfield. The couple frequent “guest judge” at a multiwas together 35 years, tude of chili cook-offs and burger contests and “grand marshal” at many walks for causes around town. “He was a larger-than-life figure,” Scott said.

HELPING RESTAURATEURS

After the war, Danny’s weekly “Listening Post” became the place to read about social happenings in Detroit’s Jewish community. In 1964, a second column debuted under his name, the “Best of Everything,” in which he wrote about local restaurants, which continued until his death.

Danny had one rule: He would never give a restaurant a bad rap in his column because “I know how much it costs just to put that damn key in the door!”

If he had a bad experience, he would tell the owner what to do to fix it — but would not write about it. He’d return once the problem was solved and then get something in the paper. “I always tried to help out.”

GOODBYE, DEAR FRIEND

continued from page 16

And help he did. The late Matt Prentice credited a mention in Danny’s column for launching his career. The following Friday, people were lined up out the door at his deli. “If Danny hadn’t put me on the map, I would have gone down,” he said in 2008.

Mark Zarkin, good friend and owner of Lelli’s Inn on the Green in Farmington Hills, shared on Facebook after learning of Danny’s passing: “Danny Raskin, you will be missed so much by so many. These days we all say restaurants will never be the same. But without Danny Raskin writing about them every week in his column you can surely bet restaurants will never be the same.”

Photographer Linda Solomon said that a mention in Danny’s “Listening Post” column about her first exhibit in 1980 helped launch her storied career that led to her induction in the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.

The two would go on to become good friends. “I can’t imagine life without Danny,” she wrote in an email to the JN. “His presence, his talent, his heart, gave us lifelong smiles. He was a landmark, even though he was human. Imagine doing what you love forever? I guess that was his secret.

“As a journalist, he got it right. He made people happy. And that’s a life lesson for all of us. Make others happy forever. Danny, thank you for listening to our stories and making us feel special for all your life. Newspapers fade, but not Danny’s column. It’s framed on walls in our homes and in restaurants and it was in my Nana’s wallet.”

MANY HONORS

Danny earned many accolades for his journalism over the years, most recently the Legacy Award from the Society of Professional Journalists Detroit Chapter in 2019.

But more than awards, Danny also treasured the honors given to him by those in the restaurant industry.

Zarkin, who opened the Grand Circus Diner in Detroit, made sure the decor included an artistic tribute to Danny. “He’s just a legend in this town,” Zarkin said.

The Stage Deli in West Bloomfield also named a sandwich after him in honor of his 100th birthday. “The #100 Danny Raskin is, like its namesake, a timeless classic filled with sweet and spicy warmth that is sure to be a crowd favorite!” said owner Steven Goldberg of the warm, house-recipe sliced meatloaf on thick challah with sweet pickle, horseradish, mayonnaise, red onion and crisp lettuce.

“This mix of textures and flavors reminds us of Danny’s column. It delights and ends in a huge smile!” Goldberg said.

Danny also treasured the relationship he built with readers over the years. “People read my column and write to me, not only from here, but also from all over the country,” he said at age 100. “Many times, a part of my column is nostalgia for them. It brings back good memories. I’m like a representative of their memories.”

Just 10 days before Danny’s death I, along with JN Associate Editor David Sachs, visited him in a rehab facility where he was recovering from rib injuries from a fall. Danny was cheerful, funny and sharp as a tack. He pitched to us an idea for a new column of his Detroit memories — “Danny Raskin’s Rearview Mirror-Plus.” Tragically, he took a sudden turn for the worse three days later.

I find it amazing that Danny, at age 102, still had more stories to tell and couldn’t wait to get back to his computer.

When asked a few years ago if he would change anything about his career, Danny said, “No, I don’t think so. I enjoyed the days then, and I enjoy the days today. It’s a good ride. I try to have a lot of fun.”

It was a good run. We hope you had fun … Goodbye, Danny.

Danny Raskin is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Suzy Raskin; stepchildren, Pamela Smith, Gregory Smith, Leslie Ball and Howard Ball; grandchildren, Hannah and Nic Berglund, Matthew and Jamie Raskin, and Brad Smith; great-grandchildren, Mason and Olivia Berglund.

He was the beloved husband of the late Alfrieda “Frieda” Raskin.

Interment was at Adat Shalom Memorial Park. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

The Stage Deli in West Bloomfield also named its namesake, a timeless thick challah with sweet pickle, “Many times, a part of my column

TOP TO BOTTOM: Danny is given an

award depicting a bowl of matzah ball soup by David Blatt and Jeff Cohen of the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation. Danny and son Scott at a Society of Professional Journalists awards dinner in 2019.

JN Director of Editorial Jackie Headapohl acknowledges the efforts of previous writers of JN stories about Danny: former Editor Phil Jacobs, former Associate Editor Alan Hitsky and current Associate Editor David Sachs.

Former Oak Park Mayor Jerry Naftaly:

I wrote guest restaurant reviews for Danny’s columns. He pushed me to write about Jewish and kosher places like the former Unique Kosher Deli and Kravings, or other places with Oak Park connections, or memories of the old Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor and Victoria Station.

Danny included my mini-reviews and recommendations for my books and plugged every one of them … Danny included me in annual birthday recognition in his columns like many of his valued and loyal readers

I’ll miss you, Danny. I enjoyed our phone and email chats, some up to midnight. You were like the Energizer Bunny. A legend. An icon.

You were, like your column heading, “The Best of Everything”

Steve Goldberg, Stage Deli, West Bloomfield:

I knew Danny well for many, many years in the restaurant business. He always told the truth but always in the kindest of ways. He was a link to the treasured history of Detroit area restaurants we’ve lost, the restaurants we knew and loved. He will be remembered for the memories he kept alive.

Danny came in frequently with his son, Scott, ordered a lot and held court. Rarely was he alone at his table. He was in his element, smiling, kibitzing and sharing his encyclopedic knowledge.

GOODBYE, DEAR FRIEND Danny’s Enduring Appeal

ARTHUR HORWITZ PUBLISHER EMERITUS

For decades, the bestread parts of the Jewish News were obituaries and Danny Raskin’s columns. In that order.

We introduced new or expanded arts & entertainment, business, sports and family sections, beefed up local coverage and secured our own correspondents in Israel and Washington, D.C. Yet survey after survey told us the same thing … obituaries and Danny Raskin’s columns were reader favorites.

Danny was the Lou Gehrig and Cal Ripken Jr. of column writing. From the March 27, 1942, inaugural edition of the Jewish News through July of 2021 — a span of nearly 80 years — he wrote more than 5,000 weekly columns (from 1964 through 1986 he wrote two weekly columns). His initial “Jewish Youth’s Listening Post” columns focused on Jewish Detroiters serving our country in the global battle against Axis forces in Europe and the Pacific.

As a concession to Danny on his 30th birthday, Jewish News Publisher Philip Slomovitz removed the word “youth” from his column’s title. The year was 1949. However, Danny was forever young … pitching for the Jewish News softball team into his 70s, mentoring two generations of young chefs and exhausting those who tried to keep pace with him on the dance floor.

Danny always viewed himself as a journalist. Which he was. Yet he was also a very productive advertising executive. In May of 1986, I had just arrived in Detroit from the Baltimore Sun to run the day-to-day operations of the Jewish News. Our Southfield office was so small that a group of five commission-only account executives aggressively competed against each other for business while sharing what was essentially a large closet. Danny, already 40 years older than the others, out-hustled and out-elbowed all of them … even for a $5 commission. At the time, he was responsible for more than half of all advertising placed in the Jewish News. Listening Post”

KERI COHEN

Arthur Horwitz with Danny Raskin, age 100, upon his receiving the Legacy Award of the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2019. FOREVER OPTIMISTIC

When a devastating fire destroyed the Jewish News offices in January of 2002, Danny provided optimism and encouragement. “We’ll survive this and be better than ever,” he predicted in his booming baritone voice while we stared at smoldering piles of debris. “The community depends on us,” he added.

However, one item didn’t survive the fire. Once occupying a place of honor in his workspace, a large, signed photo of Danny with Wayne Newton was ruined by water and soot. Initially devastated, he insisted that I include his photo in our insurance claim. It was rejected, apparently thought of by the insurance company as worthless rather than priceless.

Danny lived and breathed Detroit and the Jewish News. He had a special relationship with its readers and advertisers. He was motivated to generate an engaging, entertaining and informative column for them every week … as if their lives and his own depended on it.

Obituaries and Danny Raskin. Today, they finally come together as one on the pages of the Jewish News.

Mark Zarkin, Steven Lelli’s on the Green, Farmington Hills:

I spoke with Danny during the lockdown. He said, “If you need help, I would work here for less than a $1.25 an hour because I love your chicken soup.” That’s Danny. He was like E.F. Hutton: Everybody listened. After writing about a restaurant, people were flocking there for the next three or four weeks.

Stuart Raider, Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation board president:

Danny was the only recipient of the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Danny Raskin Award. He was a good friend to the foundation.

My favorite story about Danny took place at the dinner when we honored him. I said I hope we don’t get a bad review. Danny smiled at me and said, “I don’t give bad reviews.

Sari Cicurel, executive director of the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation, added, “Danny was a good friend to the foundation. He always wrote about our events, and he would often ask his restaurant industry friends to contribute to our Greenberg Invitational auction.”

Alan Muskovitz, JN columnist:

My condolences to the JN staff who knew Danny so well. What a legacy! I loved hearing about how he didn’t share negative feedback about a restaurant — instead giving the proprietors advice privately on how to improve.

A much-needed breath of fresh air in this constant negative feedback world we live in.

GOODBYE, DEAR FRIEND Danny: A Writer at Heart

ROBERT SKLAR FORMER JN EDITOR

Danny Raskin and I were colleagues and friends who shared a passion for writing. We’d share how sports writing spurred each of us to newspapering — for him in the 1930s, for me in the 1970s. We’d savor how we melded our love for newspapering and Judaism thanks to the Detroit Jewish News.

While celebrating the JN’s 70th anniversary year at a community party in 2012, there we were, Danny and I, talking shop about the JN’ s diversity of readers. By then, Danny and I had worked together for 14 years.

Danny was best known for an upbeat style of writing about local restaurants and personalities — and for serving as grand marshal or ambassador for local parades, walks or causes. He was astute enough in newspapering to attract a loyal readership for a staggering 79 years.

I grew up in a family of Detroit newspaper professionals: my aunt Tavy Stone was a Detroit News fashion writer, cousin George Maskin wrote about sports for the old Detroit Times and uncle Sam Sklar was a Detroit Free Press delivery supervisor. Danny, of course, knew them all. That gave Danny and me a special connection.

VOICE OF DETROIT

Danny sold advertising space for most of his JN tenure. But he wasn’t shy about saying he was a writer first. That distinction meant the world to Danny.

From tracking Detroit’s war heroes in his “Jewish Youth’s Listening Post,” to serving up upbeat restaurant news and personalities tidbits in his later-revamped “The Best of Everything” to a retrospective on dining in the D and its environs via his recent backof-the-book column, Danny found fulfillment, recognition and joy in writing.

When my wife, Beth, and I socialized with Danny and his wife, Frieda, he revealed an engrossing smorgasbord of conversation about living and working in Detroit. “You bet it’s my hometown!” he’d bellow so other diners could hear.

Danny also would regale us with thoughts about Israel. Yes, he wrote about the lighter side of Jewish life; but he clearly embraced the JN’ s Zionist roots nurtured by the Purely Commentary eloquence of JN founding Publisher, Editor and Columnist Philip Slomovitz.

Danny was quick to say he knew early that writing was his calling. That calling pushed him to try poetry. Nothing had the appeal of writing. Nothing so inspired and humbled him.

Writing drove, shaped and lifted him in the early years as he toiled in the recording, advertising and entertainment fields.

Later, writing helped ground him. It surely was a force for him to live purposefully to age 102.

Writing ultimately gave Danny what he so wanted, a voice that long resonated in his beloved hometown.

Robert Sklar and Danny Raskin at the JN’s 70th anniversary partyJN’s 70th anniversary party

Robert Sklar was Editor of the JN from 1998 to 2011 and thereafter Contributing Editor until 2020.