Serving the stars in Hudson Valley
See this picture of Lena Horne?
The grandfather of Wallkill's Stuart Berg knew her - and other stars like Jayne Mansfield, Buddy Hackett and baseball's Jackie Robinson.
Walter Berg was a waiter at Grossinger's during its heydays in the '40s and '50s. He served those stars.
Berg died in 1960. But his life lives on in photos like this. He also lives on in this story Stuart tells.
Seems that Berg's real name was Walter O'Neil, which means he was Irish Catholic. After he married Ruth Friedman (a Hungarian Jew), he moved to Liberty, where her parents lived. It was 1927 when O'Neill changed his name to Berg and converted to Judaism.
Somehow, the Daily News found out about this rare occurrence and wrote about it. The headline was: "He's Goy and Irish Too, But For Love He'll Marry A Jew."
Steve Israel
New
:: Seeking the Heiden, star of the Catskills - 3.19.06
Archives
:: Eat something, you'll feel better - 8.6.00
:: My laptop for a cream puff - 4.25.00
:: All you can eat in the Catskills - 4.25.00
:: A cherry cheese or pizza knish? - 7.19.01
:: Servin' up summer - in servitude style - 5.2.03
:: Jennie G. still means quality - 8.8.02
:: Hooray for rugelach; summer's no bummer when Izzy's in town - 6.13.02
:: Perfect rolls, topped off with some traffic jam - 7.13.02
:: Summer molasses in Sullivan - 7.24.03
:: Mannie's hotel was a tight ship - 6.3.04
:: The great Passover strike of '77 - 2.26.06