Measure of a Man (29 page)
The Mermelsteins are like a part of my family. Kalvin was my best friend, and his brother Bennet officiated at our wedding. His brother Steve was very dear to us, as are his children Howard and
Dorothy and their families. Kalvin, I hope this book makes you smile from above, dear brother.
I also wish to recognize my GGG family. William P. Goldman of GGG was not only my mentor but my surrogate father. And Adolph Rosenberg and Sam Lipshitz provided me with support and taught me GGG’s system. For that and much more, I remain forever grateful.
I want to thank Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus and a very special thank you to my dear, dear friend, Derrill Osborne. We love you.
I want to thank Mayor Ed Koch, who helped rebuild Brooklyn and was a great friend; Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of our outstanding mayors; and the two greatest and best-dressed police commissioners in New York history, Ray Kelly and William Bratton.
I’m grateful for our family friends, Dr. Joe Press and Dr. Lawrence Inra, who keep me healthy and able to work six days a week. Thanks also to Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz for your forty-year friendship and the #1 Mets jacket. Being your biggest fan, I really appreciate it.
I’ve been blessed to work with some of the most talented professionals in the men’s fashion industry, many of whom I consider friends. It’s impossible to name them all, but I’d like to recognize Johnny D’Amico, Joe Gromek, Pier Guerci, Steve Grossman, Robert Kaplan, Dick Lembeck, Alan Levine, Chris Littmoden, Eric Lundgren, Aldo and Sebastiano Moscini, Nat Pittiger, Bill Roberti, Jack D. Simpson, Mickey Soloman, Walter J. Stevens, Ed Turco, Rhoda and Jack Uchitel, Dominic Verde, Eric Wilkinson, Stevie Fellig, and Steve Levitan and his family.
I especially want to thank all my hardworking and loyal employees. Your passion and dedication inspire me daily.
My spiritual mentors, Rabbis Arthur and Marc Schneier, Israel Shemtov, and Rabbi Luzer. Thank you for your prayers and wisdom throughout my long journey.
I want to thank all the wonderful friends we have made over the years, including: Bob Strauss; General Colin and Alma Powell; William T. Sullivan of the Ronald MacDonald House; Daniel Reingold with the Hebrew Home for the Aged; Marty Markowitz, former Brooklyn Borough President; Marvin Scott; Al Shragis; Tom Clancy; Bruce Llewellyn; Mike Rotchford and Charlotte Kolb; Judge Roz Mauskopf and family; Cardinal Edward Egan; Sir Gilbert Levine; Ron Perelman; and Maurice R. Greenberg.
A special thanks to all my friends who have stuck with us over the years. We love you all. Magda Silberman, Judy and Harry Goldstein, the Heller families, the Berebichez family (Oh, those Acapulco years!), Pam and Mark Rubin, Miriam Silverman, Marcy Brown, Sandy and Artie Rosenbluth, Marcia and Michael Cherbini, and last, but not least, the old Brooklyn friends: Edie and Bob Wallach, the Katz family, Sheila and Stan Josephson, Iris and Donald Seckendorf, Linda and Bob Siegfeld, and the two who have stuck the longest, Norma and Richard Berlin and their families and the newcomers, Marlene and Marty Jacobson.
I am grateful to the brilliant and talented roster of world-class designers and industry greats we’ve had the pleasure of working with through the years: Donna Karan, Alexander Julian (I’ll always be honored to be called your “maker”), Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Isaac Mizrahi, Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders, the rag & bone dynamic duo of Marcus Wainwright and David Neville, and several more.
I also wish to thank the talented and dedicated team at Regnery: publisher Marji Ross, editor Tom Spence, Harry Crocker, and
the entire publicity team. Thanks also to Patrick Smith of Wynton Hall & Co. and to my New York City literary agent Glen Hartley at Writers’ Reps for his passion and belief in this project.
Finally, Martin Greenfield Clothiers would like to extend a warm thank-you to all the celebrities we have had the privilege of working alongside and dressing through the years: Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama; Vice President Joe Biden; Senator Bob Dole; Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Sammy Davis Jr.; Frank Sinatra; Dean Martin; Jerry Lewis; Michael Jackson; Martin Scorsese; Terence Winter; Baz Luhrmann; Catherine Martin; Steven Soderbergh; Jimmy Fallon; Denzel Washington; Leonardo DiCaprio; Tobey Maguire; Johnny Depp; Ben Affleck; Steve Buscemi; James Spader; Donald Trump; Walter Cronkite; Stone Phillips; Michael Strahan; LeBron James; Shaquille O’Neal; Patrick Ewing; Carmelo Anthony; Kobe Bryant; John Cusack; Conan O’Brien; Jonah Hill; Clive Owen; Kanye West; Joel Edgerton; Eddie Cantor; Ben Stiller; Sir Ben Kingsley; Matt Czuchry; Michael Shannon; Oscar Issac; Kevin Bacon; Paul Newman; Al Pacino; Michael Douglas; Ellen Mirojnick; John Dunn; Bobby Cannavale; Vincent Piazza; Michael Stuhlbarg; Michael K. Williams; Stephen Graham; Dabney Coleman; Michael Pitt; Raúl Esparza; Richard Belzer; André Holland; Alan Alda; and many, many more.
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Allies, Allied,
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America.
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culture,
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fashion in,
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Greenfield’s voyage to,
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inmates in German camps,
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Israel and,
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liberation of Germany,
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military power in World War II,
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politicians in,
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segregation in,
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American Army,
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American Film Institute,
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Andretti, Mario,
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Anthony, Carmelo,
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Arbeit macht frei
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Arkansas,
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Armani (brand),
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Armani, Giorgio,
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Arthur
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Auschwitz,
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Band of Outsiders,
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Barkley, Alben,
111–13
Bar Mitzvah,
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Bell, Lake,
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Benedict XVI (pope),
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Ben Maksik’s Town and Country,
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Bergdorf Goodman,
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Berger, Antonio (“Uncle Antonio”),
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Berger, Fischel,
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Berger, Irving (“Uncle Irving”),
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Berman, Barbara,
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Berman, Natalie,
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Berman, Rikki,
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Berra, Yogi,
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Biden, Joseph “Joe,”
193–94
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Bloomberg, Michael,
194–95
Boardwalk Empire
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147–48
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Bradley, Omar,
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Bradshaw, Terry,
211–12
Brand, Russell,
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Bremerhaven, Germany,
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Bronx, NY,
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celebrities from,
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Martin Greenfield Clothiers factory in,
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Brooks, Albert,
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Brooks Brothers,
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Brown, James,
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Bryant, Kobe,
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Buchanan, Tom (character in
The Great Gatsby
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Budapest, Hungary,
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hospital in,
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Burns, Ed,
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Burton, Montague,
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Cagney, James,
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Capitol, the,
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Catholics,
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Charlotte Hornets,
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Chelsea, NY,
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