Sunday, October 15, 2017

IZ: broadcaster, actor, singer ... legendary character

     (Part I of 4)    

      There was a young man named Irving
      Who to sing was always right willing
       He burst into song
       At the sound of the gong
       And to hear him was always right thrilling.
                            -- Alice Thomsen
Irving Zeidman ("IZ") at home
in Shreveport's old ballpark.

      Irving Zeidman -- the memorable and legendary IZ in Shreveport -- was a magnetic personality, a center-stage character.
      Center stage, figuratively and literally.
      He was, to those of us who knew him first as a sports broadcaster, our introduction and early education to baseball (Shreveport Sports, 1954-61) and college basketball (Centenary College, late 1950s through mid-1960s).
      After that, through the end of his too-short life, he was most remembered as "Tevye," the milkman/narrator of Fiddler on the Roof, and he starred in the summers of 1971 and '72 in one of the Shreveport Little Theater's most popular productions ever (to this day, I would guess).
      Irv was Tevye -- his Jewish roots showing, his beautiful baritone voice (he really could sing) booming, his large sense of humor ever-present.
      He was a big man (6-foot-4, 200-plus pounds), an athlete once and forever (in his mind), a funny, loud story-telling, room-dominating presence. If the situation presented itself, he would sing ... anywhere, any time.
      He was not -- obviously -- bashful. He was not, at times, humble, and not often soft-spoken. But he was genuine. 
      Long before Fiddler, as a younger man, he participated -- and sang, naturally -- in other plays and even an opera. In the first half of the 1970s, he became a Little Theater regular; among his roles, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha.
      His dream "trilogy" of roles: Tevye, Don Quixote and Zorba The Greek. But Zorba was his impossible dream. He never got the chance.
      We lost Irv on November 6, 1975, heart disease (arteries). He was only 57. It was, apparently, hereditary; each of his parents also died of heart troubles at about the same age.
      Born too soon. A few years later, and maybe the medical developments that soon came to be -- bypasses, stents, etc. -- might have given IZ more time. 
Young Irving, left, with his father Abraham, mother
Sena, younger brother Morris, in Boonton, N.J.
      Only 57. As we grow older, as society grows older, we realize now his was a relatively short life. But he packed so much into it, and he had so much fun, gave pleasure to so many.
      In his lifetime, he was a good son, brother, football player and discus thrower, a husband, father and grandfather ("Zeda"), a soldier, a radio personality (morning show), a baseball-basketball-football announcer, insurance salesman, community theater actor who might have gone big-time. 
      If you knew Irv -- and that became my privilege as a young sportswriter -- he was (obviously as I write this) unforgettable. 
      He knew my parents, knew their story and, because he'd grown up Jewish -- his parents were immigrants from Europe --  and he'd been in the U.S. Army in World War II, he could relate.
      We would see him around town, and he always spoke. His visits to The Shreveport Times sports department (early 1970s), mostly to see sports editor/columnist (and friend) Bill McIntyre -- who wrote about the Sports and Centenary -- were always interesting. Irv, as noted, took over the room, always with stories and opinions.
      He had grown up in Boonton, N.J., close to New York City (where he was born) and his boast for years was he was "the greatest athlete to ever come out of Boonton." The reply would be: Was there any competition?
---
      This year, as I again researched professional baseball in Shreveport and touched on the first "golden age" of the Shreveport Sports (in the early 1950s), I thought of Irv often.
      Knew he was a native New Yorker, transplanted Southerner. But when and how had he come to Shreveport?
       Remembered his youngest son, Danny, from athletics in the early 1960s and at Byrd High School. Remember Irv's wife (Hazel) with a strawberry-blonde complexion; Danny favored her. Knew of Irv's sports and stage connections.
       But what else? Wanted to write about him.
       So through Internet and then Facebook searches, I found a grandson, who led me to the two Zeidman daughters -- Barbara and Susan -- who survive. The two sons, David (Susan's twin) and Danny, died too soon.
        Susan, as it turns out, has resided in this area (Fort Worth-Dallas) for years. She now lives in Frisco; we corresponded by Facebook, and then met recently, where we perused a large stack of newspaper clippings/stories about IZ, and photos, too.
        Some of what I am writing is taken from those clippings, especially the columns done by McIntyre (The Times) and Jerry Byrd (Shreveport Journal) a day or two after Irving's death, recounting his life and contributions. Some are Susan's recollections.
         Some are mine. Because he was a significant part of my early days in this country and Shreveport.
         Next: IZ, the sports broadcaster

15 comments:

  1. From Coach Daniel Zeidman: This brought tears to my eyes. I never met my grandfather so you can imagine how much I appreciate this. Can’t wait to read the next three. Thank you.

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  2. From Stan Tiner: What a voice. Growing up, Irv was the standard for all the sportscasters to come. I was a Shreveport Sports fan with few peers, I was a Knothole gang member who missed few games. Kenneth the Menneth Guettler, Gentleman Jim Ackeret, Joe Koppe .. oh my, the boys of summer. Irv made them large.

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  3. From Sydney Boone: Listened to him while growing up. Spent untold number of nights lying in bed, throwing a baseball toward ceiling and catching it with my Rawlings 500 Minnie Minoso glove. Hundreds every night listening to IZ for 5D. Over and over. Loved his voice and the enthusiasm he brought into my bedroom through my cheap radio. Later when my Dad told me that he broadcast the games, at least the road games, he was doing so from a local radio studio while reading from ticker tape, and supplying his own sounds for hits, crowd noise and ball hitting gloves. While I was disappointed, I was totally impressed by his work. Took me through many nights when I was sick with asthma and bedridden, as well as when I was totally healthy and just wanted to hear him bring baseball into my room.
    He was a huge and important part of my youth. Helped teach me game that I live and respect so very much.
    Thank you. Looking forward to more!

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  4. From Pesky Hill: Yes, I grew up listening to Irv, too. I only got to know him casually but he was a character. Look forward to your other blogs on him.

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  5. From Ralph Kraft: “And there she goes.” Remember it, hear it, as if yesterday. Await your following three.
    My Dad took me to the radio studio one time, I was 8 or 9 years old. Mr. Zeidman was a nice man, as was Tony Barrett, as I recall. Sound effects, sound of the bat, crowd noise. Mesmerizing. Very much a fan of IZ, as of the Sports. Thanks for doing.

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  6. From Ernie Roberson: Irv was the host for a live TV program for young bowlers on KTBS on Saturday mornings ... PINBUSTERS. I made the show once and it aired live from lane 4 at Bowlero West about 1962. One really nice guy.

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  7. From Frank Bright: In either my 10th or 11th grade year my English teacher(both years), Dave Lawson, took our class to see the dress rehearsal of Cyrano de Bergerac. It was my first theater experience and I loved it. Irv Zeidman was Cyrano and a Centenary student named Ramona Nail played the young girl. It must have been at Marjorie Lyons Theater.
    "IZ for 5D" is the way I remember him on the radio. 5D was the type of motor oil (I can't remember the brand) that sponsored the Sports radio broadcasts.
    Thanks for the memories.

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  8. This is amazing. Irving was my grandfather, who I never had the pleasure of meeting (Dan was my father). Though I've heard many stories of Grandpa over the years, this gives me even more insight into his too short life. Thank you so much. I look forward to reading more.

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  9. From Joan Fiser: I never heard Irv Z. sing, but I definitely remember his big smile and personality!

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  10. From Art Swanson: Irv was an announcer at KNOE in Monroe, Louisiana, when I was at Neville High, and he announced our baseball games. He was a wonderful man.

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  11. From Jim McLain: Your blog on Zeidman brought back some good memories. What a character he was and a great singer/actor. I recall many of those visits to The Times sports department.
    I bought two Prudential Life Insurance policies from Irv. Still have 'em, too.
    Trust me, the Shreveport Little Theater could use him today.

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  12. From Ron Stephens: Is that the old Shreveport Sports baseball field?

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    1. That is old SPAR Stadium (Texas League Park before that) -- in the early 1960s when the fence was still a double-decker, with the familiar Coke bottle in left-center. When the Atlanta Braves brought their Class AA franchise to Shreveport for the 1968 season, the old fence -- rotting, as the grandstand roof would do a few years later -- was torn down, and a single-deck fence ran from beyond the foul poles, left to right, with a single batter's eye backdrop in center field.

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  13. From Ron Stephens: I remember the field from the 1950s. We lived on Pierre Avenue and I could see the stadium from my backyard. My grandparents lived on Laurel. My uncles (Natch and Charlie Brocato) worked the visitors' clubhouse. I used to go with them to help out -- clean cleats, fill the coke box, and distribute towels. Later My Uncle Natch played for the old Shreveport Sports. Lots of history there. I remember the old groundskeeper who lived there and was as mean as a snake.

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    Replies
    1. The groundskeeper was Albert A. Gaedke, a Polish-American from Chicago who was in the U.S. Army during World War I and came to Shreveport in the 1930s, lived in a shack at the stadium past the stands (the old grandstand down the right-field line), kept a garden out there (thus, the reference to the ballpark as Gaedke's Gardens) and was there until the mid-1960s -- the ballclub had been gone for a few years by then -- when his life ended and he was found in that shack.

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