Brushes with Fame

I don't like to disturb people who are famous. I especially don't want to annoy people I admire. That said, I do like to remember fondly those few times I have had special and unique opportunities to see and/or interact with significant figures.    

Perhaps my favorite brush is a time when I found myself in mid-town Manhattan (NYC) with my uncle David on an elevator with Mother Teresa (1910-1997). We exchanged no words but my uncle and I shared a good laugh at being in such a small space with the sister and a couple of her colleagues in an elevator in what was then called the Pan Am Building. It was around that timer I was working for J. Walter Thompson. Mid to Late 80s maybe. 

In college as a student at the University of Miami I caught Gloria Steinem (b. 1934) speaking at a luncheon. Scheduling had here doubling the bill with Ralph Nader. My fond memory of this encounter was an easy joke as I was leaving. I said something like "I enjoyed having lunch with you Gloria." She responded with ease saying. "Yes, we should do it more often." This photo was taken in 1978 which was around the time of that appearance at UM. (Nader was okay too but Gloria...)

Philip Kotler (b. 1931) is a kind of legend among marketing people. His textbooks on marketing often serve as required reading for students. I managed to hear him talk at an event for marketing leaders near TPC Sawgrass in Florida. I was working as director of global communications at Thermadyne at the time, So it was somewhere around 2006 or 2007. I got him to sign a note that said "Wes is doing a great job." Kotler added "I think" to the quote and signed the note.

Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) was a guest at a celebration at Madison Square Garden. Knowing what a fan of tennis my wife was I could not resist passing him a note to sign as if an autograph. The note said "Your husband is a great guy." He added "He put me up to this along with his signature. 

 

I was hanging around downtown at the Toy Building near the famous Flat Iron Building not far from 23rd street. A friend suggested getting a bit to eat at a trendy NYC restaurant nearby, I don't recall the name of the place but I got a smile when I saw inside a group of maybe 7-8 people dining at a long table (or tables pushed together). Andy Warhol (1928 -1987) was there at one end. I didn't want to bother him as he was clearly entertaining or being entertained by this group. I could not resist getting close to the other end of the table and making a clever comment. I said to a guy at the end of the table, "That guy at the other end has been famous for more than 15 minutes." The man smiles and said something along the lines of "I should say so." That little interchange became so much more poignant when years later I noted that Andy died at age 58 fewer than two weeks after that sighting. (Warhol went to the hospital for a routine gall bladder operation and ended up dying from something not related to that surgery.)

Robert Rauchenberg (1925-2008)  has a showing at a gallery somewhere near Key Largo when I was in Miami in graduate school. My aunt Dahlia (married to my uncle Andrew) was keen on checking it out. I don't remember the details other than it was an easy drive to this low key gathering, a sort of wine and cheese art event. I recall with a smile that my aunt (an art scholar) managed to catch up with Rauchenberg with a question. Her carefully worded question was something like. "Can you comment on influence Marcel Duchamp has had on your work?" Rauchenberg just smile and said something like "...awww come on" suggesting that he was not in the mood for heavy art history talk. This would have been  circa 1979.

Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) is shown in photo above around 1983 which would have been about the time I spotted my hero (and author of Slaughterhous Five). I didn't bother to talk to him but I just love the fact that I caught him midtown around 47th or 48th street studying a chess match which was posted on a wall with a flag on the side that read "white move." It's a memory I hold dear. Just an ordinary event in the life of a writer living in New York City. (He and Jill did live nearby). Vonnegut died in 2007 as a result of Traumatic Brain Injury he suffered as a result of a fall at his Brownstone Apartment in Manhattan.   

Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) spoke to a small group of fellow students at the University of Miami  before being elected 39th president of the United States. I was among those students and I'm pretty sure I wasn't along in wondering about this humble "peanut farmer" from Plains Georgia. It was a rare privilege to catch him.   

The Four Boys

 

Bertha and John Benjamin (Ben) married on January 7, 1914 after the young doctor accepted a position at St. John's in Cleveland in 1910. He finished Kinmundy High School (Illinois) four years earlier in 1906. There were four students in his graduating class from High School. (3 boys and a girl. Ben and another boy went to medical school in St. Louis. Saint Louis University and Washington University respectively). They had four boys: My Uncles David, Uncle Andrew, my dad James and John. 

The photo above shows my grandmother with her four boys. She lost her husband and the boys lost their dad when they were young men themselves. Dr. Ben died in 1943 when he was just 55 (almost 56) years old. Uncle David was just 14 and the three others were engaged in military service in Army capacities during WWII.  

DAVID MORGAN Obituary

MORGAN DAVID WILLIAM MORGAN, age 85, formerly of Lakewood, OH died peacefully at home in Darien, CT January 20, 2014. A dedicated and beloved husband and father, he was surrounded by his wife of 42 years, Mary Louise Morgan (nee Fitzsimmons), and children Mallory and David Jr. having battled Primary CNS Lymphoma for 22 months. Born July 6, 1928 in Cleveland, OH as the youngest of four boys to Dr. John Benjamin Morgan and Bertha Amersbach Morgan. He grew up in the Lakewood section of Cleveland and attended St. Ignatius and Lakewood high schools. After spending two years at Wilmington College of Ohio, where in 1948 he was a founding member of the Tau Kappa Beta fraternity, he transferred to La Salle University, where he graduated from La Salle University in 1950. After graduation he returned to Cleveland where he served in a sales capacity for the Jim Morgan Studio. He left Ohio in the late 1950's for California, New York and finally Darien where he lived for 32 years. Donations may be made to www.burke.org.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Cleveland.com on Jan. 24, 2014.

ANDREW MORGAN Obituary

MORGAN, ANDREW W., born on July 29, 1922, passed away peacefully on March 18, 2011. The family will be home following a private service at Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapel. In lieu of flowers the family suggest donations to L'Chaim Jewish Hospice Program, 14875 NW 77 Ave, Suite 100, Miami Lakes, FL 33014. View this Guest Book at www. MiamiHerald.com/obituaries.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by the Miami Herald on Mar. 19, 2011.

John (the oldest of the four). Obit/Highlights to come.

James

James O’Connell Morgan
(July 21, 1918 – August 20, 2013)

James O’Connell Morgan was an artist, veteran of WWII, loyal husband and father of six. He was founder of Morgan Studio (Cleveland, OH), the advertising, art and photography business which he ran for the better part of four decades. The Cleveland native later lived in Key Biscayne, FL and Keller, TX with his wife Mary until her passing in 2011. He then moved to Tampa, FL

Morgan was a graduate of St. Ignatius High School and John Carroll University. At John Carroll he was on the Big Four championship team in 1939 and was inducted into JCU’s Sports Hall of Fame. He also studied at Pratt Institute of Design in New York City.

He was a soldier during World War II. First enlisting and later entering officer candidate school (OCS). He served his country with honor for over four years.

After his time in the U.S. Army, he began his career at Malmquist Studio until he founded Morgan Studio in 1951 as “the architects of the printed page.”

He was a devoted husband to Mary Lawton Morgan. They were married December 19, 1942. Mary passed away in May 2011. They were married for 69 years. James and Mary had six children: Sundance in New Orleans LA, Mary Lynn in Columbus OH, Wesley in St Louis MO, Gregory in Tampa FL, Daniel in Lakewood OH, and Robert in San Francisco CA. James is survived by nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Memorial Service will be held at Saint Luke’s Catholic Church in Lakewood OH at 11:00 AM on September 14, 2013. James & Mary Morgan will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.  Reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, please contribute to the American Red Cross, Tampa Bay Chapter 

Matt & Bianca 11-8-2024

 

Legendary Gathering to Celebrate the marriage of Matt and Bianca 

Matt Morgan and Bianca eloped something like 175 days ago Matt revealed in his remarks to the crowd (including a large representation of Morgans). The event was a gathering in Tampa at Ybor City neighborhood's Italian Club. 

Clearly a family project with Bianca at the helm - we saw Greg & Ellen and Lauren; Wes and Alexis; Bianca's sister, mom and dad; Matt and Wes' mom Donda; Wes (the greater) and Lindsey with Lawton, Rob, Joy, Megan/Parker, Tara/Adam and Camille and Thomas; Kevin and Madelyn, The guy for whom Bianca does periodic pet sitting; and a host of well wishers. 

Naturally Greg wanted the mic and was good. Wes (the lessor) is a natural, Rob couldn't resist but elected to not use the mic. (This allowed me to editorialize life while he shared his wisdom with the usual level of emotion. Wes (the Lessor) couldn't bring his drone in-house but simulated it with an extender on an iPhone. 

Photo ops abound as the dinner, comments, married couple dance and mingling happened as the crowd dispersed.

But wait there's more: A dinner at something & something, Lawton's night-time Davis Island glow stick regatta and more.

 

 

    

On the Plus Side

Greatest Hits. On the Plus Side

I could dwell on my career setbacks but I take the good with the risks that come with everything I do. Here are some highlights that offset the setbacks.

St. Lukes’s – Because of my 1st grade teacher, Sister Francesca (who became the principal), I believe I have the best cursive handwriting among my siblings.  

Cleveland Plain Dealer carrier – One of my customers lost his wife of many years. I said “I can only imagine” to which he replied “Oh, no you can’t possibly imagine” (I never forgot him saying that.)

Morgan Studio – On the occasional rides home from the Studio (especially when Jane Geiger was riding with us) I enjoyed eaves droping on the business conversation that I have come to think of as my attendance in the Shoreway Seminars.

Sir Speedy – The Cuban head pressman was always playing with me – especially after I admitted I had only introductory Spanish instruction. Me llamo Paco… I told him…He would ask me “Hey Paco, You got any business for us?”

SSC&B:Lintas – I learned from an HR guy in the agency who told me that there were approximately 8,000 applicants for an entry level job at a big time agency like that. Pretty impressive win getting in, in the first place.

Marsteller Inc. – My initials reminded an agency veteran of his former boss, William A. Marsteller (WAM).    

J. Walter Thompson – I ate at Sparks restaurant up the street with family friend Karen Grace, That’s the location adjacent to 1985 Mob hit on Castellano. Also, I have many fond memories at McCann’s bar and/or JR Cigars with my Uncle David who had an office nearby. And we shared a legendary elevator ride with Mother Teresa.

Sawdon and Bess – I made it to the Newsweek building on Madison Avenue. I was ceremoniously promoted at lunch at Smith and Wolensky’s. Madison Avenue ad guy. 

Tracy-Locke – I managed to convince a hot-air balloon pilot to fly his balloon with a custom Pepsi balloon envelope. The Lehigh Balloon Festival with Bobby Sparks at the helm. Philly, Allentown and Moonachie, N.J. I learned about end aisle displays, pole toppers and point of sale merchandising.

BBDO - I was in meetings with advertising legend legendary Phil Deusenberry. Midtown Manhattan.

Sweeney & Partners –Thomas Sweeney had been roommates at Notre Dame with Miami Dolphin great Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti. 

Rocket Burkhead Lewis & Winslow in Raleigh, NC. Got to work with Howard Rockett. I was next in line to be President of the Triangle Advertising Federation. I was involved in annual Addy Awards. (Nearly every year after that I was recruiter of appropriate judges regional Addy awards). 

Crispin & Porter (in Miami) A lot of fun pitching business with the creative imaginations of Chuck Porter and Alex Bogusky and maybe the hottest creative shop in America. 

Tinsley Advertising – I founnd myself at an agency I had first contacted while in college. Jim Flannagan and Sandy Tinseley still there. 

TBWA – (St. Louis) I managed two stops at top agencies in St. Louis. After I left I managed to land a project with Prairie Farms (Ice Cream TV Spot) with Lloyd Wolfe and agency creative team.

DMB&B – D’Arcy (St. Louis) hired me to be account guy on Southwestern Bell and Pacific Bell. 

HBE – CEO Fred Kummer challenged me to help during a PR crisis and added hotel advertising/marketing to my job. 

Clayco – CEO Bob Clark benefitted from tactics I used at HBE. I managed to get ENR’s Design Build Magazine to feature HBE and Clayco with two unique and wonderful cover stories. (Pretty amazing).

Thermadyne – Profile ads of over 35 welder/fabricator users of Thermadyne brands (Stoody, Tweco, Victor, Thermal Dynamics…)  

Crossland – (Columbus, KS) Nice feature stories and project highlights in company magazine 3 times a year. I was a sort of editor/publisher. 

Neuwoehner High School – I was the annual talent show coordinator 4 years in a row. 

Great Circle – (Webster Groves, MO) Teacher in self-containted special education classroom.

SSD – Special School District /Riverview Gardens school district Westview Middle School. IEPs and parent interfacing.   

Winfield Middle School – middle school Art in Lincoln County. Developed and tested solid art lesson plans. 

Old North Academy campus of Confluence Academies. Got student work posted in local Old North neighborhood – 8+ postings. (i.e. Sept, October, Nov/Dec, February, April) 

A lot of peaks and valleys. But the peaks and more memorable and more significant.   

Oh and a few Extracurricular activities:

American Marketing Association board member in Saint Louis more than 25 years (twice chapter president). Docent tour guide at Laumeier Sculpture Park 10+ years (giving over 100 tours of the park). 

I’ve been kicked out of better places than this!

I’ve ways enjoyed that line, especially since it is totally consistent with my own “inflated sense of self-worth”. I’m not sure where my self confidence comes from but clearly it has been an asset as I travel through my life – most notably my career journey. 

Consider this list of setbacks. Presented here a purposely painted from the dark-side and without mention of extenuating circumstances.

St. Lukes’s – Acquainted with failure early. I flunked first grade. 

Cleveland Plain Dealer carrier – My job for 5 years all the way through High School. I wasn’t fired but in a sense I was as my customer attrition was significant. (Poaching by a fellow carrier accounts for some of the shrink.)

Morgan Studio – Dad was pretty good at getting me after school and Summer work at the business he founded as “Architects of the Printed Page” in 1951. I missed the boat, opting to work for the University of Miami and cash-in on a modest stipend, an American Express Card and tuition remission that got me an MBA. Meanwhile, I couldn’t sub-plant my two brothers (neither of which were the more obvious choice for future leadership of that enterprise)

Sir Speedy – The West Miami franchise was the most successful in the country and hired me to be key accounts representative (sales, basically). Johnathon Babbs the owner was not convinced that I right guy. My promotional piece (Forms. Forms. Forms. got national attention and was featured in Graphic Arts Monthly).

SSC&B:Lintas – I was hired to work in account management on the Heineken Account. My boss decided to fire me before I completed my first year.

Marsteller Inc. – I should have seen it coming. JVC consumer electronics account fired the agency. The agency fired me. 

J. Walter Thompson – The United Stated Marines account. I was restless and campaigned for transfer to Burger King account. Burger King fired JWT. JWT fired me.

Sawdon and Bess – I was “go to” guy on the Matchbox Toys account until agency merger resulted in the agency becoming AC&R/DHB and Bess. I was no longer a key guy on that key account (which was eventually acquired by Mattel). I was out. 

Tracy-Locke – This Dallas based agency hired me to be regional marketing specialist on Pepsi Cola account. Started with NY/NJ and PA territories. I was promoted to Account Supervisor in LA. My boss in LA wasn’t buying my act. I was out. But Mike Rawlings endorsed my consideration for Omnicom sister agency BBDO on the Pizza Hut account...

BBDO - “Casting is critical” was part of decision to terminate me. (Someone believed the client wasn’t a fan of mine). Mike Rawlings become mayor of Dallas and my Pizza Hut client became CEO of Yum! Brands. 

Sweeney & Partners – The agency president, Thomas Sweeney, offered me position as Group Vice President. I learned about pharmaceutical marketing and promoting Denture Adhesives to denture making dentists. When he fired me, he said that I reminded him of Joe Dimagio. People thought Joe wasn’t making an effort as a ball player because his uniform was never dirty.    

Rocket Burkhead Lewis & Winslow in Raleigh, NC hired me and eventually promoted me to Account Director on SkyBox. Skybox launched USA Basketball cards with Magic Johnson as spokesman. I also worked on Rich SeaPak and Campbell Soup (food service). I answered the call of a headhunter (Michael Palma) looking for an account guy for a hot agency in Miami.

Crispin & Porter  (in Miami) became Crispin Porter & Bogusky hired me to work on recent account win, GameTek. Account was less than expected and I became a sort of new business guy. A lot of fun pitching business. One notable win Mercedes-Benz South Florida Dealer Group. I was not “key” enough so I was out. 

Tinsley Advertising – hired me to manage Kramer Labs (Halprin and other brands). Easy enough getting another job in advertising in Miami after Crispin but I wanted more, Headhunter Mike Palma convinced me to move north to Saint Louis.

TBWA – (St. Louis) I was hired to be account director on Boatman’s Bank account. The account was falling away rapidly as Nation’s Bank acquired them before Bank of America acquired them and the agency merged to become TBWA/Chiat Day. I became a new business guy again but that's never a good deal unless you can land enough business. I was able to make a cross-town move. 

DMB&B – D’Arcy (St. Louis) hired me to be account guy on Southwestern Bell just as the baby bells were reversing their historic 1984 monopoly. I worked on Pacific Bell too but the account went to Texas. Last agency stop before I would became a client in 1998.

HBE – A 4 mile commute form my home in Town & Country appealed to me. The Creve Coeur based design-build firm and owner/operator of 24 Adam’s Mark hotel properties. I was hired, promoted and fired by HBE CEO Fred Kummer. (Twice) 

Clayco – CEO Bob Clark was shamelessly curious about how HBE built it’s business. I brought Clayco a bundle of tactics that helped promote a top contractor in America (according to Engineering News Record).

HBE - I was rehired after 3 years at Clayco and fired again.

Thermadyne – Hired me to head global marketing for this manufacturer of welding and cutting products. I was less than enthusiastic as this company positioned itself for growth. Thermadyne was acquired by ESAB (and move to Baltimore). 

Crossland – (Columbus, KS) This top contractor hired me to be director of communications. Big job. I was a bust when I could not embrace the culture (family business). I Lived in Joplin, MO in time for category 5 tornado. CEO Ivan Crossland fired me. Moved back to Saint Louis.

Neuwoehner High School – The Special School District hired me as a frequent special education substitute (usually at Neuwoehner High School and/or Litzinger – elementary middle). I was hired full time at Neuwoehner as a Paraeducator and worked 4+ years there. I got student loans and achieved a Masters in Teaching from Fontbonne University (I was 62 years old and certified in special ed, elementary ed and Art K-12). SSD did NOT hire me as a teacher right away.

Great Circle – (Webster Groves, MO) Newly certified I was hired pretty quickly in 2018 to work as teacher in a self-contained classroom as a special educator. I tested positive for Covid and taught from home a bit. The school ran into some legal issues and closed their residential services at the Webster Groves campus. I was terminated.

SSD – Special School District of Saint Louis hired me to work at their Riverview Gardens (partner district). I worked there for a year and a half before I resigned in part, because I found myself without my #1 supporter (my wife passed away in Feb of 2022). I wasn’t fired but they still made me pay them for not fulfilling my 2 year contract. Imagine that. 

Winfield Middle School – Suddenly a middle school in Lincoln County needed an immediate hire in art. I was thrilled to shift my focus to that content area (ART). But, two months into this assignment I grabbed two sixth graders and took them to the principal’s office. I offered my resignation on the spot rather than listen to the lecture about how I might have approached this situation differently. (For the record one 6th grade boy had the other in a trash can head first.)

Old North Academy campus of Confluence Academies charter school was looking for an art teacher. “We want to promote the pathway to the arts,” they said. I took the bait and was there 1 ½ years while I watched a revolving door of administration and several teachers departing, I found myself teaching 10 grade levels (383 students). I quit. 

If you are scoring at home that’s 12 advertising agencies, Four corporations and and four schools with four early setbacks that help set the precedent for “I get knocked down, I get up again.”  

 

 

 

     

 

   

Celebrating 50 Years

 

It was 50 years ago when the class of 1974 at Lakewood High School graduated the Cleveland west-side suburb of Lakewood, Ohio. We had over 800 in our class. We attended classes in a factory with a population over 3,000 when you add students and staff for the freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior class. 

The reunion committee pulled out all the stops and contracted with a venue, The Music Box, that allowed for food, drink, conversation and live music on the Cuyahoga River in the Cleveland flats. Alum Christopher Galloway focused his band on a music mix that was ideal for all to dance and sometimes sing along. The Mommas and the Pappas (California Dreaming), Neal Diamond (Sweet Caroline), The Rolling Stones and more. It was perfect for our generation to travel back in time.

 

  

Summer 2024

I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep... Or so says Robert Frost upon Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. It is hard to imaging snowfall in Saint Louis in June and July this year. We've had record high temperatures and humidity that has made some days hard to tolerate. Nevertheless, I've been most fortunate in the use of my of my time off after my first year as Art Teacher at Confluence Academies' Old North Academy campus. 

Just a quick review of my calendar shows a pretty fortunate series of events:

May - UMSL Purina visit (5/1); SLAM Jaune Quick to See Smith (5/4); Education Plus PD (5/6); Laumeier Art Fair (5/9-12); 5/18-20 Janie comes to St. Louis (Laumeier, MO History, Rain at Fox); Hillsboro Cox fun (5/26); U City Brittany Woods Middle meeting re: Art (5/28).

  

June 1 - Lindsey and Lawton (in town to see Andrew Morstein as Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville). We filled this Saturday with trips to MO History Museum in Forest Park, Central Print in Old North neighborhood, and Pizza place in Maplewood. 

June 4 - Ozark Amphitheater with Dave and Linda Shogren, Al Funk and Tom N. We saw Robert Plant and Allison Kraus show with opening act Tiny Moose (Chris Galloway's band).

June 6 - AMA gathering at Global Brew. Good to see Kathy McGuire and AMA board members preparing for a new administration under incoming President, Webster University's Eric Rhiney. 

June 7 - A special visit inside Andy Goldsworthy's Stone Sea sculpture at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

June 8 - Dave Shogren's OMG band at Jack's Joint upstairs at O'Connells.

June 15-17 - Father's Day trip to NJ. Purple Glaze Donuts, Brooklyn Graffiti, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Grounds for Sculpture visit.

June 27 - visit with Tim Brinks in St.Ann.

June 28 - The AMA "Wes Morgan Classic" golf at CCGC.

July 4 - Music and Fireworks at Chesterfield Valley Athletic Complex.

July 5 - Docent interview at SLAM

July 6 - Early morning double red Blood Donation 

July 8 - Meeting/interview with Principal Twana Moore at Northwest Middle School (Hazelwood School District). 

July 10 - Sarah Lorentz artist phone call re: Old North Art

July 11 - HBE league at CCGC

July 13 - Pageant Show - OK Go, Mirthquake, Winona Forever courtesy Integrity Web Solutions company/Lisa Grimm

July 15 RIP Janet Shaughnessy at Schrader Funeral Home

July 16 RIP Janet Ascension Catholic Church, Mass in Chesterfield

July 18 - Confluence Golf event at Forest Park - shotgun start with Anthony on Redbud #9

July 19 - St Louis Artis Guild Show - Sarah Lorentz

July 20 - ON caucus: Kathy and Marty McCaslin, Kelly Hock, Tammy Slater at MO History Museum

July 21 - Meeting of Old North Restoration Group at Dave's business but led by Linda Shogren because Dave was stuck in Newark due to airline IT global issue. Juan William Chavez, Aimee Dunlap, Stacey Cline, Gloria Bratkowsko, Jessica Payne, Linda Shogren, Wes Morgan, Robin Lovings Brown, Matt Fernandez. 

July 25 - RED at New Jewish Theater

July 26-28 - Cleveland LHS 50th reunion

July 31 to August 5 - NJ - Asbury Park Boardwalk, Sunset Diner (x2), Colonial Terrace (two walks but booked), Elberon Bathing Club (x3) beach and pool.

August 7 UMSL foursome at CCGC

August 8 - Back to School Bash, HBE league night (Thurs)

August 9 - Kidsmart at Ballpark Village

August 10-12 - Tampa Six Flags Roller Coaster

August 19 - School Resumes