George Molchan came to Gary in 1928 with his seven
siblings and after High School, enrolled at Gary Community
College. In 1951, he met Meinhardt Rabbe, one of the original
"Wizard of Oz" munchkins who later became the original Oscar Meyer
"Little Oscar". Raabe heard about Molchan while on a stop in
Gary. Raabe, who wished to retire, offered the four feet,
five inch Molchan the job as the Oscar Meyer mascot and he
accepted. George traveled the
country in the hotdog-shaped Weinermobile, passing out whistles and
meeting the crowds. He appeared in commercials and on
TV. He retired in 1987 and moved back to Hobart in
2001.
Source:
Post-Tribune Kass Stone April 14, 2005
A13
Tom Harmon
Born September 28, 1919 in Gary,
Indiana.
Died March 16, 1990.
Tom Harmon was a famous
football player, All-American, and a Heisman trophy winner in 1940
while playing for the University of Michigan. Harmon was
chosen by the Chicago Bears in the first selection of the NFL Draft,
but chose not to play football. He had a brief career as an actor,
starring as himself in the biopic Tom Harmon of Michigan. He
appeared occasionally in films throughout the forties and
fifties. From 1946-1947 Harmon played football professionally
with the Los Angeles Rams, but wartime injuries to his legs limited
his effectiveness. He focused his professional career as planned on
being a sports broadcaster on radio and television, one of the first
athletes to make the transition from player to on camera
talent.
His son is actor Mark Harmon, star of the t.v.
series NCIS. His grandchildren are musical performers
Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, and actress Tracy
Nelson; being the children of the late teen idol,
Ricky Nelson and Kristin
Harmon.
The Spaniels
James "Pookie" Hudson, Opal
Courtney Jr., Willis C. Jackson, Gerald Gregory and Ernest
Warren
The Spaniels started their career singing at dances
and talent shows at Roosevelt High School in Gary. A year later,
they were making records in the rhythm and blues vocal harmony group
style of the 50's which was later known as doo wop. Their best known
hit was "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight".
Ewart G. Abner Jr., ran Vee-Jay Records, a company that had been
founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953, by Vivian Carter and her husband.
James Bracken -- Vee for V. Carter. Jay for J. Bracken -- and had
moved to Chicago in 1954.
From the beginning --
Vee-Jay's first release, by the Spaniels, a
quintet formed at Roosevelt High School in Gary, established the
group as one of the leading doo-wop acts of the Midwest --
the company was one of the most powerful of the independents, strong in
the full spectrum of R&B from the Spaniels to the Dells,
and from Jimmy Reed to John Lee Hooker. In 1963, it was Ewart
Abner – with the blessing of Carter and Bracken, who was
the guiding force of the label -- While he was at the helm,
Vee-Jay became the Beatles' first American label.
It was Blavat, the year
before, who had convinced Abner that Vee-Jay could prosper with
white artists as well as black, bringing him a quartet of
Italian-American kids from New Jersey, the Four Seasons,
who had a song called "Sherry,"
which became a No. 1 pop hit and a No. 1 R&B
hit for Vee-Jay in 1962.
"I got him to pick up 'Sherry'
at the 1962 convention, down in Miami, at the Fontainebleau.
Association of Record Merchandisers," says Blavat. "I was with
Morris Levy. I bump into Bob Crewe, who I knew forever. He
wrote 'Silhouettes.' He says, 'I want you to hear something I
just cut with these kids. I t's a song called "Sherry.'" I
hear it. I said, 'I think this f....n' thing's a hit.' I play
it for Morris; he says, 'That's the worst piece of shit I've ever
heard.' I say. 'Crewe, don't get discouraged.' Now,
Abner loves me for my ear, O.K.? Between 'He Will Break Your
Heart,' by Jerry Butler, which I busted wide open for him, between
this, that, the other thing -- I mean, God gave me an ear. I take
Crewe up to Abner's suite. Abner hears it. He says. 'You know, Geator. I think
you got something here. But it's a white artist.' I said. ‘Abner,
who the f... knows the difference on an acetate or a record
if it's white or black? If a hit's a hit, it's got no f....n'
color, man.' They make the deal.
George traveled the
country in the hotdog-shaped Weinermobile, passing out whistles and
meeting the crowds. He appeared in commercials and on
TV. He retired in 1987 and moved back to Hobart in
2001.
=