Round Seventeen: Chicken Parm, naturally.

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Chicken Parm, naturally.

I don't post many pictures of myself out with friends. Not because I don't have friends, I do. Which according to Ms. Muse and other women in the same age ball park, declare, "You'd be shocked to hear how many men don't."

Have friends that is.

The other reason I don't post these type of pictures is because I don't have many of these type of pictures. I like to think it's because I allow myself to get caught up in the moment and never feel the need to commit these type images to film, even digital film.

But this was special gathering of former Chiat/Day legends.

That's Jerry Gentile to my right, one of the hardest working and under appreciated Creative Directors to ever pass through the now less-than-hallowed hallways. To his right is Dan Bootzin, who headed up the editorial Department at VBE. Dan taught me so much about visual storytelling, including the clarion call for clarity and simplicity. And to his right is the iconic Jeff Gorman, whose early work on Nike set in motion the growth of a multi-billion dollar sports behemoth.

Jeff is leaving the country. For myriad reasons, none of which I'll go into, nor should they be hard to ascertain.

To mark the auspicious occasion we gathered at Musso & Frank's -- iconic in its own right. You can't tell from our casual attire, but this is a white tablecloth/bow tied waiters kind of place. As we were escorted by our VIP waiter we were seated in the Frank Sinatra Booth.

For all I know, they're all 'The Sinatra Booth."

"Frank used to sit right there and suck down martinis with Dean and all their broads."

(If I may use the vernacular of the day.)

Credit goes to our waiter, a balding man in his 50's. Never caught his name but I like to think it was Pete or Lloyd. He had an old timeyness about him. And he was particularly good at his job. Never letting our drinks run dry. Timing the plate arrivals perfectly. And never eliciting a peep from our table like, "Where's the waiter?" or "We could use some lemon wedges for the oysters."

And Pete knew just the right amount of jocularity to share with us. Perhaps it was that instant sheen of familiarity that made us feel comfortable asking for a photo.

That same type of bonding happened between Jeff and I when we first met more than 40 years ago. My friends and I were putting together MADWEEK, an ad industry parody take off on Adweek. We were poor and naive copywriters with a dream. Jeff was already an A+ list director at the time and agreed to listen to the pitch for funding.

Money was never exchanged. And we paid for the endeavor out of our own pitiful bank accounts. But while meeting Jeff, who loved the idea (and given his penchant for snark, I can see why), he told me a Great War story.

While at the headquarters for a national well known defense contractor, he had to endure a big corporate meeting with all the straight laced corporate pubas. The CEO of said company proceeded to give a long winded Ted Talk about the beauty and aesthetics of black and white photography. Having concluded his endless monologue he turned to Jeff...

"Well I've said enough here. You're the one we thinking of hiring for this major million dollar assignment, tell me what you're thinking about."

And with that, Jeff answered with one singular, but powerful word that I can't repeat in this family blog.

But you can read about it here. And so much more.