By Tony Farina
There’s a simply terrific new book out on one of Buffalo’s most amazing historical figures, Harry Altman, the son of Jewish immigrants who was the amazing showman who dazzled in the 50s and 60s with the Town Casino and the Glenn Park Casino, treasures from Buffalo’s past.
The book is titled “Harry Altman, Buffalo’s Master Showman,” and indeed that’s who he was and the book and author, historian Susan Fenster, have caught the attention of Liberty cab and radio entreprenuer Bill Yuhnke because of the connection between the casinos and long standing WEBR Radio, now part of Yuhnke’s radio holdings.
“It’s just incredible the connection between the glorious casino days of yesteryear and WEBR Radio,” said Yuhnke and he plans to bring it to light shortly by bringing the author of the book to WEBR to discuss the connection and how the book came to be. And Ms. Fenster is more than happy to oblige.
I interviewed Ms. Fenster for this story and she sent me an incredible link that focuses on that connection. Here’s a paragraph from that link as remembered by
radio personality Ed Little:
“By the height of the big-band era, the Town and Glen Casinos were not simply nightclubs; they were part of a regional broadcast ecosystem. WEBR, one of Buffalo’s dominant early radio stations, had a permanent broadcast booth in the front window of the Town that reported live. On-air personalities at the Town included Ed Little, Bob Wells, Georgie Walker and Bernie Sandler. The young, popular WEBR host “Lucky” Pierre Gonneau often broadcasted live from the Glen.”
The subject of the book, Harry Altman, built two of Western New York’s most celebrated nightclubs and helped elevate Buffalo’s entertainment scene to national prominence.
During the mid-20 th century, Altman’s Glen Casino in Williamsville and the Town Casino in downtown Buffalo stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the country’s top venues, attracting world-class performers such as Sammy Davis Jr., Duke Ellington, Vic Damone, Al Martino, and Johnnie Ray for three-shows a night. Ms. Fenster’s book has captured strong early sales as folks get tuned in to the glorious showman and the story she tells of that incredible legacy. And the tale has captured Yuhnke full bore and he has already reached out to Ms. Fenster to talk about her book and the radio connection with WEBR, a station still doing nicely under Yuhnke’s diligent and crafty attention, preserving a piece of Buffalo’s radio history.
We’ll have an update on when she will come on WEBR and talk about her work in researching and writing about Buffalo’s Master Showman.
