I held my very first job at age 7. I stood on the corner of Lexington and 83rd Street and sold copies of Liberty magazine. (Liberty was a weekly publication and at the time was the second-largest general-interest magazine in the country, surpassed only by the Saturday Evening Post.) Little did I know that 10 years later I’d be studying at Baruch College, exactly 3 miles south of where I was selling magazines.
My first job as a teen was as a Good Humor® man, dressed in my all-white uniform, cap, and bow tie.
My first summer job was at Grossinger’s in the Catskills, where I produced shows, entertained on rainy days, and worked on the Athletic Staff.
My first job when I was studying at Baruch was as a salesman for a printing services firm, Michael Press. Years later I learned that the person answering the phones back at our office (i.e., the switchboard operator) was none other than Barbra Streisand!
And, my first job after I graduated, and undoubtedly the most important one, was when I was drafted and served two years in the U.S. Army. I was stationed in Frankfurt and traveling all over Europe as a member of the 3rd Armored Division Soldiers’ Chorus!! Those two years were a great learning experience.
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