Son Joe Reiss was interviewed by Ellen Berman for this Biography of his
“What A Wonderful World” Dad
AUDIO VERSION OF JACK REISS REFEREE’S BIOGRAPHYJack Reiss was born into an immigrant Jewish Family on April 27, 1956 in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn New York. His father was born in Romania and his mother was Austrian. Jack’s father passed away when Jack was eight years old…and his mother never remarried and raised her three children by herself. Jack grew up in a very poor family but always had a loving home environment. Jack’s mother moved to Florida and lived to the age of 96. Jack is the baby of his family..he adores his older sister Arlene and older brother Rick. Jack loved being raised in the excitement of Coney Island. Jack always jokes about how he came to California at age 21 to visit his friend Scott Openheimer for a week and never left. Jack was always a “Jack of All Trades”. One of Joe’s favorite photos of his dad, Jack Reiss, is at age 13 when his father was wearing a sailor hat, rolled up jeans and PF Flyer sneakers pushing a Kmart shopping cart on the boardwalk of Coney Island selling hot pretzels and hot dogs. Jack Reiss is the father that made “A Wonderful World” for his lovely wife Josephine and his sons Riley and Joe. Jack and Josephine married when they were 28 years old and embraced Jack’s Jewish Culture and wife Josephine’s Mexican/Puerto Rican Culture and made a beautiful life together. Jack raised his family in Saugus, CA and upon retirement bought a beach house in Ventura, CA for his retirement days. Jack was raised a few blocks from the beach in Coney Island and now he is a few blocks from the beach in Ventura, CA. Jack Reiss is so multi-talented…he is a “Jack of All Trades”, master of all.…work clothing designer, business owner, fireman, referee, real estate executive, double black belt karate champion, etc., etc., etc. Jack Reiss is always busy and encouraged his sons to excel in school, have many interests, enjoy sports, stay busy, and always work hard in their careers. Jack’s son Joe is extremely grateful to have grown up with such a loving, strict, family oriented, and more than amazing human being that happens to be his father. Jack taught his sons to be leaders and to always put everything into whatever they set out to do…half way efforts were not acceptable. Jack Reiss was absolutely the father that he dreamed that he had when he was growing up. Joe said that it so humbling to be the son of Jack Reiss…his father always demonstrated great character, hard work, passion for food, love of life, helping people and making the best of everything. Jack Reiss turned very tough times into a wonderful world…that is why he is the “What a Wonderful World” Dad. Here are some lyrics that describe Jack Reiss. What a Wonderful World Lyrics by Louis ArmstrongI see trees of green, red roses, too, I see them bloom, for me and you And I think to myself What a wonderful world. I see skies of blue, and clouds of white, The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night And I think to myself What a wonderful world.When the (911) September 11, 2001 tragedy happened in Jack’s hometown of New York City, Fire Captain Jack Reiss gathered other fireman from Los Angeles and immediately hopped a plane working side by side with the New York Fire Department at this very sad time in history…again trying to turn a tragedy back into “A Wonderful World”.Here is a wonderful article written by Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing
The Third Man: Jack Reiss
World championship referee Jack Reiss has worked in more than 2000 professional boxing matches and 42 world title bouts including Julio Chavez Jr vs Sebastian Zbik, Danny Green vs Manny Siaca and Mikkel Kessler vs Andre Ward. Reiss talks to Fight News…Reiss said, “I born Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1956. My dad died when I was eight. My mom worked every day — rain or shine — taking trains to Manhattan for the next 30+ years to support herself and us. Growing up I boxed, played baseball, football and hockey. At 14, I became interested in martial arts.“At 23, I broke a bone in my right foot in a full-contact kickboxing bout, went to Los Angeles for a two-week rest and stayed, becoming an LAFD firefighter. I made Captain in ’92. During 9-11 I spent 15 days at Ground Zero with the LAFD-CISM team assisting with the rescue and recovery operation after the attacks on the World Trade Center.Reiss continued, “I boxed and played hockey for the LAFD. In 1998 I became a professional boxing referee. Currently I’ve reffed approximately 2000 pro bouts, 42 world-title fights and officiated in Australia, Germany, Chile, Panama, United Kingdom, Singapore, Mexico, Antigua, Hawaii, Washington, Connecticut and California. I had the opportunity to be a referee on THE CONTENDER, the TV reality show, for four years.”Jack recently assisted Robert Byrd at the IBF convention in Las Vegas in conducting the referee’s seminar.“I conduct seminars for professional boxing referees, judges and MMA officials. One of which is titled ‘The Theory of Stopping Fights – A Scientific Approach,’ based on 31 years experience assessing trauma victims as a firefighter/emergency medical technician and pro referee,” Reiss concluded.Here are some excerpts from an article written by Art Sorrentino, LAFD retiredAbout forty-five years ago, a teenager living in Brooklyn picked up a pair of boxing gloves and began a journey that has not yet come to an end.It was in the late 1960’s that Jack Reiss began boxing in backyard matches and then went on to compete in amateur fights known as “smokers.” The race was on. He continued his boxing education by participating in full contact kickboxing, and then there were many more “smokers.”By 1980 Jack had come west to become a member of the LAFD. He started a family, marrying Josephine, and together they have two children, Riley and Joseph. Twelve years later he promoted to captain, a rank he held until he retired in 2011. He also sells real estate with ReMax in Ventura County, helping fire families find and sell homes.Jack added to his boxing skills by playing organized hockey for a variety of teams, including the LAFD hockey team. There is a joke in there but it would just be too easy. Although Jack is retired from the LAFD, he is still very active in the boxing world as a referee. Jack is also an instructor for the California Athletic Commission, WBC, IBF, WBO and the British Columbia Commission.On October 25, 2014, after forty five years of competing in and refereeing the sport of boxing, Jack received an honor that is reserved for a select few. He was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame. This is very thin air indeed.According to Bruce Young, also LAFD retired, “Jack has and is still having a stellar career as one of the premier men working inside the ropes and has obviously commanded the attention and respect of his peers in the professional world of boxing.” And Bruce should know, as he comes from a pro boxing family himself.To give you an idea of how highly Jack is regarded, here are just a few of the former inductees: Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson, Kid Gavilan, Manny Pacquiao, Carlos Palomino, Oscar de la Hoya and Shane Mosley.Jack will be remembered not only as a retired member of the LAFD but also as a world renowned boxing referee. Congratulations to you, Jack, for being inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame.
TRAINER HARRY WILEY “WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR” DAD
“AS I REMEMBER” BIOGRAPHY
as told to me by his son HARRY WILEY, JR., Written by Ellen Berman
AUDIO VERSION OF TRAINER HARRY WILEY’S BIOGRAPHY
Harry Wiley Sr. was born in New York City on October 23, 1907. Harry Wiley Sr. was raised on the first floor of a two family home that his Dad owned in Montclair, NJ. His Dad was a postal worker and a very hands on loving father. His wife passed away when the children were very young, and his sister moved into the home and helped to raise his children. Harry Sr.’s Aunt was a teacher and knew many languages….and was so very loving to her niece and nephews. Harry Wiley Sr. grew up with so much refinement, class and a loving household. His Aunt was like an Angel at this very difficult time after losing their mother. Harry Wiley Sr. deeply loved his Dad, siblings, and Aunt. Sadly, they all died at a very young age and this broke Harry Sr.’s heart. His brother at a very young age was run over by a taxicab in Manhattan. It seems like Harry Wiley Sr. turned his heartbreak into a love for people and a love for every moment and every good thing that life had to offer. This is the cement foundation that molded Harry Wiley, Sr. into this extraordinary boxing trainer and Dad. Every interview on www.boxingbios.com has a theme song and his son Harry Wiley, Jr., who I will refer to as HWJr. throughout this biography , did not hesitate to tell me that his father was the “When You Wish Upon A Star’ Dad, Trainer and Human Being. HWJr. began to recite some of the lyrics of the song that summed up his Dad so well..
“WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR”
Makes no difference who you areAnything your heart desiresWill come to you.If your heart is in your dreamNo request is too extremeWhen you wish upon a starAs dreamers do.
If you could dream up a Dad, best friend and mentor….that dream came true for HWJr. HWJr. was raised with both parents until he was seven years old. When his parents went their separate ways, HWJr. lived with his Dad in New York City until age 11. When HWJr. was 11 he was at his Dad’s side when he was rushed to the hospital and died of a heart attack at age 63. Harry Wiley, Sr. was in his mid-50’s when his only son was born. He went everywhere and did everything with his Dad. His father took him on trips, to fights and would tell him stories that built a cement foundation for his treasured son. Harry Wiley the Trainer didn’t tell his son what was right and wrong…he showed him through action. HW Jr. has such fond memories of his Dad getting him all dressed up in his school uniform and putting on the finishing touch of placing the little bow tie around his neck and sending him off to the private catholic elementary school down the street in their Harlem neighborhood. Good character, hard work, kindness, acting like a gentleman at all times…HWJr. was taught all of that by his father…because that is the way his father lived. Some of the most powerful and successful boxers in the world couldn’t survive without their trainer Harry Wiley. Wiley, as they used to call him, was their psychiatrist, father figure, brother figure, chef, physical therapist, financial advisor and character builder. So many distractions and problems would go on behind the scenes in the lives of boxers. Wiley traveled all over the world for 25 years as the trainer for Middle Weight Champion Sugar Ray Robinson. HWJr. remembers Sugar Ray coming over to their house and begging Wiley to make him some of his famous beef stew. Wiley insisted that he didn’t have the ingredients on hand and he would make it tomorrow because it was so late. Sugar Ray had such a craving for his beef stew that night so Wiley told him if you buy the beef, potatoes, carrots, etc. he would cook it for him. Imagine sending the Five Time Middle Weight Champion of the World out to the grocery store. Wiley made the most delicious beef stew…just as he did for so many years when they were on the road together. Harry Wiley Sr. not only owned Wiley’s Gym on 137th Street in Harlem, he owned a restaurant and a niteclub. He was a very industrious man. Wiley was know as the biggest class act in the entire boxing world…and Wiley’s Gym in Harlem was a one-stop shop for anything and everything that a boxer would need.
Here is what Muhammad Ali thought of Trainer Harry Wiley, Sr.
Here is an article that was written by Harry Wiley Jr. as a tribute to his “When You Wish Upon A Star” Dad and Published in Volume 2015 THE BOXING MAGAZINE.COM in 2009.
My dad was Harry Wiley the trainer of Sugar Ray Robinson . He was born October 23, 1907 in New York City. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in Manhattan, New York he decided to have a go at boxing. He started pretty good and won his first seven fights, then “disaster” He got hit by a Taxi and broke his leg. That was sadly the end of what could have been his promising boxing career but he had developed a love for this fine sport and started hanging around gyms. It was there he met Jack Blackburn and started working with young boxers, mostly amateurs. He also worked with the boxer Henry Armstrong. Henry Armstrong was famous for being the first fighter to hold three world championships simultaneously. That was the end of what could have been his promising Boxing in the ring…but the beginning of another amazing career in Boxing. Back then, being a trainer was different! You couldn’t just carry a bucket or a water bottle, or yell at your fighter, “you Da Man!” Or as I recently heard a cornerman yell at his fighter “You’ re the big DAWG!” now go out there and eat. No you had to actually know something about the game. I am relating these stories as I remember hearing from my dad as he spoke with his friends and other fighters. First of all, as a cornerman, (notice I didn’t say trainer, that’s a whole other job) your job was to assist the trainer or what they call the chief second, the man responsible for the corner. These duties may include taking care of the mouthpiece, the boxers gloves, shoes. Yes shoes! New boxing shoes were, and still are smooth and must be “marked up, ” with scissors or a fingernail file. Your job was not yelling at any body, actually you weren’t allowed to say anything, that was the trainers job and you were not to ever interfere during the round breaks. The fighter needs to hear only one voice in the corner and that’s the voice of the head trainer. In Ray’s case, his corner was run by two old smoothies, manager George Gainsford and my dad Harry Wiley, who were with him from the beginning, at Salem crescent church in Harlem. There was no yelling come on, you’re Da Man stuff, everything was small and concentrated… a wink and a nod between George and Harry was all that was needed. This made seamless, smooth running of the corner. The prior was not a statement from me but from an article I read in ring magazine, about the great sugar man’s corner. I have fond memories of my dad’s stories about Sugar Ray Robinson. My dad played a pivotal role as trainer to the greatest fighter pound for pound in the history of the game, and on top of that he was Muhammad Ali’s trainer for two fights as well as Ellis and Mathis before he died.
HENRY HASCUP “THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS” HISTORIAN/ANNOUNCER
AUDIO VERSION OF HENRY HASCUP’S BIO READ BY ELLEN BERMAN
Dad’s Biography (AS WE REMEMBER) Excerpts from interviews with Henry Hascup’s Son….David Hascup & Daughter….Kim Hascup written by Ellen Berman
Hascup was born on October 8, 1948 in Paterson, NJ. I am going to start this biography by telling you Henry’s boxing story. Henry is often known as the “Uncrowned King of Sports Information”. Henry is a dapper ring announcer that has announced over a thousand boxing shows in the New Jersey and New York metropolitan area. He is also the Heavyweight Champion of the world in boxing support. Henry Hascup takes pride in his affiliation with the sport of boxing. Sports writers from all over the world call Henry at home to verify sports information as factual. This boxing historian has over 10,000 sports magazines and 2,000 sports books as well as an incredible amount of sports memorabilia dating back to the 1800’s. He is often called to do eulogies at funerals for boxers where he finishes by giving a “9” count and feels honored to do so. Henry got hooked on boxing when he was a child and read the magazines, “Boxing Illustrated” and “The Ring”. Almost sixty years later…Henry is an appreciated, respected boxing figure throughout New Jersey….both on the amateur and professional level. Henry Hascup is the longtime president of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame as well as the New Jersey Diamond Gloves and The New Jersey Association of USA Boxing. Henry is also a noted boxing historian and ring announcer. Henry takes a tremendous amount of pride in being a family man that cherishes every moment with his wife, children and many grandchildren. As far as the boxing world, I think Henry takes this most pride in being there for his ongoing charitable endeavors for both financial and moral support for boxers and boxing families. Henry never turns down a phone call…and most days his phone rings off the hook from boxers and boxing families. His wife Joyce told me that he takes as much care talking to phone call#1 as he does to phone call#60. Henry has so much love and respect for everyone…I don’t know how one man can be so much to so many. His hard knocks as a child helps him to relate to everybody in the most positive way. Henry has turned every scar in his life into a star.Henry’s personal life shaped him into the man he is today. He was born into the Hascup family but was taken away when he was an infant and became a foster child. Henry thought his name was Bruce McKnight until the age of 8, the name given to him by the kind McKnight foster family. They were led to believe that they would be able to adopt him one day. To the McKnight’s heartbreak the foster system took Henry away at age 8 and shuffled him around to another foster home in Newark until Henry was given no choice and made a decision to rejoin Ed and Mabel Hascup and his siblings at the age of 10 years old. When Henry went back to his birth parents they lived in a cold-water flat in Paterson right behind the jailhouse. It was the first time Henry knew what it was like to be poor. He would tell us that there was no hot water , no bathtub and if he found an apple on the ground he would eat it because he was so hungry. It seems that even as a child Henry knew how to make the best of everything. Even under these circumstances he never complained…he was heartbroken to see the way his family had to survive. Henry is probably the most grateful person in the world. Henry graduated from Passaic County Technical High School and retired after 37 years of service with the Public Service Gas & Electric Company. Henry married at a very young age to a cute girl that also went through the foster system and they had four children together. The marriage did not work out and Henry fought hard for custody of all four children. He was delighted to raise his children but couldn’t have done it without the help of his older daughter Kim. Kim happened to be 8 years old at the time of the divorce and put down her dolls and traded them for pots and pans to run the house. She loved her role as right hand person to her Dad and found enjoyment cooking, cleaning and nurturing her two youngest siblings. (No wonder she now has a very rewarding career as a Children’s Service Social Worker.) Henry’s son David’s earliest memories of his Dad are as a SuperHero that made the Impossible Possible. Henry Hascup is the WIND BENEATH MY WINGS DAD. He said that his Dad had absolutely no time on his hands but made time for everything and made it look effortless. On top of working a full-time job with the PSE&G he raised four children 8 years old and under and enjoyed every moment of it. Somehow, he would bring David to baseball practice, his brother Henry to Judo & wrestling practice, sisters Kim & Kathy to Dance and Modeling Class and he would be everywhere! David to this day cannot figure out how his father could do all of this. David recalls that one day his baseball coach did not show up for practice….so from that day on with no hesitation, his father became the coach for the team. Henry would fill the need for his children in a heartbeat. He was a cub scout and boy scout leader, girl scout leader and one year he was even a brownie leader, besides being a PTA member. David remembers that his father would quite often look at all four kids in such a loving way, and tell them that they are his life and he wouldn’t be able to breathe without them. Kim remembers that her Dad would always encourage them to do their very best to win at sports and to take pride in their school work. Both David and Kim remember their Dad following them to all of their events with a giant professional video camera (technology) that weighed a ton and he carried it around on his shoulder. (No wonder Henry’s son David is a Senior Computer Programmer/Analyst at one of the top companies in the United States.) Henry would film everything everywhere that they went…baseball games, football games, wrestling matches, amusement parks, dance classes, modeling classes, etc. Everybody thought that his children were celebrities and he was the paparazzi. In fact David had the funniest story about his Dad filming. David was on a football team when he was eight and kept insisting that his team needed elbow pads like the big guys. Henry kept telling his son that they were too little to need something like that. Well one day, Henry was standing on top of a hill with that big heavy video camera trying to get nice aerial shots of his David’s football game…and something strange was going on. Henry almost tumbled off of the hill when he zooms this sophisticated camera in and sees his son passing out his sister Kim’s sanitary pads and wrapping them around the teams elbows and using them as football elbow pads. By the way, David told me that his father would make tapes for other kids and would help them make highlight tapes that would get them into college. David said that his father spent every dime he had on his children and took pleasure in doing so. Henry did try to cut corners by giving his kids haircuts instead of going to the salon. The haircuts were choppy but they respected their father so much they didn’t tell them that the beautician neighbor (that ended up being their Dad’s wife years later) would fix their bad haircuts. . David said that all four of Henry’s children look up to their Dad…that Henry Hascup is everything to them. David does not recall his father buying anything for himself. Kim recalls packing a liverwurst sandwich for her Dad’s lunch every day…that is all he wanted. David told me that he is a good Dad like his father and people always applaud him for being a great father. With great emotion David told me that if he could be half the father that Henry Hascup is he would be happy. This is a story of a family that would finally become better than the Brady Bunch. Henry was blessed with meeting a dream come true Beautiful Beautician that lived right in the neighborhood named Joyce. When David was 13 years old and Henry was a single Dad for about eight years cupid shot his arrow and Henry found the love of his life…a single mother of four. Henry started talking to Joyce at a football game. Actually, Henry knew Joyce for a while because his children were friends with her children. He knew Joyce was single and was delighted when she agreed to date him…it took a while for him to get up the courage to ask her out. Henry was so smitten with Joyce. His children already loved and knew Joyce as the warm and cool Mom of their friends. They got married…moved into Henry’s house…Henry had four kids and a siberian husky and Joyce had four kids and a siberian husky and they live better than happily ever after for almost 30 years later. What a love story.The following letter was written by daughter Kim Hascup for the whole world to see onFather’s Day – June 2015….To my dad Henry Hascup… HAPPY FATHERS DAY.. to a man who has always put his kids first. Through good times and tough times ..through laughter and tears..he always stood proud of who he was and what he stood for.. he is selfless.. devoted..strong willed..loving..caring.. determined…and the list goes on.. he has taught us to be independent and never give up. I thank God for his strength and devotion everyday because I would not be the human being I am today.. life is busy and we really never stop to say I love you and tell you how much you have always been appreciated DAD… you have been our rock and our hero…it takes an incredible human being to raise 4 bratty kids on your own…but I have to say you did an incredible job . Happy Fathers Day…you deserve the best of everything..and Thank you for your unconditional love and devotion ♡ Henry Hascup What a great tribute to “The Wind Beneath My Wing”s Dad, Sports World Legend and Human Being.
[Background Music for “Wind Beneath My Wings”]
AUDIO VERSION OF DAD’S BIOGRAPHY READ BY ELLEN BERMAN
DAD’S BIOGRAPHY (AS I REMEMBER) by Ellen BermanPhilip (Phil) Berman was born Philmore Berman, on September 2, 1926 in Paterson, NJ. Phil was born into a proud and hard working eastern european immigrant Jewish family. He had one younger sibling, Marvin. His life was deeply influenced by warm and loving grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. They all lived within walking distance and often gathered together to eat dinner and tell stories and have lots of belly laughs of days gone by. Phil Berman was a brave man that had an amazing career as an amateur and professional boxer winning the golden gloves and diamond gloves. He was up on top boxing in front of thousands of screaming fans at Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium in New York. He served his country in WWII in the Navy. He came back a decorated war hero winning the Purple Heart of Courage. Phil won the Navy Boxing Olympics overseas. Phil served a few years as a heroic City of Paterson NJ Fireman, and the rest of his career as Lieutenant assigned as the Director of Instruction and Physical Fitness for the New Jersey State Police Headquarters.Phil’s father Louis, and his mother Lillian, named their first born Philmore because they admired President Millard Fillmore. They believed that their son was destined for greatness. Grandpa Louis was the eldest in his family and was greatly loved, admired and depended upon by his family. He became quite successful in Paterson as the owner of Louis Berman Plumbing and the President of a commercial real estate firm that he named after me…Ellen Sue Realty Company… a year after I was born … by the way I was born on Grandpa’s birthday…April 29th. Grandma Lillian had a very rough childhood, as she and her siblings grew up in the Paterson Daughters of Miriam Orphanage. Grandma Lillian deeply loved her husband, sons and grandchildren. She was a gourmet cook and collected gorgeous antiques. Lillian worked part-time as a private duty nurse and was one of the best in her field. Lillian opened up a liquor store when she was in her mid-fifties and always had a pot of delicious chicken soup on a hotplate in the back. Phil adored his parents and throughout his life no matter how busy he was, Dad would visit his parents and spend quality time with them at least a few times a week.Phil was an excellent student and athlete. He took pride in everything that he did. He played football for Eastside High School in Paterson, NJ. He was a gifted athlete and was approached by a scout for a college football scholarship. {By the way, his eldest grandson became a Division 1 Athlete and graduated from a prestigious University.} Young Phil Berman told the scout he wanted to join the navy and be a boxer and college was not what he wanted to do upon graduation from high school. While Phil was still in high school, age 15, he pretended to be 18 and became an amateur boxer and went on to be a professional boxer. Phil Berman won the diamond gloves, golden gloves, and was one of the three contenders that was a threat to the only undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky Marciano. { This fact about Phil Berman is mentioned on p.42 of Marciano’s biography {ROCKY MARCIANO: THE ROCK OF HIS TIMES}. Many people wondered why Dad’s promising career as a boxer was cut short. He was too proud to tell people that his boxing career was cut short because his wrist was badly injured in a plane crash when he was in the navy. When Phil returned from overseas and resumed his professional boxing career he realized that his punch power was not the same. His wrist injury worsened the more he continued in the ring. Even though his pro boxing career was cut short Dad was able to teach boxing at the NJ State Police Academy for the rest of his career.The Prolific Phil Berman wasn’t only bigger than life as a boxer…he was a brave fireman that saved lives in a chemical tank explosion. The newspaper reported and I will quote from THE PATERSON NEWS, “It was impossible to raise the body of Malone from the tank because of agitator blades on the inside of the tank. Fireman Phil Berman, well known Heavyweight Boxer, then decsended into the tank and with almost super human strength lifted the body of Malone between the blade until the top tank was reached.” Mr. Malone survived.Dad was proud to serve his country overseas in the Navy, serve his city as a Fireman, and serve his state as a Lieutenant in the NJ State Police. He was asked to develop a physical fitness manual that was distributed throughout the United States. He recruited me to be his right hand person for this important task. I took pictures and typed up this manual on our home typewriter when I was a young teen. So many fathers were not allowed to bring their children to work with them, especially in the 1960’s. I was so fortunate to occasionally go to work with my Dad. It made me feel so smart and so important because he always found a way for me to help him with something. When Dad was a State Trooper he was selected for special event details to the White House in Washington, D.C. to guard President Kennedy, President Johnson and President Carter. {Proud to report that Phil’s son has a very important career in Washington, D.C. putting his math genius to work.}Phil married Doris on November 19, 1950 and they had five children together (eldest to youngest) Ellen, Laurie, Joseph, Hedy and Dori. Phil met his future wife when she was competing in the Miss New Jersey Beauty contest. Doris was a child prodigy pianist and piano was her talent in the contest. On top of it all, she was a gorgeous knockout. The rest is history. Phil loved to sing…. so Doris played the piano and Phil sang…it surely sounded like a good combination. They looked like the couple on top of a wedding cake. In the 50’s the theme was “I’ll Buy That Dream”. Their dreams turned into many trials and tribulations.Phil loved being a son, father and grandfather. He enjoyed the precious moments of life. Phil was a great storyteller; if he wasn’t telling exciting stories about his childhood and boxing career he would be singing. To me, he sounded better than Frank Sinatra and Robert Goulet. When we were growing up, Dad would sit at the edge of the bed and sing songs to us before we would go to sleep. His favorite song was a song that was very popular in WWII…. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS…He would sing so beautifully…”When your worried and you can’t sleep…just count your blessings instead of sheep and you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.” He loved singing, reading, spelling, movie trivia, boxing, swimming, running, bowling. Speaking of bowling…Dad would take me to his State Police bowling league on Tuesday evenings. I became their official score keeper when I was in elementary school. Dad’s favorite meal was steak and spaghetti….he ordered it right away when he returned from overseas in WWII. Phil loved food…on Sunday mornings we would go to Jerry and Joe’s Deli in Levittown to pick up lox and bagels if we were in town. We usually were out of town visiting the grandparents in Paterson and Passaic for the weekend. Dad found his passion in all of his career choices. He would take my sister Laurie (she always knew how to make me laugh) and me to work with him to the NJ State Police Academy. We would swim in the indoor pool, play in the gym, and be on the sidelines when he gave Academic and Physical Fitness classes to his recruits. {No wonder three of his daughters became educators.}Dad declared his daughter Ellen as one of the three major forms of communication in the 60’s…TELE VISION & TELE PHONE & TELE ELLEN. Dad gave me this title when I was in second grade. We were living in an apartment in Trenton. I was seven years old and was on my first school field trip to Millside Farms. I had my nose pressed on that school bus window the whole time so that I could report every detail to my Dad as soon as he got home from work. All of a sudden, I see these cute brand new model homes on the side of Highway Route 130. I anxiously wrote down the phone number that was on the sign. I was jumping out of my seat with excitement. I let my teacher and classmates know that when I told my Daddy about these houses he would surely buy one for our family. Dad called the number the next day and we went on a tour of the model homes the following weekend. Two months later we moved into our affordable post-war light green and dark green corner lot cape cod home in the Pennypacker Park section of Levittown, NJ.Phil’s entire life was filled with adventure and never boring. He would sneak out of the house when he was growing up and meet his friends on street corners making what he called “roast potewts”. Phil and all of his buddies would light a bonfire and kid around roasting these “potewts”..aka potatoes…on the edge of a stick. Dad had so much charisma. The whole room would light up when he entered. Most weekends he would pile all the kids in the car and drop us off to spend the weekend with our grandparents in North Jersey. We would stop at the Howard Johnson’s on the turnpike for something to eat. When Dad would walk in people thought he owned the place. I remember Dad inviting other families to sit down and eat with us. Sometimes Jerry Stiller and Ann Meara ate with us. They were booked for comic gigs on the road at the time. Dad’s friend, Jack LaLanne the fitness guru, would eat with us too. Dad was very well known in New Jersey. Phil looked like a million dollars when he would wear his custom made fine suits. Everywhere we went, people would know Phil Berman. Once he would engage in a conversation, it could go on for hours. Why not; he was charismatic, intelligent, interesting and had a great sense of humor. He loved to talk and he loved people.Phil retired from the NJ State Police when he was in his early fifties so that he could enjoy time with his son and two youngest daughters attending high school and beginning college in Arizona. He was flying back and forth for many years to see them (my mother and younger siblings moved to Arizona my senior year of high school) and he was so happy to finally make Tucson his home. Dad was so very proud of the scholastic and sports accomplishments of his children. Phil was the President of their fan clubs. Our Dad, President Philmore, always encouraged his children to do their best and have fun. Dad would be sitting in the front row relishing every moment that he spent cheering his champions on at their football games, handball matches and gymnastic meets.Dad passed away at the age of 67 on May 4, 1994 of congestive heart failure. His gravesite is at the National Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix, AZ. My father lives on in my heart. Dad is present in all aspects of my life. The time that I spent with my father and the memories that I have mean the world to me. I take so much pride in being the daughter of Phil Berman.
[Background Music “I’ll Buy That Dream”]
AUDIO VERSION OF JACK REISS REFEREE’S BIOGRAPHY
Jack Reiss was born into an immigrant Jewish Family on April 27, 1956 in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn New York. His father was born in Romania and his mother was Austrian. Jack’s father passed away when Jack was eight years old…and his mother never remarried and raised her three children by herself. Jack grew up in a very poor family but always had a loving home environment. Jack’s mother moved to Florida and lived to the age of 96. Jack is the baby of his family..he adores his older sister Arlene and older brother Rick. Jack loved being raised in the excitement of Coney Island. Jack always jokes about how he came to California at age 21 to visit his friend Scott Openheimer for a week and never left. Jack was always a “Jack of All Trades”. One of Joe’s favorite photos of his dad, Jack Reiss, is at age 13 when his father was wearing a sailor hat, rolled up jeans and PF Flyer sneakers pushing a Kmart shopping cart on the boardwalk of Coney Island selling hot pretzels and hot dogs. Jack Reiss is the father that made “A Wonderful World” for his lovely wife Josephine and his sons Riley and Joe. Jack and Josephine married when they were 28 years old and embraced Jack’s Jewish Culture and wife Josephine’s Mexican/Puerto Rican Culture and made a beautiful life together. Jack raised his family in Saugus, CA and upon retirement bought a beach house in Ventura, CA for his retirement days. Jack was raised a few blocks from the beach in Coney Island and now he is a few blocks from the beach in Ventura, CA. Jack Reiss is so multi-talented…he is a “Jack of All Trades”, master of all.…work clothing designer, business owner, fireman, referee, real estate executive, double black belt karate champion, etc., etc., etc. Jack Reiss is always busy and encouraged his sons to excel in school, have many interests, enjoy sports, stay busy, and always work hard in their careers. Jack’s son Joe is extremely grateful to have grown up with such a loving, strict, family oriented, and more than amazing human being that happens to be his father. Jack taught his sons to be leaders and to always put everything into whatever they set out to do…half way efforts were not acceptable. Jack Reiss was absolutely the father that he dreamed that he had when he was growing up. Joe said that it so humbling to be the son of Jack Reiss…his father always demonstrated great character, hard work, passion for food, love of life, helping people and making the best of everything. Jack Reiss turned very tough times into a wonderful world…that is why he is the “What a Wonderful World” Dad. Here are some lyrics that describe Jack Reiss.
What a Wonderful World
Lyrics by Louis Armstrong
I see trees of green, red roses, too,
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue, and clouds of white,
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world.
When the (911) September 11, 2001 tragedy happened in Jack’s hometown of New York City, Fire Captain Jack Reiss gathered other fireman from Los Angeles and immediately hopped a plane working side by side with the New York Fire Department at this very sad time in history…again trying to turn a tragedy back into “A Wonderful World”.
Here is a wonderful article written by Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing
World championship referee Jack Reiss has worked in more than 2000 professional boxing matches and 42 world title bouts including Julio Chavez Jr vs Sebastian Zbik, Danny Green vs Manny Siaca and Mikkel Kessler vs Andre Ward. Reiss talks to Fight News…
Reiss said, “I born Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1956. My dad died when I was eight. My mom worked every day — rain or shine — taking trains to Manhattan for the next 30+ years to support herself and us. Growing up I boxed, played baseball, football and hockey. At 14, I became interested in martial arts.
“At 23, I broke a bone in my right foot in a full-contact kickboxing bout, went to Los Angeles for a two-week rest and stayed, becoming an LAFD firefighter. I made Captain in ’92. During 9-11 I spent 15 days at Ground Zero with the LAFD-CISM team assisting with the rescue and recovery operation after the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Reiss continued, “I boxed and played hockey for the LAFD. In 1998 I became a professional boxing referee. Currently I’ve reffed approximately 2000 pro bouts, 42 world-title fights and officiated in Australia, Germany, Chile, Panama, United Kingdom, Singapore, Mexico, Antigua, Hawaii, Washington, Connecticut and California. I had the opportunity to be a referee on THE CONTENDER, the TV reality show, for four years.”
Jack recently assisted Robert Byrd at the IBF convention in Las Vegas in conducting the referee’s seminar.
“I conduct seminars for professional boxing referees, judges and MMA officials. One of which is titled ‘The Theory of Stopping Fights – A Scientific Approach,’ based on 31 years experience assessing trauma victims as a firefighter/emergency medical technician and pro referee,” Reiss concluded.
Here are some excerpts from an article written by
Art Sorrentino, LAFD retired
About forty-five years ago, a teenager living in Brooklyn picked up a pair of boxing gloves and began a journey that has not yet come to an end.
It was in the late 1960’s that Jack Reiss began boxing in backyard matches and then went on to compete in amateur fights known as “smokers.” The race was on. He continued his boxing education by participating in full contact kickboxing, and then there were many more “smokers.”
By 1980 Jack had come west to become a member of the LAFD. He started a family, marrying Josephine, and together they have two children, Riley and Joseph. Twelve years later he promoted to captain, a rank he held until he retired in 2011. He also sells real estate with ReMax in Ventura County, helping fire families find and sell homes.
Jack added to his boxing skills by playing organized hockey for a variety of teams, including the LAFD hockey team. There is a joke in there but it would just be too easy.
Although Jack is retired from the LAFD, he is still very active in the boxing world as a referee. Jack is also an instructor for the California Athletic Commission, WBC, IBF, WBO and the British Columbia Commission.
On October 25, 2014, after forty five years of competing in and refereeing the sport of boxing, Jack received an honor that is reserved for a select few. He was inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame. This is very thin air indeed.
According to Bruce Young, also LAFD retired, “Jack has and is still having a stellar career as one of the premier men working inside the ropes and has obviously commanded the attention and respect of his peers in the professional world of boxing.” And Bruce should know, as he comes from a pro boxing family himself.
To give you an idea of how highly Jack is regarded, here are just a few of the former inductees: Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson, Kid Gavilan, Manny Pacquiao, Carlos Palomino, Oscar de la Hoya and Shane Mosley.
Jack will be remembered not only as a retired member of the LAFD but also as a world renowned boxing referee. Congratulations to you, Jack, for being inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame.
