Pittsburgh Lives: Men and Women Who Shaped Our City

257 Pages·2001·5.57 MB·English

by  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh_Lives_4.1.qxd:Chicago_Lives_Final_3.0-f.qxd 9/28/06 2:46 PM Page i
PI T TS B U RG H L I V E S
MEN AND WOMEN WHO SHAPED OUR CIT Y
E D I T E D B Y
D AV I D M . S H R I B M A N A N D A N G E L I K A K A N E
Pittsburgh_Lives_4.1.qxd:Chicago_Lives_Final_3.0-f.qxd 9/28/06 2:46 PM Page ii
Contents
Copyright © 2006 by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii
transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or
Section I: Academia, Health, and Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Triumph Books,
542 South Dearborn Street, Suite 750, Chicago, Illinois 60605. Jonas Salk • Herbert A. Simon
Section II: Authors, Activists, and Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gertrude Stein • Mary Roberts Rinehart • Andy Warhol • Stefan Lorant •
Pittsburgh lives : men and women who shaped our city / Pittsburgh Dahlen K. Ritchey • Molly Yard • Reverend LeRoy Patrick
Post-Gazette ; edited by David M. Shribman and Angelika Kane.
Section III: Business, Labor, and Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57243-900-9 H.J. Heinz • Andrew Carnegie • Joseph A. “Jock” Yablonski • Willard F.
ISBN-10: 1-57243-900-9 Rockwell • I.W. Abel
1. Pittsburgh (Pa.)—Biography. 2. Obituaries—Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh. I.
Shribman, David M. II. Kane, Angelika. Section IV: Characters in Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
F159.P653A273 2006
William A. “Gus” Greenlee • Robert R. Lansberry • Dante “Tex” Gill
920'.074886—dc22
2006023740 Section V: Classic Pittsburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
John Minadeo • Ivo Fatigati • Joey Diven • James Blandi Sr.• George Zambelli
This book is available in quantity at special discounts for your group or organization.
For further information, contact: Sr. • William Block • Bill Lenhart • Wayne Rotstein
Section VI: In the Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Triumph Books
Josh Gibson Sr. • Honus Wagner • Harold Joseph “Pie” Traynor • Roberto
542 S. Dearborn St.
Clemente • Danny Murtaugh • Lloyd Waner • Fritzie Zivic • Bob Prince • Art
Suite 750
Rooney Sr. • Bob Johnson • Billy Conn • Wilver Dornel “Willie” Stargell •
Chicago, IL 60605
Willie Thrower • Dick Stuart • Herb Brooks • John “Red” Manning • Marshall
[phone]
Goldberg
Fax [phone]
Section VII: In the Pulpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Printed in U.S.A.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57243-900-9 Regis Canevin • James R. Cox • Kathryn Kuhlman • John Joseph Wright •
ISBN-10: 1-57243-900-9 Solomon B. Freehof • Sister Michele O’Leary • Charles Owen Rice
Design by Chris Mulligan
Cover design by Paul Petrowsky Section VIII: Music and All That Jazz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Stephen Collins Foster • William Steinberg • Billy Eckstine • Johnny Costa •
All photographs courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette unless otherwise indicated. Stanley Turrentine • Perry Como • Nicholas P. Lomakin • Leonard Litman
Pittsburgh_Lives_4.1.qxd:Chicago_Lives_Final_3.0-f.qxd 9/28/06 2:46 PM Page ii
Contents
Copyright © 2006 by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vii
transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or
Section I: Academia, Health, and Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Triumph Books,
542 South Dearborn Street, Suite 750, Chicago, Illinois 60605. Jonas Salk • Herbert A. Simon
Section II: Authors, Activists, and Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gertrude Stein • Mary Roberts Rinehart • Andy Warhol • Stefan Lorant •
Pittsburgh lives : men and women who shaped our city / Pittsburgh Dahlen K. Ritchey • Molly Yard • Reverend LeRoy Patrick
Post-Gazette ; edited by David M. Shribman and Angelika Kane.
Section III: Business, Labor, and Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57243-900-9 H.J. Heinz • Andrew Carnegie • Joseph A. “Jock” Yablonski • Willard F.
ISBN-10: 1-57243-900-9 Rockwell • I.W. Abel
1. Pittsburgh (Pa.)—Biography. 2. Obituaries—Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh. I.
Shribman, David M. II. Kane, Angelika. Section IV: Characters in Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
F159.P653A273 2006
William A. “Gus” Greenlee • Robert R. Lansberry • Dante “Tex” Gill
920'.074886—dc22
2006023740 Section V: Classic Pittsburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
John Minadeo • Ivo Fatigati • Joey Diven • James Blandi Sr.• George Zambelli
This book is available in quantity at special discounts for your group or organization.
For further information, contact: Sr. • William Block • Bill Lenhart • Wayne Rotstein
Section VI: In the Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Triumph Books
Josh Gibson Sr. • Honus Wagner • Harold Joseph “Pie” Traynor • Roberto
542 S. Dearborn St.
Clemente • Danny Murtaugh • Lloyd Waner • Fritzie Zivic • Bob Prince • Art
Suite 750
Rooney Sr. • Bob Johnson • Billy Conn • Wilver Dornel “Willie” Stargell •
Chicago, IL 60605
Willie Thrower • Dick Stuart • Herb Brooks • John “Red” Manning • Marshall
[phone]
Goldberg
Fax [phone]
Section VII: In the Pulpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Printed in U.S.A.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57243-900-9 Regis Canevin • James R. Cox • Kathryn Kuhlman • John Joseph Wright •
ISBN-10: 1-57243-900-9 Solomon B. Freehof • Sister Michele O’Leary • Charles Owen Rice
Design by Chris Mulligan
Cover design by Paul Petrowsky Section VIII: Music and All That Jazz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Stephen Collins Foster • William Steinberg • Billy Eckstine • Johnny Costa •
All photographs courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette unless otherwise indicated. Stanley Turrentine • Perry Como • Nicholas P. Lomakin • Leonard Litman
Pittsburgh_Lives_4.1.qxd:Chicago_Lives_Final_3.0-f.qxd 9/28/06 2:46 PM Page iv
Section IX: On the Air, Stage, and Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
Acknowledgments
Gene Kelly • Jimmy Stewart • Fred Rogers • August Wilson
Section X: On the Stump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
David L. Lawrence • Richard S. Caliguiri • John Heinz III • Thomas J. Foerster •
Peter F. Flaherty • K. Leroy Irvis • Robert E. O’Connor Jr.
Section XI: Philanthropists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229 he Pittsburgh Post-Gazette would like Lockwood, Frank Lucchino, Anne
to thank the following people for Madarasz, Susan Mannella, Andy
Helen Clay Frick • H.J. Heinz II • Paul Melon • Frieda Shapira • Cordelia T
their assistance with this project: Masich, John McGinley, Christopher
Scaife May
Allison Alexander, Kyra Brogden, John Rawson, Larry Roberts, Jim Roddey,
Butler, Doreen Boyce, Gene Collier, Clarke Thomas, Lillian Thomas, Lauren
Cindy Denman, Bill Green, Sy Holzer, Uhl, Marylynn Uricchio, Larry Walsh,
Bob Hoover, Stephen Karlinchak, Robert Allan Walton, and Sylvia Wilson.
Pittsburgh_Lives_4.1.qxd:Chicago_Lives_Final_3.0-f.qxd 9/28/06 2:46 PM Page iv
Section IX: On the Air, Stage, and Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
Acknowledgments
Gene Kelly • Jimmy Stewart • Fred Rogers • August Wilson
Section X: On the Stump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
David L. Lawrence • Richard S. Caliguiri • John Heinz III • Thomas J. Foerster •
Peter F. Flaherty • K. Leroy Irvis • Robert E. O’Connor Jr.
Section XI: Philanthropists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229 he Pittsburgh Post-Gazette would like Lockwood, Frank Lucchino, Anne
to thank the following people for Madarasz, Susan Mannella, Andy
Helen Clay Frick • H.J. Heinz II • Paul Melon • Frieda Shapira • Cordelia T
their assistance with this project: Masich, John McGinley, Christopher
Scaife May
Allison Alexander, Kyra Brogden, John Rawson, Larry Roberts, Jim Roddey,
Butler, Doreen Boyce, Gene Collier, Clarke Thomas, Lillian Thomas, Lauren
Cindy Denman, Bill Green, Sy Holzer, Uhl, Marylynn Uricchio, Larry Walsh,
Bob Hoover, Stephen Karlinchak, Robert Allan Walton, and Sylvia Wilson.
Pittsburgh_Lives_4.1.qxd:Chicago_Lives_Final_3.0-f.qxd 9/28/06 2:46 PM Page vi
vii
Introduction
ootfalls. Always you can hear them city that has what some of the newer
in our town. They crop up late at American cities lack: a center. A heart.
Fnight when the air is still and the A soul. And memories—lots and lots of
skies are dark. They echo sometimes in memories.
the early morning when the air is fresh. Memories here are oil paintings, not
They hit the pavement Downtown— misty watercolors. They are memories
where the steel barons once trod—and of the big men and strong women of
up in Oakland, where the early medical the industrial age and the musicians
pioneers once toiled. Here in Pittsburgh, who heard the rhythms of city life in
city of steel and the Steelers, of rivers the golden age of jazz. They are memo-
and the Three Rivers Arts Festival, of ries of great Steelers past—long may
jazz masters and symphony maestros, their legacy endure.
we never walk the streets alone. The Because many of the giants who
footfalls are always there. made Pittsburgh great are no longer
They are the footfalls of Billy with us, we’ve turned to the library of
Eckstine and Stanley Turrentine, who the city’s great newspaper, the Pittsburgh
had beats all their own. They are the Post-Gazette, to unearth the stories of
footfalls of Jonas Salk and Herbert their lives. Pittsburgh Lives is a collec-
Simon, who beat science and medicine’s tion of the best of the peculiar newspa-
narrow expectations. They are the foot- per art form called the obituary. In this
steps of Marshall Goldberg and Lloyd volume we are sharing some of the
Waner, who beat almost everyone. treasure that has been buried, in some
Our skyline may be new—look cases for decades, within our own walls.
at our hospitals and our high-tech No collection like this can be com-
centers—but our streets and byways are plete. Some extraordinary lives are
not. And others walked them before us. necessarily omitted when the collection
They built the bridges that spanned is assembled by ordinary people. Some
the rivers. They built the plants that extraordinary lives escaped the attention
made America mobile, and they built of the newspaper’s reporters and editors,
the engines that kept America free. and thus never were assigned. But there
But they built something else, too— are other reasons why some of the most
something that endures along with the extraordinary residents of this town—
bridges and the skyscrapers. They built among them the writer Willa Cather,
a city and a tradition and a spirit that the musician Victor Herbert, the
soars. They built Pittsburgh, and in activist Mother Jones, and the soldier-
building it they built a great American statesman George C. Marshall—are
Pittsburgh_Lives_4.1.qxd:Chicago_Lives_Final_3.0-f.qxd 9/28/06 2:46 PM Page vi
vii
Introduction
ootfalls. Always you can hear them city that has what some of the newer
in our town. They crop up late at American cities lack: a center. A heart.
Fnight when the air is still and the A soul. And memories—lots and lots of
skies are dark. They echo sometimes in memories.
the early morning when the air is fresh. Memories here are oil paintings, not
They hit the pavement Downtown— misty watercolors. They are memories
where the steel barons once trod—and of the big men and strong women of
up in Oakland, where the early medical the industrial age and the musicians
pioneers once toiled. Here in Pittsburgh, who heard the rhythms of city life in
city of steel and the Steelers, of rivers the golden age of jazz. They are memo-
and the Three Rivers Arts Festival, of ries of great Steelers past—long may
jazz masters and symphony maestros, their legacy endure.
we never walk the streets alone. The Because many of the giants who
footfalls are always there. made Pittsburgh great are no longer
They are the footfalls of Billy with us, we’ve turned to the library of
Eckstine and Stanley Turrentine, who the city’s great newspaper, the Pittsburgh
had beats all their own. They are the Post-Gazette, to unearth the stories of
footfalls of Jonas Salk and Herbert their lives. Pittsburgh Lives is a collec-
Simon, who beat science and medicine’s tion of the best of the peculiar newspa-
narrow expectations. They are the foot- per art form called the obituary. In this
steps of Marshall Goldberg and Lloyd volume we are sharing some of the
Waner, who beat almost everyone. treasure that has been buried, in some
Our skyline may be new—look cases for decades, within our own walls.
at our hospitals and our high-tech No collection like this can be com-
centers—but our streets and byways are plete. Some extraordinary lives are
not. And others walked them before us. necessarily omitted when the collection
They built the bridges that spanned is assembled by ordinary people. Some
the rivers. They built the plants that extraordinary lives escaped the attention
made America mobile, and they built of the newspaper’s reporters and editors,
the engines that kept America free. and thus never were assigned. But there
But they built something else, too— are other reasons why some of the most
something that endures along with the extraordinary residents of this town—
bridges and the skyscrapers. They built among them the writer Willa Cather,
a city and a tradition and a spirit that the musician Victor Herbert, the
soars. They built Pittsburgh, and in activist Mother Jones, and the soldier-
building it they built a great American statesman George C. Marshall—are
Pittsburgh_Lives_4.1.qxd:Chicago_Lives_Final_3.0-f.qxd 9/28/06 2:46 PM Page 2
viii PIT TSBURGH LIVES MEN AND WOMEN WHO SHAPED OUR CIT Y
omitted. In the days in which these fig- along with Molly Yard’s obituary is the
ures died, the Post-Gazette didn’t always story of John Minadeo, the 15-year-old
write its own obituaries. All of those crossing guard who pushed children
obits were written by wire services and out of the way of the speeding car that
thus are not included in this volume. killed him in 1954 and whose name
And others—of the journalist Jane graces an elementary school in Squirrel
Swisshelm, the artist Mary Cassatt, the Hil. And along with the obituary of S E C T I O N
general George B. McClellan, and the Andy Warhol is the obituary of Joey
attorney general Philander C. Knox—we Diven, street fighter and Good Samaritan
I
simply could not find, very likely because of legend and lore. This volume would
they never ran in the Post-Gazette or its not be complete without accounts of
predecessor newspapers. those who fled their hometowns and
But this is not an occasion to dwell who abandoned most of society’s con-
on what we do not have. It is, instead, an ventions. For that reason we have
occasion to marvel at what is included. included Gary Rotstein’s tribute to his
Here is a remarkable obituary of the brother Wayne, whose life was fuller Academia, Health, and Medicine
playwright August Wilson and one on than most of the mysteries of life itself.
the writer Gertrude Stein. In these pages These obituaries tell us about the
you will read of Pie Traynor and time they were written and the time in
Roberto Clemente, of Cardinal John which we live today. By looking back, we
Wright, of Andrew Carnegie and Jock can see how our world was shaped by
Yablonski. And Stephen Foster and theirs. These are profiles in courage,
Perry Como and Fred Rogers. Plus creativity, and vision. They are sketched
In postmodern Pittsburgh it is commonplace to say that the
David L. Lawrence, Richard S. Caliguiri, in the blue skies of airy dreams and
Pete Flaherty, and Josh Gibson and etched in the concrete of gritty reality. city’s strength is its academic and medical power. But in an
Honus Wagner. Pittsburghers all, and They are a look back, to be sure, but age when we believe that universities, hospitals, and research
all in this book. they are much, much more than that. laboratories constitute the metaphorical steel mills of the
Most of the figures in this volume They are also a way to look at our own 21st century, it is easy to forget that academic and medical
are famous—or were famous in their lives. These stories instruct, and they power have been part of Pittsburgh’s landscape and person-
time. Their stories, taken together with inspire. Taken as a whole, these lives ality for half a century or more. The vitality of today’s
the stories of those who were less well- provide us with the ultimate lesson: Pittsburgh, to be sure, is in this sector. But the roots of that
known, provide a portrait of Pittsburgh these lives from another age teach us vitality were planted in the past.
that tells the history of this city and how to live in our own age.
region: Pittsburgh, Allegheny County,
and Southwestern Pennsylvania. These —David M. Shribman
people gave Pittsburgh its character and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
plotted its course. And for that reason, executive editor
Pittsburgh_Lives_4.1.qxd:Chicago_Lives_Final_3.0-f.qxd 9/28/06 2:46 PM Page 2
viii PIT TSBURGH LIVES MEN AND WOMEN WHO SHAPED OUR CIT Y
omitted. In the days in which these fig- along with Molly Yard’s obituary is the
ures died, the Post-Gazette didn’t always story of John Minadeo, the 15-year-old
write its own obituaries. All of those crossing guard who pushed children
obits were written by wire services and out of the way of the speeding car that
thus are not included in this volume. killed him in 1954 and whose name
And others—of the journalist Jane graces an elementary school in Squirrel
Swisshelm, the artist Mary Cassatt, the Hil. And along with the obituary of S E C T I O N
general George B. McClellan, and the Andy Warhol is the obituary of Joey
attorney general Philander C. Knox—we Diven, street fighter and Good Samaritan
I
simply could not find, very likely because of legend and lore. This volume would
they never ran in the Post-Gazette or its not be complete without accounts of
predecessor newspapers. those who fled their hometowns and
But this is not an occasion to dwell who abandoned most of society’s con-
on what we do not have. It is, instead, an ventions. For that reason we have
occasion to marvel at what is included. included Gary Rotstein’s tribute to his
Here is a remarkable obituary of the brother Wayne, whose life was fuller Academia, Health, and Medicine
playwright August Wilson and one on than most of the mysteries of life itself.
the writer Gertrude Stein. In these pages These obituaries tell us about the
you will read of Pie Traynor and time they were written and the time in
Roberto Clemente, of Cardinal John which we live today. By looking back, we
Wright, of Andrew Carnegie and Jock can see how our world was shaped by
Yablonski. And Stephen Foster and theirs. These are profiles in courage,
Perry Como and Fred Rogers. Plus creativity, and vision. They are sketched
In postmodern Pittsburgh it is commonplace to say that the
David L. Lawrence, Richard S. Caliguiri, in the blue skies of airy dreams and
Pete Flaherty, and Josh Gibson and etched in the concrete of gritty reality. city’s strength is its academic and medical power. But in an
Honus Wagner. Pittsburghers all, and They are a look back, to be sure, but age when we believe that universities, hospitals, and research
all in this book. they are much, much more than that. laboratories constitute the metaphorical steel mills of the
Most of the figures in this volume They are also a way to look at our own 21st century, it is easy to forget that academic and medical
are famous—or were famous in their lives. These stories instruct, and they power have been part of Pittsburgh’s landscape and person-
time. Their stories, taken together with inspire. Taken as a whole, these lives ality for half a century or more. The vitality of today’s
the stories of those who were less well- provide us with the ultimate lesson: Pittsburgh, to be sure, is in this sector. But the roots of that
known, provide a portrait of Pittsburgh these lives from another age teach us vitality were planted in the past.
that tells the history of this city and how to live in our own age.
region: Pittsburgh, Allegheny County,
and Southwestern Pennsylvania. These —David M. Shribman
people gave Pittsburgh its character and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
plotted its course. And for that reason, executive editor