All in the Family

Close Encounters of The Relative Kind

The Real McCoy… Yes, as in Hatfields vs. the McCoys.. Dennis’ father was related to the Mc Coys (Pike County). More to come as more is learned.

But, in the meantime, here’s some interesting family members on D.C.’s mother’s side. Marge Weill Chandler’s father’s side, was the Weill side and her mother’s side was the Michelson side. (More below about the later Michelson writer-types.) But, here’s more about the talented earlier Michelsons.

One was Albert Michelson, called “One of the century’s most greatest minds”. Textbooks write of how Michelson’s work had immense influence on not only subsequent generations of physicists but also influenced Albert Einstein. In 1920, he acknowledged that he based his theory of relativity on the famous Michelson-Morley experiments of 1887. Einstein said that his esteemed German colleague had “uncovered an insidious defect in the ether theory of light, as it then existed, and stimulated the ideas out of which the special theory of relativity developed”. These and other accomplishments profoundly affected the way physicists viewed the world and caused Michelson to be widely recognized as “The Father of Theoretical Physics”. Michelson was also “The First American scientist to win a Nobel Peace Prize” (in 1907), “For his precision optical instruments and the spectroscopic and meteorological  investigations conducted therewith”. Besides Michelson being the first to measure the diameter of a star, in 1871 Michelson developed the Spectroscope which afforded proof of the movement of molecules. Michelson is also credited with proving that light travels at a constant speed no matter the direction it is heading, in any and all conditions. Albert Michelson’s determination of the speed of light was the most accurate of the era and became the accepted figure of 186,508 miles per second. (One book about Michelson titled, “The Master of Light” by Livingston, shares how the famous 1887 Michelson-Morely experiments were done at Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland).

Speaking of talented Michelson relatives, Nobel Prize winner Albert Michelson’s siblings were also well known. A younger brother, Charles Michelson was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech writer. A noted journalist, he also was publicity director for 30 years of the Democratic National Party. Their sister, Miriam Michelson, was also a successful writer. A turn-of-the century novelist, she published works for over 40 years.

Another talented Michelson lived in Cleveland and was a writer, too. As young as he was at the time, Dennis still fondly remembers her. Visiting his mother’s aunt, author Florence Michelson, always made for some interesting reading and writing. Dennis was impressed that she wrote many books including some of the “Nancy Drew” mysteries and “Lassie” books, too. Although there were others also authoring the series, he treasures the books she wrote and autographed, “For my dear nephew Dennis, signed Aunt Florence Michelson”.

Then there were those tales told……. about the show-biz-types in the family like the Marx Brothers, Maddy & Max Weill, an aunt and uncle who were highly successful vaudevillians, and composer Kurt Weill, cousin to her grandfather.

Talk about the Karamu ‘hood in those days… Along with stories told him about the Marx Brothers, came some about another, Uncle Henry Marx. He and his wife, Bea Marx, owned and operated Marx Dry Cleaners at E. 86th and Wade Park. There was talk of some traveling troubadours, whose clothing he ended up caring for, too. Those were the days of vaudevillians like Sophie Tucker, Martha Raye, Rudy Vallee, George Jessel and Mickey Katz among others. (They’d bring their duds along when they came, as they say in show biz, “out ta da house!”)

Special, too were tales of hearing how the Weills would come to Cleveland to play theaters like the world-renowned Hippodrome or the Palace (which they would play for weeks at a time) and what they did for fun in their time off. Good times rolled at artistic havens of the day like, the Hermit Club, the Beau Arts Club and Karamu.

“Theater is in Dennis’ blood”, said his mother’s cousin Emily Weill Klein. She confirmed, “that it was not just a family myth” (about the vaudevillians) because she had publicity photos of the troupers, which she treasured as heirlooms. Dennis’ theatrical treasures included a hand-me-down start of a collection of theater programs from the Hanna Theatre. Later, Dennis and his wife, continued the family’s Hanna Theatre Guild membership and were able to keep adding to the collection. Helping to fill in with any missing programs were their seat mates at the theater, the late media-types and critics, Mary, Mary Strassmeyer and Tony Mastroianni. The family now has a program from virtually every touring show that the Hanna hosted over its 65-year life.

Also part of the family theatre “treasures” are some other interesting theater reads, too. Ethel Waters autobiography, “To Me It’s Wonderful” (which she signed). Plus, a 1949 First Edition of “Lyrics” by Oscar Hammerstein II (also autographed by the author). But, precious among the show-biz-belongings, are those Lassie and Nancy Drew books Dennis’ great aunt Florence Michelson authored, that she inscribed to him.

Sadly, Dennis’ parents did not support the Arts side of his life. They favored his business side. Thus, Dennis became an overachiever, striving to win their approval. (He won it when playing “roles” like “Banker” and later, as a “Sales & Marketing Executive”). But, he only learned later in life about how artistic many on the Weill side were. That revelation came from his late mother’s “Cousin Emily”. World traveler that she was; she said she was always finding distant relatives literally all over. Emily Weill Klein had a mental-rolodex-of-a-mind of where all the Weill relatives were and what they were doing. She seemed to be still going strong when Dennis last spoke to her. Sadly, she has since passed away. Her sister Flo Weill Tallisman survives her and being the last of that generation, keeps her legacy.

How is it the Weill relatives are so far flung? To explain, at the start of World War II, they fled Germany, scattering all over the world changing the name Weill to Willey, Wily, Wiley, Wills, etc. Why? Because Hitler threatened to kill all the families of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. In writing their “Threepenny Opera” they had a not-so-thinly veiled warning of the coming neo-Nazism (e.g.,recall the character Mac McHeath’s song, “Mack the Knife”.)

A genealogy project started for his school, has another relative in search of some of these same roots, too. Cousin Emily’s  grandson from California, Mat Goldberg, has a family tree that goes back to the 1700′s. It’s caused a curiosity about how the tapestry threads of creativity run, so to speak.

Distant relative Kurt Weill’s love of different people and places, also translated into diverse musical works, and what works they are. Weill’s website makes for interesting reading, helping one to understand just how prolific he was. Born in 1900, and although he only lived to the age of 50, his creative output measures like one who lived three lifetimes! They say, “Kurt Weill is considered the most influential composer of the 20th century” Perhaps that’s because during his entire professional life, he sought as his collaborators the finest literary talents of his time! Among them were daring avant-garde writers like German Bertolt Brecht, distinguised dramatists like Georg Kaiser and Maxwell Anderson, who had never before attempted musical works, and poets like Langston Hughes. Others with whom Weill collaborated were, Franz Werfel, Paul Green, Moss Hart, Max Reinhart, Arnold Sundgard, Edwin Justus Mayer, Elisabeth Hauptmann, Ogden Nash, Johnny Burke, Otto Klemperer, Alan Jay Lerner and Ira Gershwin.

Interesting, too, is that Weill wrote with S.J. Perelman (the Marx Brothers movies scriptwriter) and last but not least, “Street Scene” written with Elmer Rice and black poet laureate Langston Hughes (Talk about creative threads that ran via producer Cheryl Crawford to Cleveland and Karamu.)

Talk about “All in the Family”… Dennis’ father’s side of the family included “the real McCoy”, yes, as in The Real McCoys… i.e., Hatfield vs. McCoy. There’s more to learn about that. Who knows maybe a play will come out of it.