Day Tripping: January 8

Impressario Extraordinaire

Wulf Wolodia Grajonca was born in Berlin, Germany in 1931. Wulf and his sister escaped Nazi Germany through an exchange of Jewish children for Christian orphans. Unfortunately, his young sister Tolla died from pneumonia on board the ship to America.

He arrived in New York as an orphan and was sent to foster care in The Bronx. Wulf was one of only one thousand to escape Hitler. His mother was murdered at Auschwitz. To fit in with his new life, Grajonca chose an anglicized name from a phone book.

Bill Graham held no specific meaning to him, but it would mean plenty later in life. In 1951, Bill was drafted into service and fought during the Korean war where he earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

After service, Bill worked at a Catskills resort where claimed his work as a maitre d’ and staff poker games gave him career training. When Graham moved to San Francisco in the 1960s, he met the San Francisco Mime Troupe at a free concert.

The radical performance group was up on obscenity charges, so Graham promoted a fundraising concert to help with their legal bills. The concert’s success launched a promoting career that changed the music industry forever.

Live music became a destination site when Bill Graham secured the exclusive use of the Fillmore Auditorium from local entrepreneur, Charles Sullivan.

“If Mr. Sullivan, Charles, hadn’t stood by me and allowed me to use his permit I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Bill Graham was responsible for giving stage debuts to some of rock history’s biggest acts. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, and countless more gained fame from appearing on the Fillmore stage.

The culmination of Bill Graham’s vision came in 1976 when the Fillmore hosted one of the greatest rock events of all time, The Last Waltz.

Musical Ride

Two days before his death, David Bowie released his final album Blackstar on the day of his 69th birthday. The work speaks to the musician's clarity with his own mortality in only a way Bowie could.

David’s producer Tony Visconti stated, “He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was no different from his life — a work of Art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift.”

Gone But Not Forgotten

Screenplay writer of The Graduate and co-creator of Get Smart, Buck Henry’s career spanned decades with regular successes. He often worked with Mel Brooks and was a regular guest on early seasons of Saturday Night Live. Buck Henry died in 2020 at 89.

Notable Births

1935 — Elvis Presley: “Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.”

1942 — Stephen Hawking: “Not only does God play dice but… he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.”

K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan

All previous Day Tripping entries are available at the following links:

The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present

A comprehensive directory for Day Tripping