I felt a little silly posting this at first. It's funny how you can never meet someone in person (although I have seen him in restaurants several times), yet they become a part of your life in a small way.
That was Marvin Zindler.
A lot of new Houstonians see him for the 1st time - those white hairpieces, the obvious cosmetic surgery, interesting suits and blue-tinted sunglasses - and wonder what he's doing on TV.
Marvin joined KTRK when I was only a year old, so for me, Marvin was just a normal part of every day life. I can remember being a kid (not much older than my own kiddo) and running into the living room just so I could join in when Marvin gave his signature signoff, "MAR-VIN ZIND-LER, EYE-WIT-NESS NEWS!". And of course, there's also the Friday sign-off of "good golf, good tennis or whatever makes you happy!" To top it off, he could twirl the baton and play the flute like nobody's business.
As I grew older, I realized that Marvin was not just about the "Rat and Roach Report", "Blue Ribbon Awards" and "SLIME in the ice machine!"; he was working to help change people's lives for the better. He was the type of person that, after awhile, you take for granted and think just might live forever. Unfortunately, that's not the case...Marvin was a mere mortal. However, he left behind a huge legacy. Just think - without him, we would not have "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"! Yep, Dom Delouise's character was based on Marvin Zindler!
It's hard to believe that we won't be seeing Marvin nightly anymore.
Godspeed to a true Texas legend.
5 comments:
We talked about him at aerobics class today at lunch too. The instructor is a European transplant and she said she didn't quite know what to make of him when she first landed in Houston!
He was definitely one of a kind and a lot of the reason I watched ABC.
On anothe subject, I read through your Chicago Marathon posts last night in preparation for mine this fall. Pretty interesting. I hope you enjoyed "my town."
What a nice tribute!
I'm sad to hear about Marvin. I was always a big fan also. Is he the only person in history to lose wrinkles the older he got?? Hmmmm, I wonder how he did that...
I'm saddened to hear about Marvin too....I can remember him from my days at College Station, I got there the year after his famed efforts against the LaGrange House of Fame.....what a legend he became, truly not loved by all, but certainly a champion for anyone that was in need. May he RIP.
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