Bill Graham (promoter)

Bill Graham (born Wolfgang Grajonca January 8, 1931 in Berlin, Germany - October 25, 1991) was a well-known concert promoter, beginning in the 1960s.

Bio

Bill Graham was the youngest son of a Russian/Jewish family whom had emmigrated to Berlin, Germany prior to the rise of Nazism. Graham's father died when he was baby. As it became increasingly difficult for Jews to survive in Nazi Germany, Graham's mother placed Graham and his younger sister in an orphanage in Berlin. This turned out to be fortuitous, as the orphanage sent them to France as a pre-Holocaust exchange of Jewish children for Christian orphans.

Related Topics:
Russian - Jewish - Berlin, Germany - Nazism - Jews - Nazi - Germany - Berlin - France - Holocaust - Christian

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Graham's older sisters stayed behind with his mother. After the fall of France, Graham was among a group of Jewish orphans spirited out of France. A majority of the children -- including Graham's younger sister -- did not survive the journey.

Related Topics:
France - Jewish

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Graham's mother died in Auschwitz. His sister Esther survived Auschwitz and later moved to the United States and was very close to Graham in his later life. His sister Rita escaped by working as a dancer, first to Shanghai and then, after the war, to the United States.

Related Topics:
Auschwitz - United States - Shanghai

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Once in United States, Graham was placed in a foster home in New York City. After being taunted as an immigrant and being called a Nazi because of his German accented English, Graham changed his name and worked to perfect a New York accent. Graham graduated from high school and then went to business school. He was later quoted as describing his training as that of an "efficiency expert."

Related Topics:
United States - New York City - Nazi - German - English - New York

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Graham served during the Korean War and worked as a waiter/Maitre D' in the Catskill Mountain resorts in upstate New York during their heyday. He was later quoted as saying his experience as a Maitre D' and with the poker games he hosted behind the scenes was good training for his eventual career as a promoter.

Related Topics:
Korean War - Catskill Mountain - New York

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