Danny Martin at Camp = 1978 – 1979

By the late-1970s I was able to only attend some, usually one per year, of the two week-long Muscular Dystrophy Association summer camps in northern Illinois, so I missed many of the weeks Danny attended.  But here is some record of the camps we shared.        

The 1978 Ravenswood West camp was a notable one.  Danny was the leader of a cabin whose permanent name was the Raven’s Nest, and, Danny being Danny, he quickly renamed it The Cuckoos' Nest for the week.  His guys that week, as they had every week, had a blast.  The campers were all veterans, and long-time volunteers in that cabin included Rich Spangler, Brad Levin, and Bob Secco.  That week, Jimmy Liptak was the leader of the cabin next door to Danny’s, Freddy Martin was nearby, and I was the Activities Program Director.  That year, camper attendance was so high that MDA ran a camp at the same time at the nearby Ravenswood East campsite, as well as a full camp the following week at Camp Hastings across Lake Hastings.  The two Ravenswood camps combined their carnival night at the West campsite, which was great since so many of the campers and volunteers were very well known to each other and it was a grand reunion that evening.  I hope to post up later photos from the week at camp, but here in this post I’ll offer a few that featured Danny. 

Randy Smit and Danny Martin in Dueling Kazoos

Danny leading his cabin through the "Papers" skit, with "Godfather" Joey Brown at the center. 
The did the skit, an oldie-but-goodie, entirely in Spanish, which was very avant garde and very funny. 

Jimmy Liptak and Freddy Martin in front of the Cuckoos' Nest

Danny and his "bride" Lisa Bertolini at the Camp send-up of a Las Vegas marriage ceremony. 
They are joined by Patty Davy and Greg Smith on the left of the photo. 

Danny, in his iconic red coat, with Mike Oliver at the Carnival

Danny and the boys.  Among others, Jimmy Liptak and Freddy Martin are on the far left,
and Mike Goodman and Dana Brinkman are sitting far right.

Danny in 1978

In 1978 I was unable to participate in the camp session the following week at Camp Hastings, but I did visit and took some photographs.  

Danny with sister Loretta in 1978 at Camp Hastings

In 1979 at Camp Hastings Danny was cabin leader of a group of teenage boy campers, the age group he usually worked with.  I was nearby as cabin leader of campers a little older.  

Danny entertaining in a skit in 1979 (Photo by Bob Solario)

Danny once again donned the iconic red carnival coat in 1979

Terry Coor was a long-time camp buddy of Danny’s and mine.  He was very funny, and his particular condition rendered his speech pattern fairly identifiable and one Danny, who was great at impersonations, could do well.  My Terry Coor wasn’t bad, and so in 1979 we three decided to be edgy in a send-up of the old “To Tell the Truth” TV show, where three people each asserted he (or she) was a particular person notable for one thing or another.  A panel would ask questions and guess which of the three was truly the person each was claiming to be.  Finally the truth would be revealed.  Well, with some trepidation we put on the skit (as we called such a thing at camp; Danny and I always were amused at how Hollywood types referred to such as a “sketch”).  All three of us kept our right index fingers pointing straight up, as Terry sometimes did when speaking.  Rich Westley served as the game show host who asked the questions.  Well, we did the skit, unscripted, and it was a big hit.  Terry even set up his own joke by rejecting a question and asking Rich to ask him a different question for which, unbeknownst to anyone else, he had a great punch line.  Danny and I, and Rich as the host, went on in later summers to do two more “To Tell the Camp Truth” skits, first with Blanche Hamende (yes, Danny and I wore wigs as we impersonated Blanche and her deep, gravelly voice) and then with Bob Schumacher, and finally a spin off (just like Hollywood!) featuring the Coor Family on “Family Feud.” 

"My name is Terry Coor!" 
No, MY name is Terry Coor!" 
(L to R) Rich Westley, Danny Martin, Terry Coor, & Rick Balsamo

To Tell the Camp Truth with Terry Coor, in 1979