By Bruce Klauber
Almost everyone in our region has heard of Jerry Blavat: aka, “The Geator with the Heater.”
It was almost impossible not to be aware of him as Blavat was a disc jockey, nightclub owner, concert promoter, producer, radio and television host, record company owner, and charismatic personality who was a part of the Philadelphia/Atlantic City entertainment landscape for more than five decades.
Blavat left us on Jan. 20 at the age of 82. Those who knew and loved him, and there are many, are still in mourning over his passing. Even now, it’s still hard to imagine our area’s showbiz world without Jerry Blavat in it.
His ties to Atlantic City were more than “close.” By way of his 50 years as owner, host and headliner at “Memories in Margate,” he was a shore legend in residency who held court; jiving, dancing, exhorting, and playing the audience of “Beyond Teens” like an instrument for five decades.
Most of the talk about Memories these days has deservedly focused on the club’s new ownership and the welcome news that it will continue in the Blavat tradition, but few know the story of how Memories got started.
In 1972, Margate’s Mariner Motel, and the adjoining club, the Oar Room, were in trouble. Those who operated the Mariner mismanaged the motel to a point where the owners were ready to unload it. Blavat was no motel operator, but he was intrigued at the potential of running the Oar Room.
As Blavat said about the time in his superb book, “You Only Rock Once,” “I liked the idea of buying the Oar Room. I could spin records, perform with my musical group, and book additional acts myself. In the right hands, the club had a lot of potential.”
The asking price was $250,000. Blavat got it down to $200,000. He paid $80,000 down and, he said, “I made a deal to pay interest every month on the rest. At the end of each summer, I would give them additional money until it was paid off. Once I took over, it was no longer the Oar Room; it became Memories, and I have owned it ever since.”
He was the quintessential promoter. One of the first things he did to put the place on the shore map was to establish a live radio broadcast from the club. Blavat knew from years of experience that the radio shows, as Jerry said, “enabled the record hops to explode. If I could do a live radio show from Memories on the weekends in the fall and winter, it would be a home run.”
And a home run it was. In earlier days, the club was open seven days a week during the summer and weekends during the off-season. During the height of the season, Blavat would book live acts that included Hank Ballard, Mary Wells, the Drifters, The Righteous Brothers, The Clovers, and Little Anthony and the Imperials. At that juncture in rock history, many of the oldies groups just weren’t doing very well. Blavat gave them work and an audience.
From time to time he would book a bigger name, such as Ronnie Spector, Frankie Valli, and with considerable difficulty, Chuck Berry, who demanded everything but the kitchen sink for his one weekend show.
Most of the acts were thrilled to be at Memories and they would, by and large, do anything for Blavat. After all, through the years, he continued to play their records and keep their names before the general public. In terms of being grateful, the demanding Berry was an exception. So was Little Richard.
Early in Memories’ history, Blavat wanted to kick off the Memorial Day weekend by booking a blockbuster name. He knew Little Richard for years and hired him several times for his Wildwood record hops. Blavat’s $10,000 budget was big for those days, and Richard, who said he had some other dates in the shore area around Memorial Day, asked for half up front to secure the date. Blavat paid the 50 percent deposit and waited for the contract. Weeks went by and there was no contract. Finally, Richard claimed that his other dates in the shore area were canceled, and that he would need another $5,000 to do the Memories date. Blavat refused and asked for 50 percent deposit money back. Little Richard said he spent it.
Blavat was in a bind. He needed a big name and he needed one quickly for that big weekend. He bit the bullet and called, for the second time, the always-difficult Chuck Berry. Berry did the date, and that was the last time he ever played Memories.
The Little Richard situation took some time to resolve. Blavat filed suit.
“For the next several years,” Blavat explained, “Richard avoided Philadelphia, Atlantic City, and every other town that fell in our judicial district, and we weren’t able to collect until 1980 when one of the casinos offered him $75,000 to headline a show.”
When Richard was about to be paid, a constable appeared on Blavat’s behalf, and Richard was served with a court order. Little Richard finally came up with the money.
Memories ceased booking big names when legalized gambling came to Atlantic City in 1978, but the club, with the exception of a minor incident or two, continued operating with considerable success until its closing in September of 2022. It wasn’t always easy, as Blavat’s career and reputation were almost ruined.
It happened because Blavat believed in loyalty. He didn’t care who you were or where you came from or what you did for a living. A friend was a friend, period. I know this to be true. He was my friend for 50 years.
Two of Blavat’s closest friends, for more than 20 years, were Sue and Angelo Bruno. They helped Blavat through tough times, both personal and professional. He never forgot their friendship, patience and understanding, and he simply didn’t care that Bruno was allegedly an organized crime boss.
The big problems in Blavat’s life began on March 21, 1980, when Angelo Bruno was assassinated. Blavat was in Atlantic City when he heard the news. He jumped in his car and drove directly to the Bruno home in South Philadelphia. The family needed Blavat to run interference with the media at the funeral.
“They didn’t want the funeral to become a circus,” Blavat said at the time. “I knew what I was getting myself into. At the funeral and at the cemetery, I made sure that only friends and family were allowed in.”
The result of this loyalty? He was dogged by the press, the police and the FBI for years. Because the Brunos were his friends, Blavat was accused of being close to organized crime. He was investigated for everything, including his ownership of Memories. It went on for about five years, but in the end, he was never charged with anything.
Though the accusations stayed with him until the end, Blavat’s career continued to flourish. In time he would come to be regarded as a legend and an icon. His annual Kimmel Center shows were guaranteed sellouts, his involvement in radio syndication expanded, and he continued doing his record hops everywhere in the Philadelphia area, and in Avalon, Sea Isle City and Atlantic City.
It’s hard to imagine Memories in Margate without Jerry Blavat, if only because a guy like Blavat simply cannot be replaced. But as long as the music – Jerry’s music – goes on, and as long as Jerry’s “Beyond Teens” crowd the dance floor, there’s no reason that Memories can’t go on for another 50 years.
Bruce Klauber is the author of four books, an award-winning music journalist, concert and record producer and publicist, producer of the Warner Brothers and Hudson Music “Jazz Legends” film series, and performs both as a drummer and vocalist.
