Sherwin Borsuk
Retired Radiologist and Y's Men member
"The Greatest of the Silent Clowns - Buster Keaton"
March 31, 2026

Filling in at the very last minute for the scheduled speaker (who was suddenly ill), Y’s Men member Sherwin Borsuk presented a program, complete with PowerPoint visuals and a 23-minute video, to 25 attending Y’s Men of Meriden members on March 31. His topic: The Greatest of the Silent Clowns - Buster Keaton.

Born in Kansas during 1895, he started in comedy at age 4 with his parents as a member of the comedy group “The Three Keatons”. Known for his deadpan face in slapstick routines, he struck out on his own at age 16 and was featured in numerous silent movies during the 1920s. In addition to his comedy, Keaton was loved for his acrobatic maneuvers and choreography. Keaton acted in many scenes featuring athletic stunts such as leaping through windows, scurrying away from the cops, and escaping pursuing officers during daring chase scenes.

Keaton is well-known as part of the top three comedians from the silent film era, along with Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin. But his career went into decline during the late 1920s, perhaps related to a divorce from his first wife, alcoholism, loss of personal control over his acting material and eventual bankruptcy. He successfully mounted a partial comeback in later years, peaking at the 1965 Venice Film Festival. Keaton died in 1966 from lung cancer and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery.

Borsuk than played a 23-minute video (one of many) that were made called “the Goat”, which cobbled together several of Keaton’s best comedy routines. You may view this by clicking on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6kE2JfkJ1c

Buster Keaton

Phil Callan
Retired radio announcer and Ysmen member
"Interviews with Hollywood Celebrities"
March 24, 2026

An early morning phone call from the scheduled Y’s Men speaker on Tues. March 24 revealed that he had suddenly become ill and could not give a presentation that day, and so he needed to reschedule. In his place, club member Phil Callan was able to provide two interviews of well-known married couples on projected DVDs by Edward R. Murrow, the first of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, and the second of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.

Newman and Woodward had been married just one year at this time and were now living in New York City. The couple had just co-starred in the 1958 film “Rally Round the Flag, Boys”. Woodward was pregnant at this interview time. Newman described how, while in college, he had been dropped by the football team and then began his studies to become an actor.

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward

Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh

Dick Kalt (retired WPLR manager & broadcaster)
Dick Wingate (digital entertainment executive)
"The Rock Music business, then and now"
March 17, 2026

Some 35 Y’s Men of Meriden on March 17 were treated to a give-and-take illustrated program on the history of the rock music business by Dick Kalt, retired WPLR manager and broadcaster, and Dick Wingate, digital entertainment executive. The two speakers traded information and stories, some humorous, about the growth of this industry.

Kalt joined the WPLR radio team based in New Haven in 1970 and soon set about changing the station’s focus, starting with booking the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon performed on the New Haven Green. Soon the station also scheduled Kenny Rogers, and then a John Lennon (with Yoko Ono) radiothon by telephone.

Kalt continued to make the station better known with better audiences, and WPLR then began creating its own concerts, featuring stars such as Boston (a group that soon became a big hit, premiering on WPLR while on stage at the Palace Theater in Waterbury) and Fleetwood Mac (an instant hit). The station was also instrumental in starting Toad’s Place, a rock club in New Haven providing a venue for aspiring performers.

Wingate has loved radio ever since childhood; at Brown University in Rhode Island,  he was soon the announcer at WBRU (a radio station courted weekly by record companies pushing their products). At age 23, he was hired by Columbia Records and soon found himself Director of Product Management, interviewing Bruce Springsteen (shy in person but not on stage). Wingate spent the next three years as Springsteen’s manager; indeed, he put Springsteen and the incomparable Robin Williams together for the first time.

Joining Epic Records and A&R PolyGram Records (Director), he eventually moved to Liquid Audio where he pioneered the transition from CD based music distribution to the Internet, building a digital music business. Today, most music is delivered by streaming, which in turn will likely be replaced by Artificial Intelligence. Addressing his audience, Wingate closed by stating “To this day, bringing young talent to the market is my greatest joy”.

Jerry Lewis brings his entire show and Plays on the New Haven Green in 1971
to raise $25,000 in WPLRs first radiothon

Fleetwood Mac comes to Trod Nossell Studios in Wallingford plays an exclusive studio concert
for 100 WPLR radio listeners

Exclusive John Lennon interview on WPLR in 1972

Dick Wingate with Bruce Springsteen early in his career

Times Square - Dick Wingate working with Pink Floyd and The Boss, Bruce Springsteen

Bill Glick
Y's Men Member
"Sitting at the Feet of the Big Shots"
Mar 10, 2026

Following two consecutive cancelled Y’s Men meetings resulting from winter weather (blizzard Calvin followed a week later by an ice storm), 29 members gathered on March 10 to hear club member Bill Glick describe his experience of hearing famed American statesmen Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzeziński while attending Harvard University. Glick entered Harvard in 1955 as an Economics major, but switched to Political Science after one year.

Glick first described the background of Kissinger, who was born in Germany as an Orthodox Jew but emigrated at age 13 with his family to America during the Nazi takeover; in New York, he eventually attended City College. His remaining family who had remained in Germany were all killed by the Nazi regime. Kissinger was drafted at age 23 in 1944, and was used by the Allied forces to interview German prisoners. He joined the Harvard faculty in 1947. His political life led to service under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford as national security advisor and secretary of state. The Watergate scandal led to the resignation of President Nixon, but did not affect Kissinger who had no part in it.

Next described was the political career of Polish-born Brzeziński who emigrated to Canada, but subsequently entered Harvard to eventually receive a PhD in Political Science. His political career peaked when he served as Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor from 1977 to 1981. During these years, America normalized relations with the People’s Republic of China and brokered the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel.

During his college years, Glick experienced the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Russia’s successful launching of Sputnik into orbit during 1957, and the Cuban Revolution in 1959. He subsequently was drafted, then worked most of his career at the Meriden Gravure Co., and briefly dabbled in local politics.

Henry Kissinger

Zbigniew Brzeziński