"You could never quite be sure what Don would do"

A few months ago, Harry Borgman was the subject of a week of posts on Today's Inspiration (see Previous Topics in the sidebar). This week Harry is our guest author, providing all of the artwork and the story of his longtime friend, Don Silverstein. Harry's narrative continues below:


In 1952 Don was drafted into the army and spent two years in Alaska. I can't even imagine what that was like. He must have driven the sergeants (as well as the other personnel) crazy!


Its difficult to picture Don in either the Army or Alaska. Actually, he never spoke much about it.


You could never quite be sure what Don would do in any given situation. I remember working quite late at McNamara Brothers Studios (we all worked late!) and was finished for the night. I decided to call Don at New Center Studios and asked him to meet me at the Caucus Club downstairs. Dave Lindsay, McNamara's top automotive artist and I went down to meet Don. They refused to let us in because Don didn't have a tie on. We knew this would set Don off... but we had no idea what he would do.


Don suggested that we go back up to the studio. There he found an old burlap bag and ripped off a long piece on which he splashed some paint. He then put it on as a tie. We went back down... and they let us in, in spite of the "tie" hanging out below Don's jacket.


This was typical of Don.

You'll find more examples of Don Silverstein's work at his website and Gallery Sakiko.

My Don Silverstein Flickr set.