CLASS ACT GETS RAVES TEACHER FROM 1955 IS UNFORGETTABLE AFTER TRYING TO MAKE IT BIG IN THE MOVIES, MENDIE KOENIG WENT ON TO BIGGER SUCCESS THAN ANYTHING HOLLYWOOD COULD HAVE PROVIDED HIM AS A CHARACTER ACTOR: HE BECAME A TEACHER WHO TOUCHED THE LIVES OF HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
He was a tough East Coast kid who co-starred with Huntz Hall and Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Gorcey in four Bowery Boys Bowery boys may refer to:
gangsters’ farewell ritual before murdering victim. [Am. Cult.: Misc.] See : Farewell by Hollywood. He'd been typecast at 34. ``Every audition I went on I heard the same thing -- `If we need a street tough we'll call you.' They didn't call. I knew the handwriting was on the wall and I had to do something.'' What he did was go on to bigger success than anything Hollywood could have provided him as a character actor: Koenig became a teacher who touched the lives of hundreds of children before retiring as principal of Tarzana Elementary School elementary school: see school. in 1987. He made such a lasting impact that his sixth-grade class from 1955 at Richland Elementary School in West L.A. -- where he started his teaching career -- recently threw him a big reunion party at a Sherman Oaks restaurant. More than 50 years after wishing his then-11-year-old students well as they continued on to seventh grade, Koenig walked into a restaurant where he was hugged, kissed and feted by those same students, now in their early 60s. He was that memorable in their lives. One by one, 26 former students who had found each other through the Internet, told Mr. Koenig stories -- some sad, some funny. All from the heart. Richard McKinney Richard McKinney, a native of Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, is a goalkeeper who has formerly played for Ballymena United, Manchester City, Swindon Town, Colchester United, Walsall, Canvey Island and Chelmsford City. had never told anyone this before, but his father had abandoned his family when they moved from Arkansas to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . They were living in a rundown Rundown A summary of the amount and prices of a serial bond issue that is still available for purchase. rundown A list of available bonds in a municipal issue of serial bonds. trailer park a few blocks from the school when the 11-year-old boy was put in Koenig's class midway through the school year. ``We had no money, nothing, but you treated me with such respect,'' he told Koenig, now an 86-year-old widower widower n. a man whose wife died while he was married to her and has not remarried. WIDOWER. A man whose wife is dead. A widower has a right to administer to his wife's separate estate, and as her administrator to collect debts due to her, generally for living in West Hills. ``You integrated me into that classroom and made me feel special. ``I had so much admiration for you.'' To earn some extra money for his own young family, Koenig worked weekends at Sears. One day, he saw McKinney walking down the aisle with his mother and sister. ``You took me over and bought me a toy,'' McKinney said. ``You didn't have to do that.'' The ex-tough movie kid didn't have to do a lot of things. But he did. ``I'm an educator now and not a day goes by that I don't ask myself, `How would Mr. Koenig handle this situation? What would he do?''' said Toni Erlich of Tarzana, who organized the reunion with fellow student Karen Little. ``Once in a while, he'd shoot us that tough-guy look of his in class -- then smile.'' Little was in another sixth-grade class, but she always hung out with Koenig's class because it was so much fun, she said. ``I was so jealous. My friends would tell me all the things they were doing -- singing and dancing. He had a way of teaching subjects that had to be taught, but not letting the kids feel as if they were being forced to learn.'' Jerri Jacobson still laughs when she recalls that Koenig discarded dis·card v. dis·card·ed, dis·card·ing, dis·cards v.tr. 1. To throw away; reject. 2. a. To throw out (a playing card) from one's hand. b. the school district's approved songbook for music class and substituted one of his own. ``He'd bring his umbrella to class, open it up, and lead us around the class singing `Singin' in the Rain Singin’ in the Rain downpour doesn’t dampen singer’s spirits. [Pop. Music: Fordin, 355] See : Cheerfulness ,' or he'd have us snaking around our desks, singing `Chattanooga Choo Choo.' ``We were always laughing, having so much fun, and learning at the same time,'' she said. ``He made every one of us feel like we were special.'' That's because they were special, said Koenig, whose son, Eric, and daughter, Yvonne, were at the reunion. The former Dead End Kid knew what rejection felt like. He was going to make sure he never made his students feel that way. ``My job was to teach them, get them ready for the world. Who says you can't have some fun doing it? ``The movies taught me good timing and I utilized it with the kids to make a point or get a laugh,'' Koenig said. ``I wanted them to like coming to school, just like they enjoyed going to the movies. ``I only had two standards: When you talk I will listen. And when I talk I expect you to listen.'' Mendie Koenig's students listened. They learned, they laughed, and they remembered. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Mendie Koenig, 86, and former students of his Richland Avenue School sixth-grade class of 1955 gather for a class reunion “School reunion” redirects here. For the Doctor Who episode, see School Reunion (Doctor Who). A class reunion is a meeting of former classmates, typically organized at or near their former school by one of the class on or around an anniversary of their graduation. photo at the Bamboo bamboo, plant of the family Gramineae (grass family), chiefly of warm or tropical regions, where it is sometimes an extremely important component of the vegetation. It is most abundant in the monsoon area of E Asia. Cuisine restaurant in Sherman Oaks. (2 -- 3 -- color) Former students of Richland Avenue's sixth-grade class of 1955, top, look at their class photo, above. (4 -- 5) Geri Roth poses for a photograph with her former teacher Mendie Koenig, 86, during the class reunion at Bamboo Cuisine in Sherman Oaks, above. Koenig taught the sixth-grade class at Richland Avenue School in 1955. At right, Mendie Koenig, left, Lee Gorcey, Billy Benedict and Buddy Gorman in the movie, ``Come Out Fighting.'' Ana P. Gutierrez/Special to the Daily News |
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