Buried with Lewis at New Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore are a box of his cherished Monte Cristo cigars, a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne—vintage 1985—and a graphite tennis racquet, should he encounter an old tennis foe in the great beyond.
A few days after the funeral, a memorial service was held for Lewis in Manhattan, at the Riverside Church in Harlem. Among those who addressed the 2,000 or so people in attendance were New York Mayor David Dinkins, Texaco Chairman James W. Kinnear, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and Harvard Law School Dean Robert C. Clark. Opera star and friend, Kathleen Battle sang “Amazing Grace,” Lea Salonga, who was starring in the Broadway musical “Miss Saigon,” gave a rendition of “The Quest” (The Impossible Dream), and the Harlem Boys Choir—a benefactor of Lewis’ philanthropy—also performed.
Looking back on the incredible life and times of Reginald F. Lewis, one of his favorite poems seems particularly appropriate. Written by Langston Hughes, it’s titled, “Mother to Son”:
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
and places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.*
*Used with permission by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
* * *
Sources Interviewed
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who graciously agreed to talk to me about Reginald Lewis. Whether your name appears or not, you helped me draw a bead on a complex and fascinating man:
Mark Alcott
Earle Angstadt
Lee Archer
Jack Auspitz
Paulette Bacote-McAlily
Al Banks
Jean Baud
Robert Bell
Richard Brown
Tom Bourelly
Bill Cammer
Ben Chavis
Cleve Christophe
Robert Clark
Charles Clarkson
Elaine Cole Lewis
Mary Coleman
Alan Colon
James Cooper
Robert Cooper, Sr.
Samuel Cooper
Robert Davenport
Clarence David
Guy DeBrantes
Richard Dehe
Mathias DeVito
Lucious Edwards
Peter Eikenberry
Dominique Fargue
Hughlyn Fierce
Carolyn Fugett
Jean Fugett, Jr.
Jean Fugett, Sr.
Anthony Fugett
Joseph Fugett
Reg Gilliam
Elzee Gladden
Ellis Goodman
Reynaldo Glover
Everett Grant
John Green
Ed Gregg
Bryant Gumbel
Lynwood Hart
Norma Jean Harvey
John Hatch
Ray Haysbert
Dan Henson
Bob Hermann
Bertrand Hill
Duane Hill
James Hoyte
Ford Johnson
Orlan Johnson
Amalya Kearse
Joerg Klebe
Remmert Laan
Tom Lamia
Connie Langford
Diana Lee
Ray LeFlore
Christina Lewis
Loida Lewis
Arthur Liman
Louis Loss
Roger Lowenstein
Howard Mackey
Pedro Massanet
James McPherson
Richard McCoy
Butch Meily
George Miles
Michael Milken
Don Moore
Kermit Morgan
Laurie Nelson
Imelda Nicolas
Hanley Norment
Peter Offerman
Ricardo Olivarez
Sam Peabody
Carolyn Powell
Leonard Quigley
Delores Quiller
Timothy Roberson
Bill Robinson
Jim Robinson
Frank Sander
Fredi Savage-Eaton
Phyllis Schless
Alan Schwartz
William Scott
Bill Slattery
Jill Slattery
Joel Smilow
Edith Smith
Melvin Smith
William Smith
Hercules Sotos
Elie Souaf
Lucien Stoutt
Charlotte Sullivan
Robert Suggs
Angela Tillman
James Tillman
Darryl Thompson
Edgar Toppin
Doug Walter
Bryan Williams
Ralph Williams
Elias Wilson
Josephine Wilson
Robert Winters
Kevin Wright
* * *
Index
ABC News, 183
Ackerman, P., 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 167, 170, 199, 204, 206, 208, 229
Acquisition Funding Corp., 144, 145
Adams, W., 111, 112
Aetna Life and Casualty, 77, 111
Agnelli, G., 293
Akers, J., 273
Albert, N., 73
Alcott, M., 71, 74, 260, 261
Allen, B., 273, 274
Allen & Company, 145
Allfresh Foods, 95
Almet, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 125, 127, 133, 137, 141, 152
AmBase, 269
American Association of Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Companies, 84
American Can, 163
Angstadt, E., 135, 138, 140, 141, 153, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 176, 177, 179, 180, 181, 182, 202
Archer, L., 84, 85, 181
Arctic, 253
Artigel, 252
Ashe, A., xv, 45
Ashley, L., 157
AT&T, 273
Auspitz, M., 82
Avis, 132, 134
Bacote-McAlily, P., 29
Balladur, E., 228
Ballve, P., 220, 221
Banco Popular, 129
Bankers Trust Company, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 155, 166, 167, 169, 171, 172, 178, 179, 180, 181, 194, 273
Banks, A., 37, 39, 40
Barker, T., 181
Battle, K., xv, 276, 310
Baud, J., 224, 301
Bear, Stearns & Co., 130, 135, 136, 141, 143, 156, 171, 172, 176, 187, 268, 269, 277
Beatrice, 86, 87, 94, 182, 184, 185, 188, 191, 192, 193, 197, 200, 201, 202, 203, 205, 208, 210, 211, 212, 214, 215, 216, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 233, 235, 237, 238, 239, 243, 254, 257, 264, 270, 279, 280, 284, 285, 291, 300, 303, 305
Beatrice Co., 269
Beatrice International, xiv, xv, 113, 123, 164, 187, 188, 189, 193, 195, 198
Beatrice International Foods, xiv, 199, 110
Beattie, R., 194, 215
Belafonte-Harper, S., 160
Bell, D., 289
Bell, R., 25, 26
Bell, T., 93
Belzberg, S., 270
Black Enterprise, 82
Black, L., 197, 226, 236
Bon Grain, 228, 238
Bourelly, T., 94, 95
Bouriez, P., 240
Bradley, T., 125
Brennan, J., 170
Brenna
n, W., 67
Broadcast Capital, Inc., 128, 129
Brody, C., 193
Bronson, C., 227
Brown, B., 167, 169, 170, 194, 195, 196, 197
Brown, D., 20
Brown, H., 64
Brown, L., 248
Brown, R., 60, 63
Buchan. J., 213
Burnham, 218
Burson-Marsteller, 184, 211, 214
Bush, G., 126, 249, 275
Butterick, 157, 163, 180
Butts, C., 45, 286
Cadbury Schweppes, 220, 229
Cain, B., 17
Callard & Bowser, 239
Callender, G., 74
Cammer, B., 113, 115, 117, 118, 125, 141
Campofrio, 222
Canadian Bombardier, 256
Capital Cities-ABC, 133
Capital Markets Assurance Corp. (CAPMAC), 270
Caribbean Basin Broadcasting, 130, 131, 137
Carteret Bancorp., 269
CBS Sports, 128
Chambers, R., 266
Chase Manhattan, 95
Chavis, B., 90, 91, 92, 93, 291, 292, 302, 310
Chemical Bank, 111, 114, 115
Christian, P., 113
Christophe, C., 93, 95, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 200, 203, 204, 205, 208, 210, 214, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 224, 225, 226, 229, 230, 233, 235, 236, 240, 241, 242, 243, 272, 278, 284
Chrysler, 271
Chubet, B. J., 141, 144, 170
Citibank, 93
Citicorp, xv, 190, 270, 273
Claiborne, L., 157
Clark, B., 239
Clark, E., 256
Clark, R. C., 288, 289, 290, 291, 310
Clarkson, C., 77, 78, 79, 87, 88, 96, 114, 115, 116, 118, 120, 124, 127, 139, 142, 145, 147, 152, 154, 156, 159, 163, 171, 173, 174, 208, 219, 298, 299
Clayton, A., 133
Clinton, W., xvi, 275, 310
Clinton, H., 310
Coach Cain, 18, 19
Cole, E., 3
Coleman, 138
Colon, A., 40, 46, 47, 49
Coloroll, 260
Columbia Savings, 229
ConAgra, 269
Cooper, J., 2, 19, 26, 39, 61, 83, 175, 286, 297, 306, 307
Cooper, S., 2, 4, 6, 68
Cooper, S. S., 2, 5, 6, 283
Cora-Revillon Business Group, 240
Cosby, W., xvi, 276, 310
Count Basie, 101
Cravath, Swaine and Moore, 72, 75
Cuff, D. F., 183, 184
Cunningham, G., 193
CVC Capital, 129
D’Amato, A., 126
Daniels & Bell, 93, 94
Davenport, R., 271, 272, 294, 295
Davidow, B., 167, 169, 196, 197
Davis Polk, 75
Davis, C., 18, 19, 20
Davis, Jr., S., 67
De Jongh, R., 130
Dean Griswold, 57
Deloitte, Haskins and Sells, 141, 208
DeLorean, J., xvi, 299
Dequase, C., 228
DeVito, M., 69, 70, 71
De Wind, B., 70, 71
Dickey, C., 73
Dinkins, D. N., 125, 126, 248, 249, 276, 310
Disunno, D., 247
Douglass, F., 308
Drexel, Burnham, Lambert, 141, 142, 143, 167, 169, 170, 171, 193, 194, 196, 198, 199, 203, 204, 205, 206, 208, 218, 219, 220, 226, 227, 235, 236, 240, 265, 268
Dreyfuss, D., 126
Eaton, F. S., 44
Edley, C., 289, 290
Edwards, L., 46
Eikenberry, P., 121
Equico Capital Corp., 82, 83, 85, 114, 153, 154, 178, 179
Equitable Life, 77, 83
Esmark, Inc., 132, 133, 134, 135
Executive Life Insurance, 270
Ferguson, J., 202
Fiat, 293
Fierce, H., 95
First Boston, 180, 271
First Chicago, 141
First Executive, 229
Flannery, B., 258
Fletcher Capital Markets, 292
Fletcher, Jr., A., 292
Ford Foundation, 77, 110
Forstmann Little, 236
Forstmann, T., 236
Fugett, A., 11, 24, 28, 38, 89, 202, 244, 246, 249, 269, 276, 281, 297, 299, 300, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307
Fugett, C., 11, 12, 14, 15, 27, 28, 44, 103, 112, 201, 209, 213, 281, 283, 285, 286, 297, 298, 306, 309
Fugett, Joseph, 14, 249
Fugett, Jr., J. S., 11, 24, 28, 67, 115, 124, 128, 130, 154, 270, 278, 284, 294, 297, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306
Fugett, Sr., J. S., 9, 10, 13, 15, 26, 28, 67, 72, 286
Gant, H., 126
Garrison, L., 74
Gelati Sanson, 222, 234
General Foods, 77, 84, 202
Gladden, E., 16
Glass Containers Co., 134
Glover, R., 97, 98
Goldberg, A., 74
Goodman, E., 23, 111, 112, 175, 202, 245, 265, 268
Grant, III, E. L., 160, 166, 189, 201, 210, 226, 230, 235, 238, 239, 249, 268
Graves, E., 82, 83
Green, J., 295
Gregg, E., 250, 297, 298, 303
Guarino, D., 272
Gumbel, B., 276
Gunter, P., 256
Haje, P., 73
Harding, C., 144
Harlem Boys Choir, 310
Hart, L., 3, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 42, 43
Hatch, J., 56, 59, 62, 64
Haysbert, R., 112
Helms, J., 126
Henson, D., 9, 13, 84, 103
Hermann, R. L., 153, 162, 163, 164, 165, 174, 177, 179, 182, 183
Hertz, S., 73
Hill, B., 29, 30, 31
Hillsdown Holdings, 239
Home Insurance Co., 269
Hughes, L., 310
Hunt Wesson, 132, 134
Hurwitz, C., 135
Hutch, J., 197
Iacocca, L., 211
IBM, 202, 273
Icahn, C., 211
Ilagan, E., 248
International Playtex, 141
Jackson, J., 125, 276, 310
Jeep Cherokee, 271
John Crowther Group, 181, 183, 259, 260
Johnson Publishing Co., 85, 214
Johnson, J., 85, 214
Johnson, O., 123, 171, 172
Joiner, 92
Joseph, F., 197
Jux, D., 253
Kalise, P. L., 252
Kalish, A., 208
Kanga, D., 124, 224
Kann, P., 275
Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler, 145, 155
Kearse, A., 77
Kehler, D., 197, 199, 204, 226, 235, 236
Kelly, D., 132, 133, 134, 198
Kidder Peabody, 292
King Fahd, 291
Kinnear, J. W., 310
Kinney Parking Lot, 141
Kissam, P., 73
Klebe J., 129, 139
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co., 133, 208, 211, 236, 269
Korman, E., 73, 105
Kravis, H., 198, 205, 206, 211, 225, 226, 227, 234, 235, 236, 266, 292
Kurosawa, A., 102
Laing, H., 239
Lambert, 218
Lamia, T., 114, 115, 116, 133, 136, 137, 138, 139, 145, 147, 149, 151, 152, 153, 155, 156, 158, 165, 173, 192, 193, 208, 210, 216, 219, 221, 222, 223, 224, 226, 227, 229, 230, 233, 235, 236, 237, 241, 263, 277
Lange, E., 8
Lasker, M. E., 261, 262
Laurence, C., 76
Lee, D., 77, 78, 79, 116
LeFlore, R., 121, 122, 262
Lehman Brothers, 112
Lelong, P., 258
LeMans Haberdashers, 86, 87
Leslie Fay, 177
Levine, B., 73
Lew, S., 188, 199
Lewis & Clarkson, 287
Lewis, C. C., 2, 3, 8, 10, 33, 107, 283
Lopez, F., 107
Loss, L., 50
Louis, J., 310
Lowenstein, R., 69, 70
L
uey, M., 73
McCall Pattern Company, xiii, 85, 113, 125, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 144, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 185, 187, 189, 192, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 202, 210, 214, 215, 219, 233, 238, 244, 251, 252, 259, 260, 262, 263, 265, 267, 268, 270, 277, 291, 301
McCoy, R., 26, 28, 29
McDonald’s, 286
McGillicuddy, J., 273
McPherson, J., 52, 63, 64
Mackey, H., 82, 83, 85, 86, 181
Mahoney, D., 133, 134, 142, 202
Manalac, P., 106
Manufacturer’s Hanover, 237, 273
Martinez, A., 108
Meily, R. S., 183, 185, 211, 214, 215, 221, 223, 224, 243, 254, 256, 257, 258, 259, 270, 272, 285, 306
Merrill Lynch, 259, 266, 267, 268
MESBIC, 81, 82, 83, 84, 110, 114, 122, 127, 243
Mifune, T., 102
Miles, G., 292
Miles, M., 273
Milken, M., 83, 143, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 204, 205, 206, 208, 262, 266, 278, 295
Miller, D., 71
Minority Business Development Agency, 84
Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Companies, 81
Moore, D., 71
Morgan, K., 86, 87
Morgan Bank, 153
Morgan Stanley, xiv, 187, 188, 205, 207, 209
Moriarity, J., 204
Mowry, W., 200, 221, 224, 238, 253, 264, 271
Moynihan, D. P., 126
Murphy, G., 200
Murphy, R., 76
NAACP, 90
Nelson, L., 122, 123, 126, 139, 152, 159, 171, 172
Nestlé, 238
New York Stock Exchange, 94
NICFUR, 106
Nichols, S., 289
Nicolas, F. J., 106
Nicolas, I., 98, 104
Nicolas, M., 103
Nimitz, M., 200
Nixon, R., 81, 273, 274, 275
Norment, H., 46, 48, 49
North Street Capital, 84
Norton Simon, 77, 132, 133, 160, 193
Norton Simon Industries, 132, 202
NSI, 134
O’Sullivan, V., 301
Obi, J., 130
Offerman, P., 144, 145, 146, 155, 194
Olivarez, R., 113, 130, 137, 153, 179
Onex, 188, 199, 216, 217, 233, 240
Organizacion Polar, 239
Oxendine, J., 128, 129
Paramount, 270, 295
Parks, H., 111, 112
Parks Sausage, 111, 113, 127
Parnall, T., 73
Patterson, B., 126
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker, 114
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 74, 75, 76, 97, 104, 105, 193, 200, 208, 230, 231, 233, 235, 237, 238, 260, 288
Peabody, S., 137, 153, 179
Perelman, R., 206
Perot, R., 275
Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun? Page 38
