Milton Parker

Milton Parker (January 10, 1919 – January 30, 2009) was a co-owner of the Carnegie Deli, located at 55th Street and Seventh Avenue next to Carnegie Hall in the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the behind-the-scenes preparer of towering pastrami sandwiches while his partner Leo Steiner was the tummler who entertained celebrities, locals and tourists.

Parker was born on January 10, 1919, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to Jacob and Jennie Picker Packowitz, both of whom died while Parker was a child. He worked in Brooklyn diners and luncheonettes as a teen, and opened a coffee shop in a mall near Levittown, New York. He sold the establishment in the 1970s, but was bored after spending a year in retirement. Hearing from a business broker who knew that the Carnegie Deli was up for sale, he was part of a group that bought the business.

The Carnegie Deli was taken over by Parker in 1976, together with Leo Steiner and a third, less-active partner who sold his stake in the restaurant. Steiner died in 1987, and Parker retired in 2002, with management taken over by Sanford Levine, his son-in-law. Parker's business cards described him as "Milton Parker, CPM (Certified Pastrami Maven)".

Scenes from Woody Allen's 1984 film Broadway Danny Rose, which told the story of a hapless talent agent, played by Allen, had much of the movie featuring scenes filmed over a meal at the Carnegie Deli.

Catskills Mountains comedian Freddie Roman lamented his death, reminiscing that "In the history of delicatessens, Milton Parker's Carnegie Deli caused more heartburn to the Jewish world than anything I've ever heard of" and that "His pastrami sandwich was incredibly much too large for human consumption."

A resident of Manhattan, Parker died at age 90 on January 30, 2009, due to respiratory problems. He was survived by his wife of 62 years, the former Mildred Levy, a son, a daughter, a brother and a granddaughter.