Phil Greenwald

Phil Greenwald (also known as Philip "Phil or Philly" Greenwald) (August 31, 1918 – January 18, 1982) was a Jewish-American social icon in the entertainment industry of his day. He could be described as a celebrity among celebrities, who worked as a successful talent booker for the Concord Hotel. He was also the director of Entertainment and the producer for the Concord's Imperial room (which at that time was the largest nightclub in the world as designed by Morris Lapidus). His influence and ability to get many of the most famous celebrities of his time to entertain at the Concord helped add to the fame of not only the Concord, but the greater Borscht Belt and Catskill mountain area and advanced the Jewish cultural influence in the region.

Origins and early career Phil Greenwald was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City to Abraham and Lilian Greenwald, who came to America as refugees from Tsarist Russia. He was the youngest of three brothers. Before Phil Greenwald was born, Abraham Greenwald made arrangements to have Lilian's cousin Arthur Winarick immigrate from Russia to the United States. The two men later became business partners and opened up a barbershop in New York City. Later, as the two became more successful Abraham became one of the founding members of the Journeymen Barbers' International Union of America and Arthur invented Jeris hair tonic, where he became a multi million dollar business tycoon in the American barber supply industry. At one point Abraham would also become a founder of the New York City Central Labor Council, and in the 1920s ran unsuccessfully for state and local offices in the Socialist Party.

For his part, Arthur eventually used his profits to purchase various properties in Kiamesha Lake, New York including the Concord Plaza in 1936. Arthur combined the properties, brought them together, and incorporated them into Concord Hotel. Arthur's enterprise quickly grew, as he spared no expense in making the Concord luxurious in both furnishings and entertainment. While this occurred, Arthur began buying other nearby hotels and properties to expand the Concord. With increased popularity the Concord became open year round in 1943 and by the 1950s the Concord began to outshine Grossinger's, which was the Concord's main rival and before the rise of the Concord was considered the most opulent of the Catskill Mountain resorts.

At a later period, Greenwald offered to buy Tony Martin a gift. Martin asked for a small dog. Greenwald got him a Saint Bernard puppy named Gypsy, which much to Martin's distaste, Gypsy grew rapidly and caused him much financial, logistical, and travel grief.