Many years ago, the late John Mahoney called our home. It was dinner time. He was not seeking our purchase of tickets for his play. My daughter was in the process of writing a paper about someone famous, and our cousin (at the time a local theater person) connected her to him.
What is so impressive was after she left Mr. Mahoney a message — I believe he was in California — he called her!
A few days after the interview, Mr. Mahoney was having breakfast at the Maple Tree restaurant (now Delia’s), and I stopped him as he was leaving. I said, “I don’t mean to bother you, but I wanted to thank you for helping my daughter do her report.” Before I could finish, he gave me his Martin Crane smile, and said, “Oh, yes, it was fun being interviewed by her,” and he added, “a great interviewer.”
That was the first time, and the last time, I saw Mr. Mahoney in Oak Park. He lived among us, and as has been said by many, he liked it that no one made a big deal about him. However, his act of kindness, helping a child to write a report about a “famous” person, speaks for itself.
Rest in peace.
Robert Milstein
Oak Park
