obituaries
Bowling ‘Fairy Godmother,’
Bestselling Author
Elaine Brumberg Dies at 81
E laine Brumberg, the bestselling
author of three beauty and cos-
metics books and the owner of
Thunderbird Lanes in Warminster, died
on April 17. She was 81.

Described as living life like a “race
car driver” by daughter Amy Seiden,
Brumberg lived life her way, not letting
age define her.

For her 70th birthday celebration,
Brumberg decided she wanted to go sky-
diving. Her partner of a decade, David
Singer, coordinated the trip.

Brumberg had no reservations about
the experience, but she did have one
request: She’d agree to take the dive
along with a tandem master, “as long as
he’s a hunk.”
“I got a former Navy SEAL to take her
out,” Singer said.

Aptly, Brumberg was the author of
“Ageless: What Every Woman Needs to
Know to Look and Feel Great,” “Take
Care of Your Skin” and her 1986 bestsell-
ing debut, “Save Your Money, Save Your
Face: What Every Cosmetics Buyer Needs
to Know,” which earned her an hourlong
guest spot on “The Phil Donahue Show”
and The Washington Post dub of “the
Ralph Nader of the cosmetics industry.”
Brumberg’s books worked to empower
women, particularly those going through
menopause, by providing beauty insights
and expertise.

She was inspired to share cosmetic
secrets after being fired from her makeup
artist position at Borghese, where she
told a customer that one of their products
caused allergic reactions.

After her time as a beauty writer for
several publications and years after the
death of her husband Norman, who
owned five area bowling alleys, in 2011,
Brumberg decided to buy one of his
alleys, Thunderbird Lanes, at age 78.

She earned the nickname “Fairy
Godmother of Bowling” when she
decided to take Thunderbird Lanes to
hospital patients and sick children, pack-
ing up portable bins and bowling balls
and dressing herself in a bright pink
dress and plastic crown. Brumberg also
served veterans and people with disabili-
ties and hosted fundraisers at the alley.

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Elaine Brumberg as the “Fairy
Godmother of Bowling”
Blumberg was determined to be suc-
cessful in the face of the antisemitism she
experienced as a child.

Born in Pittsburgh in 1940 and raised
in western Pennsylvania, Brumberg was
the only Jew in a class of 350 students.

“I had very few friends because their
parents would not let them associate with
a Jewish girl,” Brumberg said in a 2020
Jewish Exponent article.

The adversity only made her more set
on success: “I was determined to be suc-
cessful; I didn’t want to be just anyone.”
After moving to the Philadelphia area,
Brumberg became a longtime member of
Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park and also
was a member of Congregation M’kor
Shalom in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

“Being Jewish was something she was
very proud of,” son Bruce Brumberg said.

“She always hosted a great break fast at
her house on Yom Kippur.”
Brumberg was a proud grandmother
who loved spending time with her grand-
children down the shore.

She also met Singer down the shore
in Margate, New Jersey, 13 years ago at
the Fourth of July fireworks. The couple
moved in together five years ago.

In 2020, Brumberg and Singer both
contracted COVID-19. While Brumberg
had a milder case, Singer became severely
ill and was on a ventilator for two weeks.

“Even though I was in a coma, I could
hear voices,” Singer said. “And I could
hear Elaine’s voice every night: She’d call,
they’d put the phone to my ear and she
would tell me she loved me.”
Brumberg is survived by her children,
Seiden, Bruce and Harriet Brumberg and
Scott Dimetrosky; their spouses; Singer’s
daughter Rachel Hahn; nine grandchil-
dren and one great-grandchild. JE
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com Courtesy of Lee Shelly
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER



obituaries
Sinatra DJ Sid Mark Dies at 88
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
T here are many Frank Sinatra
fanatics out there — people who
listen to the songs over and over,
who feel that the lyrics explain so much
about life and who view the icon as the
epitome of cool.

And then there’s Sid Mark, the long-
time Philadelphia radio DJ and noted
Sinatra connoisseur.

Mark was not merely an appreciator
of the legend but an actual friend of his
Sid Mark in the studio
as well.

Sinatra appreciated Mark’s locally
based and nationally syndicated pro-
grams about his music. Th e two men
were friends for more than 30 years.

Now, the Jewish DJ can join his favor-
ite musician in eternity. Mark died on
April 18. He was 88.

“If you knew Sidney for fi ve minutes,
you would know he’s sincere,” said Judy
Mark, his wife of 49 years. “And Sinatra
knew he knew the music, he respected
the music.”
Judy Mark believes that her husband,
a kid from Camden, started admiring
Sinatra as a boy. But she knows for cer-
tain that Sinatra got through to Mark
while the latter was serving in the Army.

It was Christmas time, and Mark heard
the singer belt out “I’ll Be Home for
Christmas” on the radio.

“Th is was an amazing man,” she said
of the legend.

Aft er leaving the Army, Mark landed a
job at WHAT-FM in Philadelphia. One day,
he got a chance to fi ll in for another disc
jockey. Th e new DJ brought in two Sinatra
albums and ended up playing them for the
entire shift . With that, a format was born.

Over the next 60-plus years, Mark
hosted “Fridays with Frank,” “Sundays
with Sinatra” and “Th e Sounds of
Sinatra.” “Th e Sounds of Sinatra”
achieved national syndication.

In 1966, Sinatra himself called Mark
and told the DJ to visit him in Las
Vegas. Mark and his fi rst wife Loretta
Fliegelman even dined with the icon.

(Fliegelman is Mark’s legal name; Mark
Photo by Brian Mark
is his middle name and a stage moniker.)
According to Judy, if the DJ wanted an
interview with the performer, he got it.

He could also just pick up the phone and
call Sinatra, while the legend would call
him when he wasn’t feeling well.

“He was kind,” Judy Mark said. “He
always responded.”
Mark played his favorite artist at home,
too, according to his wife. Sinatra and
jazz, she explained. He also hosted jazz
shows on local TV channels WPHL-17
and WHYY in the ’60s and ’70s.

Mark did not really like other kinds
of music, Judy said. He just played his
favorites over and over. Sometimes, he
resented when people called into his
radio show because he was listening to
the music.

“It was his whole life,” Judy added.

And his life will outlive him.

Brian Mark, Sid Mark’s son and exec-
utive producer, said that the syndicated
show’s current station, WPHT 1210 AM,
will continue running it. Th e station just
will not replace its host. Brian Mark is
going to sit in the host seat, play the hits and
dub the show with recordings of his father.

“We’ll still hear Sid doing the music
and such and the interviews,” Brian
Mark said.

Th e executive producer believes there’s
no reason to end “Th e Sounds of Sinatra.”
People still want to listen to Sinatra, he
said. But one part of the show will not con-
tinue. Th e daily call between father and
son at 2 p.m. Th ey would talk about the
show, what they were going to do next
and family life.

“It gave us a chance to be together
every day,” Brian Mark said.

Mark is survived by his wife; sons
Brian, Eric and Andy; daughter Stacey;
and a grandson.

Judy Mark said he enjoyed being home
with the family as much as doing the
show. “He really loved that,” Judy Mark said.

“And he loved being on the air. He really
did.” JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
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