obituaries
each quarter in half again (about 8
sticks from each zucchini). Set aside.

In a shallow dish, whisk together
the oil and egg. In a separate shallow
dish, mix the panko, cheese, parsley
and pepper.

Dip the zucchini sticks in the egg mix-
ture, then in the panko mixture to coat
completely. Place them in a layer, not
touching, on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake them in the preheated oven for
20 to 25 minutes or until crispy and
golden brown.

Serve with ketchup, marinara sauce
or tartar sauce for dipping.

Chewy Flapjacks (Dairy)
Makes 24
Cook’s tips:
*British fl apjacks are prepared with
rolled oats.

*To make the recipe pareve, substi-
tute margarine for butter.

*Crumbled fl apjacks can be sprin-
kled over fruit or ice cream.

Photos courtesy of the Levine family
2 sticks (½ pound)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
5 tablespoons honey
3½ cups instant rolled oats
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Line an 8-inch-by-8-inch baking
dish with parchment paper or foil,
extending an inch or so above the
rim. Spray it lightly with nonstick
baking spray.

In a large saucepan over medium
heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar
and honey; mix it to blend well. Do
not boil it. Remove it from the heat.

Stir in the oats, about 1 cup at a time,
mixing well.

Spoon the mixture into the pre-
pared dish, pressing down evenly
with a wooden spoon.

Bake it in a preheated oven for 25
minutes. The fl apjacks will be soft.

Cool them in a dish for 45 minutes
to fi rm.

Cut the fl apjacks into squares. Cool
them completely in the fridge. When
cooled, remove the fl apjacks from the
parchment paper.

Store them in the fridge in a tightly
lidded container. Flapjacks freeze
well. JE
Ethel G. Hofman is a syndicated
American Jewish food and travel colum-
nist, author and culinary consultant.

Philadelphia Ad Man
Steve Levine Dies at 84
Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer
S teve Levine was such a successful
ad man that, when the television
series “Mad Men” became a hit, Th e
Philadelphia Inquirer interviewed him
about the industry.

The Jewish Philadelphian
pitched Donald Trump for Trump
Organization business, Barron Hilton
for Hilton Hotels Corp. business and
various other big names. He was a real-
life Don Draper, the main character of
“Mad Men” played by Jon Hamm —
though the real-life pitch sessions were
far less dramatic than their fi ctional
counterparts in the show, according to
Levine’s son David.

But for a man who moved to
Philadelphia as a young man and stayed
in the area for most of his life, no pitch
mattered more than the one he made
to Phillies President Bill Giles in 1979.

Giles said the Phillies, who had fallen
short of the World Series in recent years
with two 100-plus win teams, would not
have the money to sign Pete Rose, the
hit king who would likely become Major
League Baseball’s fi rst-ever $1 million
man. Levine responded with an idea.

“Why don’t we call some of our clients
to get some endorsement money to see if
that will help?” he asked.

Th ey came up with about $150,000 in
endorsement deals to add to the off er.

Rose signed and helped the talented
Phillies win the 1980 World Series.

Th e ad man who played a small but
important role in bringing a World
Series to Philadelphia died on Oct. 29 in
South Florida. He was 84.

Levine is survived by his wife Susan
Bodner Levine; children Lisa Levine
(Eddie), Janet Steinman (Ray), David
Levine and Lauren Sager (Dan); and
eight grandchildren. The real-life
Draper was born on Aug. 22, 1938,
to Jacob and Lillian Sutin Levine
in Albany, New York. As a kid, he
attended Camp Ramah and graduated
from Albany High School in 1956 and
Syracuse University in 1960.

Levine worked for Proctor & Gamble
in Cincinnati before arriving in
Philadelphia to join the marketing fi rm
of Kalish, Agnew, Spiro and Rice. He
Steve Levine with his wife Susan Bodner Levine
later worked for Elkman Advertising
and Counselor Films.

“If he met you, he made you feel like
you were the only person in the room,”
David Levine said.

Advertising was Levine’s profession,
but Judaism and Israel may have been
his passions. As his son explained in an
email, “Steve’s infl uence on the Jewish
community of Philadelphia was pro-
found.” Levine served on the board
of directors for the Jewish Federation
of Greater Philadelphia, the Jewish
Exponent and the Akiba Hebrew
Academy (now the Jack M. Barrack
Hebrew Academy). Th e family belonged
to Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley.

But as an American child who was
born as the Holocaust was starting in
Europe, and who came of age in the
years following World War II, Levine
maintained a particular devotion to
Israel. Th e Jewish state was born in its
modern form in 1948, and Levine “fell
in love” with it as a child, his son said.

Th is mindset was ingrained in him by
his father Jacob, who escaped pogroms
in Ukraine, landed in Israel and then
immigrated to the United States. But
it was in Israel, even before it was the
Jewish state, where Jacob found peace
and stability. Jacob Levine stayed in
touch with the people he met there even
aft er moving to the U.S. He became an
avid Zionist and passed the enthusiasm
down to his son.

“He was such an avid Zionist to the
point where I couldn’t say anything that
he didn’t believe in without him correct-
ing me,” said David Levine of his father.

“He knew so many people who were
involved in the origins of Israel.”
Steve Levine visited Israel several
times and even brought the Jewish
state into his home here. When David
Levine was young, his family took in an
Israeli exchange student for a year. Steve
Levine’s devotion, passed down from
his father, continued into the next gen-
eration. All of his kids have now visited
Israel, too, except for David Levine.

But in the years before his dad died,
David Levine was able to spend quality
time with him to talk about the older
man’s experiences. He heard about the
advertising war stories, the service to the
Jewish community and the commitment
to the Jewish state. Th e son is not quite
sure why he hasn’t gone to Israel. Now
though, he is pretty sure that he wants to.

“I’m the only one in the family who
hasn’t,” he said.

As a kid, David Levine, now 52,
attended the clinching game of the 1980
World Series. But he did not realize that
his father had played a role.

“It wasn’t until later in life that I really
understood the impact,” he said. JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 21