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Elliot Denniberg on his first time pitching to Giant Food's Izzy Cohen, a classic !\n\n". . .here comes the big moment and we\u2019re showing the spots to Izzy . . . the head man, and to Alvin, and Izzy looks down. He\u2019s looking down \u2026 with his head and listening to the music and . . . nodding . . . Whole thing is over with and I\u2019ve already chewed through my upper lip and he gets up and heads for the door. And I\u2019m going, \u201cOh, that\u2019s it.\u201d He says, \u201cAlvin, those commercials were obviously shot in a studio. I never want to show the interior of our Giant Food stores to Mrs. Consumer in any other way but the real thing. You tell this young man to get back in our stores and set up the cameras there and do those spots over again and send me the bill.\u201d\n\nElliot Denniberg, Advertising Wizard in studio with host Andy Ockershausen\n\nAndy Ockershausen: This is Our Town. This is Andy Ockershausen. And it's just incredible that this man is still active, and he's a terrific, terrific friend. His name is Elliot Denniberg, and one time, I believe, he had the most successful advertising agency in Washington D.C. As a matter of fact, I know he had the most money because he had the biggest account. \nElliot Denniberg: I blush. This is television, right?\nAndy Ockershausen: Elliot is a local guy, and I'm so glad he's still with us. \nElliot Denniberg: I am too, Andy. Thank you so much for asking me. \nAndy Ockershausen: Did you grow up in the city?\nElliot Denniberg: I'm D.C. born and raised. \nAndy Ockershausen: Where did you grow up?\nElliot Denniberg: Like Bill Regardie, who I saw Saturday night, by the way, at the Palm, Coolidge High-\nAndy Ockershausen: Saturday night is Jewish night at the Palm. \nElliot Denniberg: No, actually it was Friday night. Went to Coolidge and AU, Coolidge High and American University, yeah. \nAndy Ockershausen: That was a career path for people out of high school here to go to AU, I know. I went to AU also, after I failed at Maryland, but I finished at AU in the broadcasting school. My professor was Fred Fiske.\nElliot Denniberg: Yeah, Fred Fiske. \nAndy Ockershausen: I remember that name.\nElliot Denniberg: WWDC. Fred was a great guy. \nAndy Ockershausen: But, Elliot, I remember when that school was built. At one time, that was the epitome of high schools, really a great school Coolidge.\nElliot Denniberg on Close Call at Don Pallini Dance Studios\nElliot Denniberg: Yeah, Coolidge was a good school. You want to sing the alma mater? Coolidge High, we sing to thee ... Never mind.\nAndy Ockershausen: Yeah, I used to go up there to dances. Did you know they had dances on the basketball courts and that they had a live band up there?\nElliot Denniberg: They had old Sigma Phi ... They had fraternity dances.\nAndy Ockershausen: Yeah. It was great fun, Friday night at Coolidge. No drinking, just serious dancing.\nElliot Denniberg: I have a great-\nAndy Ockershausen: You're too young.\nElliot Denniberg: No. Yeah, come on, I have a great story about ... You may remember this one. I'm going to keep it clean. It was at the Don Pallini Dance Studios on Connecticut Avenue and I'm 16 years old, 1953, and they're passing out, "Here, kid, you want to buy a ticket for a stag? We're going to have movies and we're going to have card games and we're going to have drinking." And I'm not doing any of those things, but I figured let's go. A whole bunch of young guys show up at the Don Pallini Dance Studios, paid the $2, and, next thing you know, I see my cousin Julian Seidel, rest in peace. He walks in with a reel of movies, puts it on. Not one frame of movie ever got shot. I look over at the door and a giant ax goes through the door. The cops raided the place-\nAndy Ockershausen: Before the movie. \nElliot Denniberg: ...