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By Fredric D. Rosen
It has been a few months since Allen Bloom left this world. Sometimes time
and space give us a better perspective of the individual.
I knew Allen for more than 20 years — first as adversaries and then as
friends. Allen was always a leader in this business — and very complex. He
was shrewd, bright, argumentative, cunning, impossible, funny, difficult and
always unforgettable. His appetite for life was as large as his appetite for
good food and wine. He was a special and unique individual. From his red
spectacles to his big cigars, he was someone no one ever missed in the room
— and he was a very good friend.
He loved what he did, really enjoyed the people he did it with, and was
fiercely protective of the franchise he represented.
We are often judged by the company we keep, so let me incorporate a few of
the words of some of Allen’s other friends.
“When I think of Allen, words such as passion, integrity, loyalty,
intelligence, fierce, tough, caring and character all come to mind. Allen
was the greatest mentor anyone could ever have. To work with him was a
challenging joy. One of the two most difficult things I ever had to do was
to tell Allen that I was leaving the company. Allen will live on as long as
any of us that learned from him live. Frankly, though, if you didn’t know
Allen, no description is adequate; if you did know him, no description is
adequate. The two words Allen Bloom are the summation of everything this
business should be. To me, losing Allen was like losing one of my parents.”
— Frank Roach
“Allen Bloom was a unique and caring individual. His professional knowledge
was exceeded only by his personal love of his family and friends. The impact
he had on both the business he loved and the friends he made will last
forever. I am honored to have had him as a true and genuine friend.” — Steve
Camp
“During his multifaceted 50-year career in live entertainment, Allen J.
Bloom’s name came to represent many things to many people. To a few, he was
a trusted confidante whose wise counsel was sought on important matters. To
many, he was the consummate mover and shaker, a deal maker extraordinaire.
To his competitors, he was a tough negotiator, tenacious but ultimately
fair. To his colleagues and associates in the industry, he was a man of his
word who always did the right thing and encouraged all those around him to
do the same. To young people such as myself entering the business, he was
the greatest mentor anyone could ever hope to have.” — Bill Powell
In closing, I circulated an e-mail the weekend of Allen’s funeral. I believe
the words are appropriate to repeat here:
“I have spent most of today thinking about Allen — the red glasses, some of
our enlightening conversations and their genial, mellow and mellifluous
tones — especially in the early years — people in other zip codes told us to
keep it down — dinners with great food and wines — golf with some creative
scoring — his opinions — he had an opinion on everything — if you said good
morning, that could bring on almost anything — if you said service charges,
it made War and Peace look like a short story — it was the end of Western
Civilization as we knew it. Most of all was his zest for large chunks of
life. Tonight I had a drink and shared a very good bottle of wine with my
wife and thought of Allen and Susan.”
All of us are going to miss him. fm
Fredric D. Rosen was the builder, chairman and
CEO of Ticketmaster Corp. from 1982 to 1998. He may be contacted at
frosen20@yahoo.com |
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