Suddenly that old diner gang of ours is back in the news as one of the crowd's most illustrious alumni, Leonard "Boogie" Weinglass, explores the possibility of purchasing the Orioles.
The diner guys have achieved the status of a Baltimore institution, catapulted to national prominence by Barry Levinson's 1982 movie "Diner." Academy Award-winning writer and director Mr. Levinson, of course, is another of the young men who went on to achieve fame and/or fortune after hanging out at the Hilltop Diner in Northwest Baltimore in the late '50s and early '60s.
While "Diner," the movie, attached a certain cachet to the hanging-out concept, the fact remains that the Hilltop Diner -- which no longer exists -- was a formative force in the lives of a large group of young Baltimoreans.
But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the diner phenomenon is that so many of the participants have remained friends through the decades. Many have remained in Baltimore to pursue their various careers and meet formally or informally in restaurants or pool halls or at each other's homes.
For the past two years, the group has institutionalized itself with reunions of several dozen "members," who have gathered at an area camp to participate in sporting events -- which were as much a bond for the boys as the diner's famous French fries with gravy.
The public perception of the individual diner guys is based primarily on Mr. Levinson's movie, which focused on six individuals -- Boogie, Fenwick, Eddie, Shreevie, Billy and Modell. All six nicknames are from real people, but the actual characters, for the most part, are composites of several people.
Probably the character in the movie most true to life is Boogie (played by Mickey Rourke), who is portrayed as a somewhat sleazy but ultimately good-hearted fellow with an unfortunate penchant for gambling.
Mr. Weinglass -- who freely admits to having gambled in his younger years -- went on to found the Merry-Go-Round chain of clothing stores, amassing a fortune said to exceed $100 million. His primary residence is now in Aspen, Colo., and he also has homes in Baltimore, Ocean City and Florida.
A much more detailed and accurate chronicle of the lives of the Hilltop Diner gang can be found in "Diner Guys," a 1989 book by Chip Silverman, which will be published in paperback later this summer.
