Danny Phillips: a man of many parts

By Danny Phillips JP

I am a second generation Kiwi: both my grandmothers immigrated from England and both grandfathers from Poland and Latvia. My parents, Betty Schneideman and Jack Phillips, were married at the Beth El Synagogue on The Terrace, Wellington, as were their parents.

I was born in Wellington into a family that was very involved with the Jewish community. Not so much from a religious perspective but more as traditional Jews with a very strong connection to the orthodox community.

WJSC Basketball Team 1966 – from left Ernie Rosenthal, Mike Johnstone, Barry Kohn, Phil
Charles, Syd Szusterman and me at the front as captain.

My father owned a handbag manufacturing business in Wellington and he worked tirelessly for the Jewish community. He was president of the WJSC (Wellington Jewish Social Club) for 17 years. The WJSC had its own premises in Ghuznee Street, and was the hub for recreational and cultural activities for the Wellington Jewish Community. I played for the WJSC basketball team for many years and was Captain for half of that time.

My mother Betty was secretary for WJSC for many years, involved in Banot Group of WIZO and for a great many years with Chevra Kadisha.

I was heavily involved with Habonim as a leader and as Rosh Ken. Many of the friends I made at Habonim remain firm friends and are the centre of our social circle today.

It was at a Habonim 3rd Seder, when I was in my early 20’s that Linda Gould took my attention. She had just returned from London after almost 3 years doing her OE. I was producing a musical for the WJSC called ‘The Land of Milk and Honey’ and she was rehearsing for another show for the Wellington Operatic Society. It took considerable skills to convince her to change her allegiance and be part of ‘Milk and Honey’.

Linda and I married at the same Shule on The Terrace my parents had. In fact this was one of the last weddings to take place at the Beth El Synagogue, as it was demolished shortly afterwards to make way for the new motorway.

Danny and Linda’s wedding in 1973 at the Beth El Synagogue in Wellington, with Rabbi Abraham Rosenfeld

Working at Radio 4ZA Invercargill as a radio announcer

I had joined my father in the handbag business but left a few years later to join NZBC as a radio announcer. My first posting was to Invercargill. I was president of JYM (Jewish Young Marrieds) at the time and had to resign to take up my new post. We doubled the Jewish population of Invercargill! During our spare time Linda and I performed in the Invercargill Operatic Society’s production of Fiddler on the Roof. I played the part of Motel and Linda played Tzeitel. So we got married again and again, but this time at the Civic Theatre which seated over a 1,000 people.

We returned to Wellington after a year to join Radio 2ZM. It was back in Wellington where Darlya, the first of our three children was born. It was in 1977 that I was asked to MC the official opening of the new Wellington Jewish Community Centre in Webb Street. It was a big event with a packed Shule with the mayor and politicians in attendance.

Six months later I was transferred to Apple Radio in Hastings and this is where our first son Ari was born. There had been a strong presence of Jews in the Hawkes Bay and still quite a few families remained there. They made us extremely welcome. We invited the entire Jewish community to the Brit. It wasn’t everyday a Brit could be celebrated in Hawkes Bay so everyone came! Our parents and friends travelled up from Wellington, so we had a lot of people for one small house.

When the excitement of radio wore off, Linda and I moved back to Wellington where I took up the position as buyer for McKenzies NZ Ltd in their Head Office. Two years later McKenzies was taken over by Woolworths and I was offered the position of Menswear Buyer for the Woolworths group. Unfortunately the job was in Auckland and there was no way I was going to go to live in Auckland! l decided to start my own business in the apparel industry. After all I had been buying apparel for McKenzies’ 74 stores and I well knew the ropes. Our third child Dov was born during this period.

It was about this time that TVNZ was looking for a new ‘on-camera’ continuity announcer and I managed to get the job, taking over from Roger Gasgoine. But it wasn’t to last too long: Cherry Tree, the new apparel business was taking off and I was spending every second week in Auckland and that meant too much time away from my family. So we made the decision to move to Auckland!

Word must have got around, because it wasn’t long after my arrival in Auckland that I received a call from Max Cryer. It was supposed to be a friendly chat and no more. He asked about my availability over certain months and I wondered why. I was subsequently offered the role of quizmaster/host on a primetime TV1 series called ‘Take Off’. It was a great opportunity for me and I loved the experience.

Fiddler on the Roof - an original magic act where I performed as Tevye

Meanwhile there was a feeling in the Jewish community that a group focussed on the 30 to 40s age group was needed and the Auckland Jewish Club (AJC) was formed. I was vice president in its inaugural year, then taking over later as president.

Acting had been in my blood and I had done many shows in Wellington, so I auditioned for ‘Oklahoma’ with the Auckland Light Opera Club and picked up the lead role of Curly. The show was at His Majesty’s Theatre. Other musicals and plays where I have held principal roles include Little Shop of Horrors, Cabaret, Dirty Weekends, Off the Hook and of course Fiddler on the Roof, amongst others.

Like many 13 yr old boys I was given a magic set for my Barmitzvah but it wasn’t until our family were attending a Purim event at the Shule in Greys Ave with a magician that my daughter asked if she could have a magician at her next party. Well clearly I wasn’t impressed with the said magician, because I joined a magic club to do it myself and there started a near 40 year interest in magic. Today I perform professionally but only for adult events, corporate functions and weddings. I spent 12 years as New Zealand President for the NZ ring IBM Ring 160.

I have been privileged to appear on the front cover of ‘The Linking Ring’ magazine, along with 6 pages of background therein. ‘The Linking Ring’ is the official publication of the (IBM) International Brotherhood of Magicians with its Head Office in the USA. It is the largest magic club in the world with members in 88 countries. It was truly an honour.

A huge honour to find myself on the front cover of USA’s ‘The Linking Ring’ Magazine

MC for the Rotary district conference. Here I was doing some magic with World President Dr Manoj Desai

A few other highlights stand out as memorable for me as a magician. One was being chosen to appear on ‘The Great Kiwi Magic Show’, a TV Magic special which broadcast in prime time in New Zealand. Another was being chosen by TVNZ as a featured performer for the Asia Pacific Broadcasters’ Conference, and yet another highlight was to be the Master of Ceremonies at the IBM Convention Banquet in Reno, USA. I was thrilled to win three awards at the 22nd International Magicians’ Convention with Best Stage Act, Best Illusion and Best Effect of the convention. A less visible presence was being a judge at three international conventions in the USA.

All our children have had an interest in Magic. All have performed and all have won awards. Ari, our older son is living in England where he runs a design agency. He also is a member of the prestigious Magic Circle.

All our children attended Kadimah College. My daughter Darlya was the first student to return back to the school for a short stint as a staff member. She is now a dental hygienist and has been living in Canberra with her husband Jason and beautiful daughter Summer. They were members and involved with the Canberra Shule and community. She returns to the Auckland community in 2022.

All three of our children have spent time in Israel. Either on Machon, AUJS or the American Massada course. Ari also spent a year in Melbourne on a B’nei B’rith scholarship at Mt Scopus College.

Dov, our youngest, is a Health & Wellness practitioner. He is married to Joy and they have Noah and Zev. Both boys are currently studying at Kadimah College.

All our three children performed magic. This photo appeared in the NZ Womans Weekly. From left: Dov, Ari, Danny and Darlya

In Houston, Texas, after winning the Remi Award for my film ‘No Turning Back’

Filming has been a passion of mine since the early 70’s. In those days it was in 8mm film, then Super 8. I was a member of the Wellington Cine Club. Victor Corn who was a stalwart of the Wellington Cine club and a member of the Wellington Jewish Community had taken me under his wing to show me the ropes, and was keenly interested in my progress. In due course, I managed a win with a light hearted doco ‘Wellington Impossible’ but the win I was most proud of was the ‘Kodak Top 5’ Award. My film ‘Food for Thought’ had won the club’s best film award and the area award, before taking out the national ‘Kodak Top 5’ award. This was awarded to the top 5 amateur films in NZ (any category). The film was about the plight of the homeless people in Wellington.

I took on small paid filming jobs during those years from documenting kennel clubs’ annual shows to recording yacht races and filming weddings, but this was all back in the 70’s.

Hitting ‘the big four O’, I wondered if life was over. I started the YAC, The Yiddishe Adventurers’ Club. Because we had made it to 40 years, didn’t mean we couldn’t still do some adventurous activities. There were no meetings, just great adventures: Whitewater Rafting, Blackwater Rafting, Go Cart Racing, attending the NZ Racing Driver School and driving a Formula Ford, Motocross riding in Woodhill Forest, World Challenge Tag, sailing an America’s Cup yacht, Land Yachting, and more.

After getting out of the apparel business and a small craft business I had at the time, I decided to do something different. The Cherry Tree Consumer Club was born and was definitely different. This was a concept unlike anything we had in New Zealand. Essentially it was a members’ buying club. People would pay a membership fee to belong and then have access to wholesale prices on a massive range of branded consumer goods. We sold everything from Bosch dishwashers to Pierre Cardin shirts, from Sheridan towels to dishwashing liquid. There were over 300,000 items and we had some serious brand names on our books. It wasn’t the easiest project I have ever undertaken and it was a mission to get off the ground and get the suppliers on board - in fact, had I known how difficult it was going to be, I wouldn’t have started it! The central core of the business was the clubroom. Likened by some to a first class airlines lounge, where members would sip coffee and browse through the catalogues. Our club was in Auckland and I franchised it in Wellington and Christchurch. I sold the business and retired at 58.

I was determined to get involved in the wider community and subsequently I was sworn in as a Justice of the Peace. I make myself available every Wednesday at a JP clinic at the beautiful Birkenhead library. I joined Rotary Birkenhead where I was, for a time, a Director. I am still a very active member and seem to be roped in for all sorts of projects - in particular when they need an MC!

With finally some free time again I decided to get back to movie making. In the last twelve years I have completed five films. Each of those has been written, produced and directed by me. Four of the five have won international awards.

‘No Turning Back’ is my latest film, which now has worldwide online distribution. It is a feature length psychological drama. To date it has won 13 awards from Best Screenplay to Best Film award, including a Remi Award from WorldFest Houston, the oldest independent film festival in the world. Just weeks after receiving the Remi, Linda and I travelled to Italy where my film was showing in two cities just a week apart. This is one of the benefits of being a filmmaker and being free to travel.

My mother Betty used to say behind every successful man is a successful wife. I know this to be true, for without Linda I would not have achieved what I have. She is the first person to read my scripts and the first to watch a new piece of magic. Nothing is let loose on any audience without Linda’s smile of approval or ‘how the heck did you do that!’. If I am looking for some inspiration during the writing of a screenplay for a film, I go to her first. She comes with me to location scout, to look for props, for costumes. She gets involved with auditions and helps with final casting. Most importantly she’s beside me for the whole journey, and supporting me right from the start to the end of this long process we call filmmaking. But most of all she has to listen to endless film talk month after month, year after year and for that she is the hero.

Danny Phillips: a man of many parts