He wooed Sally back to Philly

I often joke that when my time comes, I'll have nothing to worry about: My ticket through the pearly gates has already been punched. That's because I was the one who brought Sally Starr back to Philly after her 12-year exile in Florida.

In the summer of 1984, I was working as public relations director for a Center City advertising agency. One of my clients was the RV Roundup, a recreational vehicle exhibition scheduled for the old Civic Center in September of that year.

The prospect of hyping such an event was daunting - let's face it, the Delaware Valley has hardly ever been a hotbed of RV enthusiasts. (Where would you park one if you lived in South Philly?)

I had to come up with something that would make the show really special.

The PR gods were smiling on me the day I opened the Daily News and saw the lead in "The Ear" column by then-DN staffer Don Haskin.

Haskin wrote that the previous morning, he'd been listening to Ken Garland on WIP-AM discussing with his listeners the name of Starr's horse. Not satisfied with what Garland and his audience had concluded, he found Starr's phone number in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (where she'd been living in total obscurity for some 12 years), and called to confirm the horse was named Pal.

The moment I saw the column, I knew I'd found my RV show hook.

I'll never forget Starr's response when I invited her to return to Philly to serve as "official hostess" of the RV Roundup: "Why would anyone want to come and see me?" she asked in all seriousness. "Who even remembers me?"

Well, I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I knew that anyone who had watched Starr (either as a child or a parent) in the 1950s and '60s would not only remember her but be delighted to see her in person.

In the days before the event, pretty much every media outlet within 60 miles of City Hall did a "Sally returns" story. Then-Mayor Wilson Goode even proclaimed a "Sally Starr Day," and he and Starr posed in matching cowboy hats.

The three-day show was attended by thousands who couldn't have cared less about RVs but were thrilled to stand in line for an hour or more to get up close and personal with "Our Gal Sal."

The outpouring of love persuaded Starr to move back to the Delaware Valley. Since then she has enjoyed a second career making personal appearances - meeting, greeting and sharing memories with her beloved "baby boomers."

- Chuck Darrow