George A. Hamid Jr., former owner of Steel Pier in Atlantic
City
February 25, 2013|Kristin E. Holmes, Inquirer Staff Writer
George A. Hamid Jr., 94, a former owner of the Steel Pier in
Atlantic City who with his family brought stars such as Frank Sinatra and the
Beatles to the Jersey Shore, died of pulmonary failure Saturday, Feb. 23, at
Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point.
Mr. Hamid and his father, George Sr., operated the Steel
Pier for 30 years, building a family-entertainment venue that blended circus
acts, amusement-park rides, and concerts.
Singers including Diana Ross, and unusual acts like the
high-diving horse helped turn the pier into a main attraction for Atlantic
City
Mr. Hamid's major responsibility was booking the acts.
"The father was an old-school tough negotiator, and
junior handled himself differently," said Ed Hurst, who
hosted Summertime on the Pier, a music-and-dance show televised from
the famous venue. "He was modern-day and Ivy League."
Born in Jersey City Kew-Forest School Forest Hills , N.Y. Princeton
University Wharton
School University
of Pennsylvania
He served as a lieutenant commander in the South Pacific.
When the war ended, he returned to New Jersey
Mr. Hamid's father, a former circus performer, bought the
Steel Pier in 1945, but Mr. Hamid made his mark by booking acts that appealed
to younger generations.
He booked Ricky Nelson in the late 1950s, bringing in a
then-record crowd of more than 44,000 in one day. But that booking was preceded
by what Mr. Hamid later called an error in judgment.
He had the chance to book Elvis Presley but didn't.
"I said, 'They'll go for a guy named Frank, a guy named
Perry, a guy named Pat, but they'll never go for a guy named Elvis,' " Mr.
Hamid said in a 2004 interview.
He went on to book other teen heartthrobs, including Bobby
Rydell and Frankie Avalon.
In 1964, Mr. Hamid brought the Beatles to what is now
Boardwalk Hall and sneaked them out of the arena by loading the British band
into a laundry truck while the crowd stayed standing for a strategically timed
playing of the National Anthem.
Mr. Hamid's father died in 1971, and the family sold the
Steel Pier to a group of businessmen, but Mr. Hamid continued managing the
venue until 1975.
"Atlantic City
Mr. Hamid managed the family's other businesses, including a
traveling circus and the New Jersey State Fair. He also worked as a business
manager for boxing champion Ernie Terrell, and was a co-owner of the Miami
Dolphins in the 1960s.
He wrote several books about his father, who was born in Lebanon France
Patricia Hamid died in 2006. Mr. Hamid retired shortly after
her death and moved from an apartment in Northfield Northfield
Their son Herbert died in 1975.
In addition to son James, Mr. Hamid is survived by sons
George 3d and Timothy; daughter Elizabeth Roberts; seven grandchildren; and
nine great-grandchildren.
Friends may call at 2:30
p.m. April 1 at the Jeffries & Keates Funeral Home, Tilton
Road Infield Avenue ,
Northfield , N.J. 08255 3 p.m.
Memorial donations may be made to the John Davis 3d Memorial
Scholarship Fund, and mailed to the funeral home.
George Hamid Jr. dies; promoter owned Steel Pier
The Press of Atlantic City reports George Hamid Jr. died
Saturday morning at a South Jersey hospital. He was 94.
Besides owning the Steel Pier, relatives say Mr. Hamid was a
well-known entertainment promoter who was involved in numerous business
ventures over the years.
He also operated a circus, ran the New Jersey State Fair and
was a part-owner of the Miami Dolphins football team during the early 1960s.
A Princeton University
Mr. Hamid’s father bought the pier in 1945. George Hamid Jr.
wrote a biography of his father titled “The Acrobat: A Showman's Topsy-Turvy
World . . . from Buffalo Bill to the Beatles.”
The younger Hamid was among the first promoters to realize
there was big money in rock music.
While many other towns fought the spread of the new,
youth-oriented music in the 1950s, Mr. Hamid embraced it, booking virtually all
the big acts of the time, save for Elvis Presley.
The single-day attendance record, according to Mr. Hamid,
was established on Labor Day, 1958, when Ricky Nelson drew 44,211 people.
“There was nothing in the history of the world like Steel
Pier in its heyday,” Mr. Hamid said in 1998, the centennial of the attraction.
Mr. Hamid also put on the Garden State Fair. The operation,
one of several with the right to the name “New Jersey State Fair,” had nearly
as many financial problems as the Garden
State Park
But the show was widely attended.
In 1995, he moved the fair to the Expo
Center Pennsauken ,
before turning it over to new management.
The Press of Atlantic City (http://bit.ly/ZsiMhX) reports George Hamid Jr. died
Saturday morning at a southern New Jersey
Besides owning the Steel Pier, relatives say Hamid was a
well-known entertainment promoter who was involved in numerous business
ventures over the years. He also operated a circus, ran the New Jersey State
Fair and was a part-owner of the Miami Dolphins football team during the early
1960s.
A Princeton University
Information from: The Press of Atlantic City (N.J.), http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
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