At the age of twelve, I began clarinet lessons but continued playing saxophone with the trio at schools as well as on the radio and television programs. At the age of 16, I performed a saxophone solo on the Paul Whiteman Amatuer Hour both on TV and radio in Philadelphia and New York, respectively. This led to further appearances with the Whiteman Orchestra under the direction of Ray Hyman. At that time, I had thoughts of becoming a renowned alto saxophone soloist in the mold of Marcel Mule.
I never thought, however, of music as a career but focused on becoming a surgeon. This pursuit led to my applying to pre-med school at Temple University even though I had been offered a music scholarship to the same institution. After one year, due to my fascination with learning chess instead of going to classes, I flunked-out of Temple and was back working in the store while thinking about what to do next, knowing that being a store clerk, or possibly an owner sometime in the future, was the last thing on my mind.