In January 2014 I wrote a post about a remarkable person who devoted his life to his family and to children everywhere. He did it with very little fanfare and had a huge impact with anyone who knew him, regardless of their age. But it was the young, innocent ones, so impressionable who he so impacted in what he presented and how he presented himself. The post nearly two years ago was about efforts to raise money because he had Stage IV cancer and wanted to get special chemo treatments to be with his family for as long as humanly possible. And that he did, but this fall took a turn for the worse. I was saddened to learn via a fellow entertainment friend that Wayne Daniels left us a week ago today.
Some of the following is from my January 2014 post, but not all of it.
We all know people who’ve battled serious health problems, but once in a while you hear about someone who has spent his life spreading good, kindness and joy. It’s even more wonderful if it’s someone who has spent his life spreading good, kindness and joy to the world’s children who he maked his own. And it’s doubly wonderful when you know that person — and can see and feel his impact on others.
It was more than 15 years ago when in my non-writing incarnation Wayne booked me to do some of his highly popular and acclaimed Kids Club shows in malls in the Los Angeles area. I only learned two years ago learned of his background. His Kids Club website noted that his specialty was to produce top rate, highly professional and wholesome children’s entertainment. He had served as Production Manager and Coordinator for PBS, Disney, Universal, NFL, the Special Olympics, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City), Children’s Hospital (New York City), the Los Angeles Central Library and many others.
He toured the country working on live productions of top PBS kids shows. He served as producer and executive producer on award winning children’s music albums and was a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
But none of that explains what Wayne really DID. Nor did his obituary, which again revealed some things I didn’t know. From the Glendale News Press:
Wayne Daniels, 49, passed away at home with his family by his side on Sunday, December 13th, 2015.Born and raised in Manchester NH, Wayne moved to Southern California to attend USC. He earned his MBA from Pepperdine University. Wayne loved entertaining – bringing joy and fun to those around him. In his youth he was an actor and moved to New York City to perform Off-Broadway in the “Pirates of Penzance” and TV productions such as “Fame.” While in NYC he earned membership to the Screen Actors Guild, Actor’s Equity and American Federation of Theatre and Radio Actors. Later, in Southern California, he established the REACH foundation (Reading, Education & Arts for Children) and Kids Club, which hosted wholesome family events at establishments all over the LA area such as the Grove, Waterside Marina del Rey, The Commons at Calabasas, The Lakes of Thousand Oaks, Santa Monica Place, Azalea Regional Shopping Center, Los Cerritos and more. Over the past 22 years, Wayne’s Kids Club has brought music, education, art and happiness to thousands of children of all ages.Wayne found time to volunteer as a tutor at the LA Library working with immigrants, and visited with the homeless providing blankets in cold weather. Originally diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and given only six months to live, Wayne put up a courageous fight in order to spend more time with his family. Wayne was a dedicated father, and is survived by his seven-year-old daughter Norah, his wife of 11 years Ann, his mother Verna Par of Manchester NH, brother Kevin, sister-in-law Kimberly, nieces & nephews Hannah, Sarah and Joshua Par.
Wayne didn’t just produce and coordinate.
He was a charismatic, yet very gentle, force.
He introduced each of the Kids Shows acts and his trade mark was when it came time to give out prizes and he had a kid pick a ticket. “Say ‘Mix ’em mix ’em mix ’em,'” he’d say. “‘Take my ticket puh-leaze!'”
Wayne was the classic case of someone who had been a great entertainer but chose to do more with his talent than just be up there to get applause or publicity. He looked for acts, actions and programs to bring joy to others. He CONNECTED.
From the first time I met Wayne I was struck with how he never ever talked down to a kid. They weren’t little things like cats and dogs, but other beings, human spirits, human intelligence, clay waiting to be shaped. Wayne’s mission seemed to be to help shape the clay in a good way by offering programs that provided positive imprinting. And you can see that when he talked to kids, he connected totally with them. They loved him.
I saw that first-hand in three very needy children who I brought along several times to help me on my shows. Two were a brother and sister with a traumatic family life involving their mother leaving them for what turned out to be more than a decade. They were always really hurting. One is now 24 and one is 20. They still remember Wayne, remember his name and how nice and kind he was to them. The other was a boy who had little contact with his father. This kid helped me three summers in a row with my mall shows for Wayne in L.A., and Wayne connected with him and when he offered to do more and help another act move equipment, Wayne took him up on it and the kid was elated. Wayne treated and talked to him as a lifelong friend and member of the production. When I was to take him again two summers ago, he asked me: “Will that guy be there again?”
It always struck me that Wayne was an example of a REAL pied piper of children — producing entertainment for them that was the epitome of the kind of fun, educational and “safe” entertainment children should see. A mall show hosted by Wayne was like a family event run by a relative. They loved the shows and the way he produced the programs. But, more importantly, he always had time for each and every child who talked to him, connected totally with them and without any condescension and took them up on offers to help. A child going to one of his shows could see a good show — but if they meet Wayne and interacted with him, it was a growth experience.
He didn’t bask in his role bringing entertainment to kids; he nurtured them. As he did anyone who was hired by him.
His battle against Stage IV cancer underscored his courage and determination — as did his family in their response to it. At first, he had responded well to treatment, but then the cancer returned and it hadn’t responded to other treatments. So his friends and family in 2013 launched a fundraiser since insurance didn’t totally cover the whopping cost. He used e the money to try all he could to be here with and for his family as long as he could.
The world’s kids needed Wayne Daniels when I had first met him some 15 years ago. His family, the world’s kids and the world need him more than ever today. Yes: he’s no longer with us now, and the world is poorer for it. Yet, anyone who dealt with Wayne, any of the kids who enjoyed the shows he introduced or benefited from the work he did in other realms to help kids have had their lives enriched by Wayne.
In so many ways Wayne Daniels was a role model. And, from the beginning of his life to the end, an inspiration.
He will be missed, but he left this place better for the all-too-brief time he spent with us.
His life wasn’t about ego; it was about caring.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.