Walter Chabert
October 11, 2017
LOCAL CO-OWNS
October 11, 2017
The name “Hal” is not a nickname in my family. It’s a tribute to a friend, Hal Benson, who inspired and mentored me and became the older brother I never had. Cajun boys’ middle names were usually Joseph or Antoine (me) or one of the saints, but in this case Dot and I named our first born Michael Hal Martin, so the saint part was taken care of and my friend was remembered. Michael and wife Tammy named their son Hal Michael Martin and he’s now a NASCAR racer living in Charlotte, North Carolina and has a racing company, Martin and McClure.
After practicing law for several years, Michael Hal Martin became an Assistant District Attorney and succeeded me when I retired as Lafourche Parish Assessor after 16 years in office and 47 years employment in that office. Sadly he passed away at age 58 while serving his 4th term in office, the last three unopposed. He died in his wife’s arms after having fought years of type one diabetes and two kidney transplants, the last one donated by one of his employees
The story of our friendship has pathos and humor but ends tragically. I wish I had the writing skills to do justice to the story but, as usually, it’s in my own words.
His name was Albert Bensebat II and I told some of his story last week. He was the son of Albert Bensabat and Corinne Dunbar, born in Havana, Cuba in 1923 and moved to New Orleans. Corrine was named after her mother and inherited the name and the famous St. Charles Avenue restaurant “Corrine Dunbar’s,” an elite seven course meal restaurant.
Albert II did not adapt to high society life and after his father died very young of a heart attack, Albert, still in his teens left home to pursue a career at WDSU radio, and that’s when Albert Bensabat II ceased to exist and Hal Benson was born.
He kept in touch with his mother who had married Mr. Brown of Brown’s Velvet milk and ice cream, a famous New Orleans brand name. He enrolled at LSU in a pre-medical course, and when World War II started enlisted in the Navy. After the war, he decided that his career was in radio and he enrolled at Northwestern University, where he graduated with a B.S. degree in radio broadcasting and resumed his job at WDSU radio.
When an opportunity opened at WMPS, the top radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, he took the job and married his childhood sweetheart Louise, and they had three children. He became famous as “Bublitchki” Benson and had a 10:30 p.m. to midnight show called “Around the Town.” He also broadcasted boxing and sports events and had an afternoon show called “Jam Time.” He even inspired a record called “Bublithki” which was the biggest seller in Memphis for a long time. Television was years away and radio dominated.
His career secure, he took the opportunity to buy an interest in a radio Station in Morgan City, KRMC, which he was to manage, so he packed his family and headed south. Upon arrival he found the station still under construction, leaving him at 26 years old with a wife and three children and no job. That’s when he found out that a new station, KTIB had opened in Thibodaux, and he headed further south and landed a job. Within a month he was promoted to manager, and as detailed last week, he made KTIB a major player in South Louisiana radio.
Next week: how we became close friends; how he and his staff came to my pirogue wedding and convinced me to honeymoon in Memphis, which allowed me to meet an unknown (then) Elvis Presley ; how his mother insisted that we eat her seven course dinner in her kitchen when he had only stopped for a sandwich and how he and I were the personal guest of Mrs. Jimmie Rodgers, the widow of the “Father of Country Music” in Meridian, Mississippi’s “Jimmer Rodgers Day” celebration, and how he got Hank Thompson to let me sing with his band, and many other memorable events we did together. All Next Week. BYE NOW!
Hal Benson was a close friend of Leroy Martin. So close that he used the name ‘Hal’ as his son’s middle name. His son then named his own son ‘Hal.’
