by Jeffrey Stanley
The multifaceted former ad man Daniel Gregory ’78 is hard to pin down. He works as a writer, illustrator, and occasional teacher. He is the author of Hello World: A Life in Ham Radio, co-authored with Paul Sahre, which tells the story of Jerry Powell, a ham-radio operator who was on the air for more than 70 years. Gregory’s website, www.dannygregory.com, is chock full of his entertaining handiwork, including his photos, drawings, interactive presentations, and his blog, “Everyday Matters,” which is also the basis of his newest book of the same name. The book recounts the story of his wife Patti’s paralyzing subway accident in 1995, and contains excerpts from his journals along with many of his drawings and watercolors.
“My family is a constant source of inspiration,” said Gregory, who is also a father. “My work centers around the daily doings of my life and they figure into it all the time. My wife and my son are both very creative and feed and critique my work. Without them, I'd just be some business guy.”
The versatile Mr. Gregory was born in London, and lived in Australia, Pakistan, and Israel before settling in Brooklyn and attending BFS starting in the 8th grade. “When I was at BFS I lived under a pseudonym, Danny Kahan, briefly borrowed from my second stepfather,” Gregory explains. While here, he edited the school paper and began a Marxist study circle. He went on to graduate from Princeton University with a major in politics and a minor in Near Eastern studies.
Gregory remembers BFS as “a very creative and encouraging place.” He says, “I was a fragile and foreign 13 year old. BFS helped me find my footing when I was alien in so many ways.” He appreciated the balance of looseness and structure which is not found in public schools. “I was active in the theater as an actor and director; I started a magazine with Eric Drooker; I was co-editor of The Life; I illustrated the yearbook; I taught an art class, “Portable Art,” and I made animated films, had my paintings hung in the library, and learned enough to get into Princeton.”
Former Head of Upper School Don Knies has a special place in Gregory’s heart. “He was generally a fairly liberal and generous teacher but he dogged me, was intent on prodding me into polishing my work and developing myself as a writer. I will always remember when he shaved his beard off onstage during morning Meeting and managed to draw a fair amount of blood in the process.” Gregory also recalls Paul Pecter, who was “hugely influential,” teaching him not only about art but about political outrage. “I aspired to be a combination of both men. I’m not sure that I am.”
He also called to mind Madame Davis and the times he and his classmates spent trying to distract her from teaching by urging her to tell stories about her life in Occupied France. Then there were antics with teachers Rob Patterson, Vincent Copeland, Jerry Vuoso, Mr. Bernstein, and Ms. Magzanian.
He stressed that the values he learned overall are, as he puts it, “more important today than ever—openness, creativity, social responsibility and a commitment to peace. At BFS, I was encouraged to be an individual and to express myself.”
His advice to the current BFS generation: “Focus on doing as much as you can and have a broad range of experiences; don’t freak out about college; be open-minded about your classmates no matter how geeky they may seem; pay attention but don’t sit up straight; go to parties; don’'t worry so much about what others think; appreciate that you are having a unique experience quite different from the Columbine/WB/Brittany Spears experience your peers are having.” Lastly, he says, “Question authority but don’t be a jerk.”