His Senior Moments Are Golden

After four decades in the fabric biz, Ron Gartner has finally carved himself a second career, although the gigs came slowly: A senior center here. A retirement home there.

At 58, the New York City resident has found a spot in the limelight as an oldies crooner, riding the aging edge of the baby boom generation from Long Island to Miami.

On Thursday, Gartner hit gold, as it were. He brought his act -- a ranging mixture of Big Band and Motown -- to Leisure World in Laguna Woods, a city of about 16,500 mostly retired residents.

Gartner appreciates his demographics.

“Hey, let me tell you, calling them elderly communities is a misnomer,” Gartner said excitedly during a telephone conversation from New York. “The buzzwords these days are ‘active adult communities.’ They have them everywhere -- Sun City, Palm Springs, Florida. I recently was at Hilton Head, S.C.”

Gartner, who is performing in Indian Wells this weekend at a dinner dance benefiting cancer research, is tapping into the audience of baby boomers who will push the 55-and-older segment of the population from about 47 million in 2000 to more than 90 million by 2020.

He’s not alone.

Those who grew up on “American Bandstand” recognize a stable of old favorites on the senior circuit: Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Tony Orlando and Bobby Vinton. Though some of the better-known names still find bookings in Las Vegas, county fairs and even cruise lines, the senior centers and retirement communities provide bountiful audiences and decent pay for others.

At first, Gartner performed free of charge. As bookings increased, he began to charge $250 a concert to defray travel and equipment costs. He now earns $1,500 a night and performs up to a dozen times a month.

Gartner favors the work of acts from Motown’s golden years, such as the Four Tops and the Temptations. “My dream is to be invited up to the stage by the Spinners,” he said.

In his act, Gartner sometimes adds a 20-minute medley of James Brown hits, finishing with the King of Soul’s classic “I Feel Good.” And, when he’s really feeling good, he drops to one knee a la Brown and has an audience member come onstage and help him up.

“I don’t have a cape,” he said, referring to a Brown trademark concert prop.

For those whose hair is a bit grayer, Gartner offers songs with a slower pace, something perhaps from the Perry Como or Frank Sinatra catalog. After belting out “I Feel Good,” he sits on a chair, grabs his breath and breaks out some vintage Sinatra. “Nice and Easy” is a sure bet for those in their “Rogaine years,” Gartner said.

Gartner had a fledgling singing career as a boy, first in Los Angeles-area synagogue choirs and later with a band that made a modest living playing parties along UCLA’s fraternity row. He even had a stint with a house band at the Whisky in West Hollywood.

But the musical career was put on the shelf while he and his father built a chain of fabric stores. The family owned Fabric Warehouse in Los Angeles, a chain of 10 stores from Torrance to Northridge. In 1994, he moved to New York.

For years he drove his wife, Fran Heller, crazy with his love of piano bars. At bar mitzvahs and weddings, he would walk up to the microphone and break into song.

Two and a half years ago, he read that a senior center in Flushing, Queens, was giving ballroom dance lessons and he offered his services. He got a standing ovation.

That was all it took.

Gartner went to New York City’s Department for the Aging, picked up a list of centers for the elderly and soon was appearing regularly at retirement homes. Moving to assisted-living facilities, Gartner slowly developed a following.

In a few weeks, his self-produced debut CD, “Someone Like You,” will be released. But he’s not stopping there. Recently, he was invited to join the Friars Club in New York City.

“I want to network with the David Brenners and Alan Kings of the world and ask some major comedians to be their opening act,” he said.

He said he was spending 10% of his time at his singing career and 90% with the fabric business. “Now it’s the opposite.”

He added: “For an older guy it’s kind of like living a dream.”