They had two sons, Gavin and Wylie. Don and I had had a meeting to discuss my salary. Aronow agreed to buy USA Racing Team back from Kramer, equally predictably for less than the consideration hed received. When you shook his hand, that was the deal. Speculation about who the killer might be ran from jilted lovers to jealous husbands to Meyer Lansky to the CIA. Made quite a lot of money on it in 1964. Given this unpromising start in life, the seven-ton, 11.9-metre Blue Thunder vessels acquitted themselves well. From being a huge success in the construction industry, he went on the being a legend as a powerboat designer and racer. Some people bad-mouth him, Oh he did this, he robbed that, well thats shame on you. Don Aronow with his wife Lillian and son Gavin. Dons origin story moves around according to whos telling it. (ABOVE) TICKET TO RIDE: Don Aronow and his son, Michael, cruising off Miami with the Beatles before their iconic 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan show. In the real-life offshore racing seasons, a majority of the contestants might well turn out to be drug runners say, George Morales, Sal Magluta and Willie Falcn, all convicted of cocaine trafficking. Gavin and Wylie are their two sons. You gotta do your homework. I went over there and he had holes all over him. Brown: Shirley was his first wife. Writer: How about a one-word description of the kind of boat you build? Cigarette, Donzi and other Aronow-conceived brands live on, as do the Miami to Key West race and offshore poker runs. Shortly after the visit, Aronow left his office and drove down the street to Apache Performance Boats to visit with his former protg, Bob Saccenti. Don also rubbed quite a few people up the wrong way and one of them eventually shot Don dead in Miami in 1987. How Did He Die? Dons second wife Lillian Crawford and their two boys Gavin and Wylie are also left behind. Thus, the depiction of his life and death in film was handled in the 2009 documentary Thunder Man: The Don Aronow Story and the 2018 film Speed Kills, which was directed by John Travolta. Lipschutz: The saying he had about [Cigarettes famed Mistress model] was every man should have a Mistress. And that certainly described him, too. He had a brown Rolls-Royce and [race] horses., Bob Saccenti He used to say youre never gonna make a lot of money building boats you make a living doing that. WebI think it was at this point that Don discovered that he was Jewish. We'd race to Nassau and back on the weekends. I didnt hear shots, with the air conditioner and sewing machines going on, but somebody came and got me. Some people badmouth him, He did this, he robbed that. Well, thats shame on you. During his quarter-century-long reign as the undisputed king of Thunderboat Row, Aronow was a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But if he didnt like you, watch out., Allan Brown Our friend Stu Jackson worked for Thunderbird and he received a gold Rolex when he retired. Bobby Young was the person who did the killing, and he said that Ben Kramer hired him. And then there's the matter of status by association. A certain nostalgia colours memories of the 1970s as a time of the gentlemanly marijuana business. Bob Saccenti is the builder of Chief Powerboats and founder of Apache Performance Boats. Aronow was extremely competitive in most aspects of his life, perhaps even to a fault. Bob Saccenti The real Don was sitting at a business table negotiating deals. "I'm one of these guys who has to finish first," Aronow explains. "She was gorgous," Aronow says. Don built boats for good guys and he built them for bad guys. A tough, athletic, Jewish kid from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York, by the age of 21, Aronow was married and about to start a career in his father-in-laws New Jersey construction company. Aranow was married twice, and his two marriages gave him a total of five children. And that became the original Formula Marine. Like others who bought a boat company from Aronow, the Theodolis had reason to be wary. You had to be able to match. Bobby Young, the convicted shooter and the man who might have provided definitive answers, died in jail in 2009. At Bushs instigation, the US Customs Service took the fateful step in 1985 of placing a $1.7 million order for high-speed pursuit boats with Aronows USA Racing Team. Then the investigation got going and they realised who Aronow was involved with. He owns a horse farm in Ocala, a home in Miami Beach and a new Long Island estate that just made Toen and Country. In the boating world, we wont see the likes of Don Aronow again.. Check Out Christopher Brineys Unseen Summer I Turned Pretty PhotosYoull Be Surprised! Brown: Ben Kramer bought USA Racing from Aronow and apparently there was some money under the table. American designer/builder/racer:famous Magnum Marine/Cigarette/Donzi/Formula speedboats, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "How a Kid From Brooklyn Put Go-Fast Boats On The Map" By Capt Ken Kreisler, "Don Aronow's Murder Leaves Miami Wondering: Were 'Cigarettes' Hazardous to His Health? He would have a succession of ladies that would appear. Brown: He was murdered right out in front of my office halfway between Saccentis building and my building. Peters: A guy would walk into his shop, all excited to meet [Aronow] and buy a boat. Because he did, thats for sure. The hobby evolved into a business and by the end of 1962, he had formed the Formula Marine boat company, which he then sold to Merrick Lewis' Alliance Machine Corp out of Dayton, Ohio. He dont speak too much English, hes trying to explain something, something serious. A world-champion boat racer who enjoyed wild success in business, he was also an unapologetic playboy and fabled bon vivant. Saccenti: He used to say youre never gonna make a lot of money building boats. Meet His Family, Ben Aronoff Net Worth Figures In The Movie. Always laughing and full of life were typical depictions of the man. In 1966, he founded Magnum Marine and in 1967 proceeded to win his first World Championship driving two 27' Magnums, a single engine inboard and a triple engine Mercury-powered outboard. He was an alpha male, like the male lion you see on safari. Hed bought a Formula and a Cigarette from him, describing Aronow as a joy to be around. Brown: At Cigarette he had an intercom in his office and he used to boff his secretary there and if you needed him you just hit him on the intercom! He dont speak too much English, but hes trying to explain something serious. Of the World's most recognized racing boat companies, Don Aronow established five; Donzi, Formula, Magnum, Cigarette and The chaotic crime scene confronting police detectives was mysterious, not least because of the geography. Saccenti: The real Don was sitting at a business table negotiating deals. ), After Aronows brief visit with Saccenti, he got back in his white Mercedes and began to pull away. I never thought anybodyd actually do that, but by God they did. And he never would backpedal later or change things. Youre a businessman, too. Having made a fortune in the construction business in New Jersey, building homes and shopping centres, Aronow hastily relocated to Florida in 1961. The EMS [paramedics] showed up and pulled him out. Lillian Aronow: (smiling) My husband is actually a veryshy man, you know. He wears khaki slacks to work-tieless and sockless-as he cuts six-figure boat deals with a young Italian count one minute, and talks rpm's with a greasy race mechanic the next. When his kids are teenagers, his first wife Kathy decides she cant stand him anymore after finding out about his other relationships. But Don was badly hurt in a car accident in 1970 and had to use a wheelchair from then on. "I'd never be married to a beautiful woman like Lillian if I hauled garbage for a living," Aronow adds. After buying Aronows USA Racing Team, Kramer had a business dispute with Aronow, but was forced to sell it back to Aronow after the Customs Service refused to do business with him. Accounts of the dealings vary, but perhaps $2 million had been paid under the table in cash by Kramer when he bought the firm, using drug money. After Don Aranow was killed by a gunshot in Miami in 1987, his story was told in the 2009 documentary Thunder Man: The Don Aranow Story and in the 2018 film Speed Kills. The twos happy marriage disintegrates due to Bens demanding schedules and their son Andrews car accident, which left his legs permanently disfigured. He was about outdoing the other guy no matter what you were doing. Dont challenge him, and you were fine. And he liked to get the best of people., Bob Saccenti When he came to Florida, he got hooked up with the greats and he definitely made his mark. And then the investigation got going and they realized who Aronow was involved with, and Bush backpedaled out of there as fast as he could. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! The result was the 8.5-metre 007, named after the gathering cinematic phenomenon. Reaching out across the Pacific to Miami, Florida, The Captain gets the lowdown on the wild life and times of legendary Cigarette builder Don Aronow. Hed knock you right down., Allan Brown Don was so reckless with shit like that. Aronow: Forrest Johnson was originally his fishing buddy. Don Aronow: The King of Thunderboat Row, 1994, by Michael Aronow (ABOVE) HES GOT THE LOOK: Aronow looked the part. Ben Aronoff's success in business and as a successful boat racer hampered his personal life and caused a separation between him and his wife. He had bought a boat in California and he asked Aronow and me to drive it and see if it was any good. He later got married to Lillian Crawford, a model for Wilhelmina who was 24 years younger than he was. Those two managed to make you feel like you were the centre of their world. Youre never gonna make a lot of money building boats, he was quoted as saying. About his second son, David, nothing is known. [He drove it back and] the boat was sinking at the dock. Aronow sold the company (and Brownie) shortly after its inception (and a couple of big offshore wins). The murder may forever remain a mystery. "I got into ocean powerboat racing after I retired to Florida," he says. Hes pointing out the door and there was Don in his car, the engine is screaming, hes slumped over the steering wheel. This sum, Aronow did not return. At the time, Saccenti was recovering from a horrific crash on Lake Erie. He has three childrenMichael, David, and Claudiawith Shirley Goldin, his first wife. Don was a native of New York who, through to his financial savvy and driving prowess, eventually came to command the Miami waterways. The book about Don Aranows life by Arthur J. Harris was turned into the movie Speed Kills. Much was explained by the states southern exposure and geography its thousands of kilometres of coastline, coves and inlets. Phil Lipschutz I never had any inkling that Don was involved in something illegal. Also read:Queen Elizabeth II: Death And Obituary What Happened To Her? Money comes and goes. Aronow was murdered in his car at the end of 188th Street in North Miami Beach on February 3, 1987. We were having lunch one day and Don asked if it was a good watch. Certainly, young Don became wealthy by building and selling tract houses in New Jersey. Barely into his forties, Aronow was now a famous, feted and very wealthy man. It was a big building and obscured the Donzi plant, and you couldnt see [Donzi] from Highway 1 anymore! He went to 188th Street in Miami and decided he wanted to put a plant there. Five days after his murder, The Washington Post reported that a Customs official described Aronow as co-operative when Aronow had been approached for information about one of his clients. Aronow's boats won over 350 offshore races and he was a two-time world champion and three-time U.S. champion. He gave me a spacious office, and I thought, Finally, Im starting to feel secure in life after a recent divorce. I remember taking a call from a guy named Ben Kramer and telling him that Don had already left his office for the day.. In the 2018 memory film Speed Kills, Ben Aronoff played a multimillionaire. Saccenti: When he came to Florida, he got hooked up with the greats, and he definitely made his mark. Nobody really knows [what happened], the only thing for sure is that Dons gone. But they [blew] a clutch and had nothing left. His boats won over 350 offshore races, two world championships, and three U.S. championships as his career grew. The year Aronow won his first world championship as an international powerboat driver, he says. To this day, he maintains his innocence. Meanwhile, Kramer had been convicted of massive marijuana smuggling and money laundering, receiving multiple prison sentences including life without parole. Alongside the sexual revolution came the growth in the drugs trade. That was just his personality. The 2018 criminal drama film Speed Kills served as a vehicle for Dons epicness. We collected some of the best. He was born in 1927, the son of an affluent taxicab owner whose family had emigrated from Russia and been bankrupted by the Great Depression. Hes the only person Ive ever known like that. And he eventually became aggravated with the business. [3] Ben Kramer, winner of the 1986 American Power Boat Association Offshore Championship, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in 1996. During the day were asked to patrol their race course during events for emergency rescues, a Coast Guard official told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Saws buzzed and machinery hummed at the various boat shops, most of which Aronow had started at one time or another.
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