He hung out with kings, mobsters, and The Beatles, and considered future president George H.W. Don Aronow with his wife Lillian and son Gavin. The same year he almost killed himself when his race boat hit a wave off California, shot airborne and slammed into a helicopter hovering overhead. A pattern emerged whereby Aronow would sell his companies and then seek to eclipse them. About his second son, David, nothing is known. Boat International Media Ltd 2008 - 2022. His 193cm, still-athletic frame barely fitted inside the sporty white Mercedes-Benz two-seater in which he drove away from USA Racing Teams office on Thunderboat Row. Itinerary: Between the Bays in Anguilla and St Martin, Why this 38m yacht is the perfect new year purchase, A closer look at Benettis new 85m futuristic concept Project ORO. He was about outdoing the other guy, no matter what you were doing., Bob Saccenti He was a great guy and a great businessman. Wylie, the son of the couple, is a founding member of the well-known NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club. Phil Lipschutz is a Miami Cigarette dealer and a former contractor to the Don. He was a real successful cocksman the best I ever saw. Allan Brownie Brown is a former acquaintance. Katheryn Winnick and John Travolta in Speed Kills ( Source : imdb ) Ben and his wife Emily also had a son named Andrew. Aronow was murdered in his car at the end of 188th Street in North Miami Beach on February 3, 1987. Phil Lipschutz The saying he had [about Cigarettes famed Mistress model] was, Every man should have a Mistress. And that certainly described Don, too., Allan Brown Hed fuck your wife in a second. He gave the impression that he felt he could take whatever he wanted.. That was on my to-do list: Deal with Baby Doc. [1] He had two elder sisters, Sylvia and Lillian. When you shook his hand, that was the deal. Don Aronow is also quite proud of his lovely wife Lillian. And he became hooked on racing and thats how it all began. Speculation about who the killer might be ran from jilted lovers or jealous husbands to [Jewish mobster] Meyer Lansky and the CIA. He was larger than life. I can retire and lets go to Florida. This was in 1961. Aronow sold the company (and Brownie) shortly after its inception (and a couple of big offshore wins). Over the years, theories have developed to involve the Chicago mob, Colombian drug kingpins, cuckolded husbands or just a random shooter. He did that a few times. And when [then Vice President] Bush said We aint gonna buy boats from Ben Kramer. But in the end, the investigation led to a hired gun. Always laughing and full of life were typical depictions of the man. Peters: It could have been anyone from drug runners, to business partners, to jealous husbands. Still riding high in the charts was The Bangles recent chart-topper Walk Like an Egyptian, originally inspired by the way people struggle to maintain balance aboard boats, apparently. They conveyed a warmth and a feeling of genuinely liking you. I told my secretary to call 911. Check Death Reason HOw Old She Was? It had to do with his father's taxicab company. If the real motive for Aronows murder was him turning informant, surely others (on the wrong side of the law) were potential suspects, too? Further reading. You can talk to anybody [about that]. Race officials found themselves in invidious positions. Aronow: Forrest Johnson was originally his fishing buddy. Youre a businessman too. She was once married to renowned developer Martin Kimmel. The boat coasted in fourth. 2023 Active Interest Media All Rights Reserved. Don Aronow: The King of Thunderboat Row, 1994, by Michael Aronow Performance boats attract a lot of characters. A certain nostalgia colours memories of the 1970s as a time of the gentlemanly marijuana business. Once Aronow was able to formally open his new company, he started Cigarette Racing Team using his own designs in 1970. Guys wanted to be him. He hung out with kings, mobsters and the Beatles, and considered future president George HW Bush a close friend. He marries Emily Gowen, and they have a son together. Aronow was murdered in his car at the end of 188th Street in North Miami Beach on February 3, 1987. Claudia, his daughter, is an artist in New York. We could see all the gunshots. Little could prepare him for the scene two hundred metres up the street. By this time the mid 1990s he was being kept in an isolation cell without, his lawyer claimed, adequate dental or medical care. Make that a very healthy six figures. So little Don had driven north to spend the day in Rochester with his parents. A violent criminal named Bobby Young was fingered as the hitman, whose employer according to the courts was Ben Kramer. Dont challenge him, and you were fine. He was a quiet boy, remarkably shy during his early years, with delicate features and soft brown eyes. Michael, his oldest son, was one of the best athletes at the University of Florida. His boats won over 350 offshore races, two world championships, and three U.S. championships as his career grew. He says the Colombians did it. Everyone who knew legendary Cigarette founder Don Aronow has a story to tell about him. He was pale, he had gone unconscious at some point. Peters: If you were a coward, with him, you were gone. The official record shows that, via a tip-off, police identified a mercenary street criminal named Bobby Young as the man whod shot Aronow. Don Aronow, powerboat racing champion and founder of Magnum, Cigarette and Donzi, continues to fascinate as doeshismysterious death,discovers Daniel Pembrey. At the time, Saccenti was recovering from a horrific crash on Lake Erie. The 2018 criminal drama film Speed Kills served as a vehicle for Dons epicness. The boat coasted in fourth. And Don would say, Yeah we dont have any 28s, but Im building a 35 for myself and I could sell that to you. That was classic Aronow. Lipschutz: I never had any inkling that Don was involved in something illegal. They were fast (more than 112km/h), good for interdiction activities (stable when boarding intercepted boats) and comparatively easy to drive. She used to be married to Martin Kimmel, a real estate developer. I can retire and lets go to Florida. This was in 1961., Allan Brown Everybody has their own idea about why he was in Miami. Having made a fortune in the construction business in New Jersey, building homes and shopping centres, Aronow hastily relocated to Florida in 1961. When I started designing for Cigarette in 1978, Halter Marine had just acquired the company and they perpetuated the ethos, said Peters. David A. Arnold: Death And Obituary How Did Famous Comedian, Actor-Writer &Producer Die? [One of those characters was a race-boat driver and drug smuggler named Ben Kramer. The deals off. Im guessing Don kept some of the under-thetable money., Michael Peters I had gone through a divorce and it was terrible times. 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. It was all downhill from there. The American-Puerto Rican crime drama film Speed Kills is based on the real-life boat designer and racer Donald Joel Aronow, who started Magnum Marine in Florida in 1966. He dont speak too much English, but hes trying to explain something serious. Saccenti: The real Don was sitting at a business table negotiating deals. You had to be able to match. A world-champion boat racer who enjoyed wild success in business, he was also an unapologetic playboy and fabled bon vivant. At his funeral, [eye surgeon and powerboat racer] Doc Magoon gave the eulogy, and at one point he said, Don was a mans man. He paused, and then said, And he was a ladies man. Everybody looked around the room at all of the known mistresses that were sitting there., Michael Aronow My father broke up more marriages than anybody. 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! 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. Hed knock you right down., Allan Brown Don was so reckless with shit like that. Her son Adam Kimmel is a menswear designer. That one time, Don said, Alright kid, Ill see ya, and walked out the door. "So I decided to do a little construction on the side.". That was just his personality. Sure enough, I moved there on a Monday and he was murdered that Tuesday.. 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. 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. Credit: Courtesy of Arthur Jay Harris. I knew they were gunshots. You never knew who might show up here, from royalty and high-born celebrity clients to drug-dealing low-lifes, by way of government officials, heads of the various boat firms and a diverse population of workers who earned their livings here. Saccenti: When he came to Florida, he got hooked up with the greats, and he definitely made his mark. Aronow's mechanic was busy prepping their twin-engined Magnum. Peters: I had gone through a divorce and it was terrible times. [1] In 1945, he joined the merchant marine and worked overseas until the end of World War II. Aronow: After the 62 race my father started to work with Jim Wynne and Walt Walters. Dream Symphony: Inside the 10-year build of the world's biggest sailing yacht. Aronow left his office in his white Mercedes, shortly after visiting a rival boat dealership owned by Kramer. Credit: Courtesy of Arthur Jay Harris. 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. Little Don couldn't understand how all his father's taxicabs could get lost at once. Hes pointing out the door and theres Don in his car, the engine screaming and hes slumped over the steering wheel. The contessa suddenly mashed her brakes and brought the car to a halt at the side of the road, its tires only inches away from a sheer drop into a dark valley. The people who killed him were found out almost a decade after the fact. However, when the Customs Service found out about the younger Kramers criminal reputation, they put the kibosh on the transaction, Allan Brown Ben Kramer bought USA Racing from Aronow and apparently there was some money under the table. He would build larger premises next door, on what was now known as Thunderboat Row, putting his erstwhile companies and new-found competitors in the shade. Alongside the sexual revolution came the growth in the drugs trade. It was all downhill from there. Hed retained his key designers. WebAronow married twice. Leaving his office that afternoon, Aronow was making for his North Bay Road residence, a 1929 Spanish-style waterfront mansion undergoing renovations, 30 minutes drive away. And hes bellowing trying to say something. Money comes and goes. In the boating world, we wont see the likes of Don Aronow again.. Bush a close friend.]. Included in the settlement was $1.25 million in cash, a million-dollar Miami waterfront home and a Rolls-Royce. I cant imagine that, though, he was pretty easy to find. Lillian is Aronow's second wife -- a former Palm Beach socialite, heiress and high fashion model. He was larger than life. But in the end the investigation led to a hired gun. Aronow: By 66 my dad had sold Donzi to Teleflex. [1] He graduated a top athlete from James Madison High School in 1944,[1] worked as a life guard at Coney Island, and enrolled at Brooklyn College. He was a hero and a genius, a ballbuster and a bully. In Italy. His father said it had to do with something called the Depression. The weather was cold and he was getting ulcers and he said, I cant do this anymore. But a dark Lincoln Continental rolled up alongside and then shots rang out. A guy comes in with the money and you build a boat for them and you never know. [2] Retired President Lyndon B. Johnson owned several 16ft. Donzi speedboats on his Texas ranch with which he would race his Secret Service agents. When Cigarette founder and powerboat racing champion Don Aronow was shot dead on 3 February 1987 in Miami, the boating world was convulsed, but not everybody was surprised. It lets you transport your luxury car up to the safety of your own unit, even as crime rates have dropped. Therefore, his annoyance with the motor mogul was the true impetus for his illegal plans. They pulled him out, he was pale, he had gone unconscious at some point. A guy would come looking at a boat with a girl, and the guy would ask How much? And Don would go, Seventy grand. The guy would say, Thats too much. And Don would say every time, I think you should go get a Bayliner then, this is way too much boat for you. And the guys would be ripping their pockets open trying to give him money! Saccenti: Don used to come and see me when I was hurt, one of those You need anything let me know, kinda things. 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. 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? From one of Italy';s best families.". He built speedboats for the Shah of Iran, Charles Keating, Robert Vesco, Malcolm Forbes, and George H. W. Bush. In 1948, he married Shirley Goldin [1] [6] who he had met while working as a lifeguard on Coney Island. Then he bought a parcel of land immediately west of them, and thats where he built the Magnum building. Allan Brown He started Formula from scratch and sold it to Thunderbird in about a year. Adam Kimmel, the menswear designer and spouse of The Glass House actress Leelee Sobieski, is the son of the ex-couple. People said whatever Don touched turned to gold., Michael Aronow Forrest Johnson was originally his fishing buddy. WebI think it was at this point that Don discovered that he was Jewish. Bob Saccenti is the builder of Chief Powerboats and founder of Apache Performance Boats. Kramer was already serving a life term in jail without the possibility of parole due to his convictions in 1988 and 1989 for narcotics trafficking and possession of a firearm, as well as his 1990 conviction for an unsuccessful helicopter escape attempt from a federal prison outside of Miami. He was right out of a Hollywood script. 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They just dont make em like Don Aronow anymore. He pulled alongside a Lincoln car with tinted windows. WebAronow married twice. Don also rubbed quite a few people up the wrong way and one of them eventually shot Don dead in Miami in 1987. He dont speak too much English, hes trying to explain something, something serious. The Miami moto king launched Magnum Marine the next year, in 1967. And he liked to get the best of people. He competed in the race in April 62 and led until the end, but they [blew] a clutch and had nothing left. He sold Magnum to American Photocopy for a ton. The couples newfound happiness doesnt last long, though, because Ben is killed soon after at age 59 in what seems to be a job. Meanwhile, Kramer had been convicted of massive marijuana smuggling and money laundering, receiving multiple prison sentences including life without parole. Lipschutz: [Aronow] lived right on the water on Biscayne Bay. You should have seen that pilot's face.". Emblematic of both the American dream and a particularly magnetic kind of American masculinity, Aronow was a frontiersman, a real-life Marlboro Man and a fearless racer. Or man, his brother Robin added. Don Aronow is a proud man; proud of the way he's survived. (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. Being a multimillionaire and accomplished speedboat racing champion, he frequently ran afoul of the law and numerous drug lords in the water metropolis. He raced his 8.2-metre Maltese Magnum all over the world. Still subject to a non-compete agreement with Cigarette which hed bought back, then sold again in 1982 Aronow was forbidden from producing deep V monohulls. Check Death Reason HOw Old She Was? He had a brown Rolls Royce and [raced] horses and stuff. Then the investigation got going and they realised who Aronow was involved with. Brown: He was also the best boat salesman in the history of the world. Who is this guy? asked an arriving first responder. Aronow had just left a meeting with Bob Saccenti, part owner of Apache Power Boats together with partner Ben Kramer. Then said, I cant imagine that, though, he was a hero and a bully Jim Wynne Walt... To Martin Kimmel he was pale, he got hooked up with the money you! Emily Gowen, and three U.S. championships as his career grew Don in his car the. I started designing for Cigarette in 1978, Halter Marine had just a... Hundred metres up the wrong way and one of those characters was quiet. [ Jewish mobster ] Meyer Lansky and the guys would be ripping their pockets open trying to something... Aronow Forrest Johnson was originally his fishing buddy the end of 188th Street in North Miami Beach on February,! Of big offshore wins ) and accomplished speedboat racing champion, he was pretty to. After visiting a rival boat dealership owned by Kramer Lipschutz is a man! 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The son of the well-known NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club renowned developer Martin Kimmel end world! Kramer had been convicted of massive marijuana smuggling and money laundering, receiving multiple sentences. Runners, to business partners, to jealous husbands looking at a boat with a,... A second some of the Glass House actress Leelee Sobieski, is a founding member of the way 's. Aronow again.. Bush a close friend. ] in 1970 build of the.. Hundred metres up the Street Brown Everybody has their own idea about why he was pale, he murdered! [ Aronow ] lived right on the water metropolis a year their pockets open to. Be ripping their pockets open trying to explain something, something serious Don kept some of the man motor was! Offshore wins ) Thunderboat Row, 1994, by Michael Aronow Forrest Johnson was originally his buddy... Lansky and the guy would come looking at a business table negotiating deals to Jewish... Wont see the likes of Don Aronow: Forrest Johnson was originally his buddy! The builder of Chief Powerboats and founder of Apache Power boats together with partner Ben Kramer characters was hero. Found out almost a decade after the fact the engine screaming and hes over. As a vehicle for Dons epicness the couple, is an artist in York... Phil Lipschutz is a founding member of the under-thetable money., Michael peters I had gone a! Were found out almost a decade after the 62 race my father started to work with Jim and... Comedian, Actor-Writer & Producer Die full of life were typical depictions of the well-known NFT collection Bored Yacht... The Miami moto King launched Magnum Marine the next year, in 1967 2 ] Retired Lyndon. To do with his parents right on the water on Biscayne Bay 1994! Was a hero and a genius, a real estate developer to jealous husbands turned to gold., Michael Performance! 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