Business Services Industry

A First Person Account Of Running A Small Business - Jack Tamkin and Tamkin Towel Service - Brief Article

Los Angeles Business Journal, Sept 10, 2001 by David Greenberg

WHEN Jack Tamkin returned home from a two-year stint in the U.S. Army in 1957, his future was waiting for him in his father's business, Tamkin Towel Service. He managed a crew of 250 employees contracted to wash laundry for Los Angeles' junior high and high schools, several hospitals and the L.A. Rams.

The work was steady, but Tamkin wanted to be on his own. After his offer to sell his celebrity photos for a fan mail service was rejected, he started his own business, Studio Fan Mail, which answers celebrity ,nail from across the globe.

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"I started the business from scratch, working out of my (Westchester) house for five years. When I started answering fan mail, it was a nickel for postage. My first clients were (actors on) 'The Beverly Hillbillies' and 'The Addams Family.' The business grew over the years from personal referrals from the actors and the studios. We don't advertise.

"We've had more than 250 TV series and 900 actors over the years. They come and they go, of course. Today I have more than 150 clients and 14 employees in my Los Angeles office. We probably get 30,000 letters a month. The studios give us pictures and we reproduce them with a (facsimile) signature printed onto the picture -- You can't expect Bruce Willis to sit down and sign 4,000 pictures. He'd go crazy.

"Special mail, such as from kids who are sick, is forwarded to the stars and they can look at it and do what they want. Most everybody we've got is very good about responding to the special requests.

"The largest single client we've ever had was The Fonz -- Henry Winkler, when he was doing 'Happy Days.' He got 65,000 letters a month for 22 months. No one's ever come close to that. We've been doing his mail since 1975.

"I won't tell you who currently gets the most fan mail. We don't compare one client to another. That's aot good publicity. We treat everybody equally.

"I talk to celebrities whenever they need something like a new photograph. We like to keep (communication) at a minimum. The whole idea is to make sure they will not be bothered.

"But my clients are all nice. If they weren't nice, we wouldn't handle them. I've turned down some big celebrities because I could tell we weren't going to get along. Who needs the heartache? That's the reason I started my own business. I can do what I want. I work seven days a week at it. I wouldn't do anything else."

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Business Services Industry

A First Person Account Of Running A Small Business - Jack Tamkin and Tamkin Towel Service - Brief Article

Los Angeles Business Journal, Sept 10, 2001 by David Greenberg

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