John Daniel
1931-2011
John Daniel and Dan Horenberger. Hiroshi Hanamura photo
By Dan Horenberger
Carousel News & Trader Publisher, 2006-2013
I’m sad to say that John Daniel passed away after battling a prolonged illness. Many of you know John quite well. John and I were great friends, and more than a few people were sure he was my father, since we were together so much in the early days. He was a great mentor to me and for over 30 years we were part of each other lives. From our first experience working together at Baranger Studios with Burton Burton of Casablanca Fan, to the recent sale of the Illions Supreme that he made so famous, it was always fun and exciting doing anything with John. He had a way, with his infectious enthusiasm, that could get anyone interested in what he was doing, and everything he did was fun. John had an extremely wide range of interests – and none of them he did in a small way. He was “all-in” on everything he did and everything he collected. The carousel world is lucky to have had him as part of our circle. He and his wife, Cathy, have always been open to allowing their collection to be viewed. They opened the door to getting many people enthused about carousel history. Without John and Cathy, the last Illions Supreme would have been lost forever. The carousel community and the world in general will miss John, but never forget him.
– Dan
Horse!!!
Remembering John Daniel
By Marianne Stevens
Carousel Historian, Co-Author of “Painted Ponies.”
John Daniel, Lourinda Bray and Cathy Daniel at Lourinda’s Running Horse Studio open house in 2008.
John Daniel was certainly a man to remember. The first time I met John was at one of those crazy, mad-cap ACS (American Carousel Society) Conventions on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.
With his extensive stage background, John was of course the auctioneer, making the convention’s auction one of the most fun parts of the trip. So, when it was time for Bingo night, it seemed natural that John would be the Bingo Man – call the numbers and MC the game.
There were 300 of us there that night including the Governor of California at the time, George Deukmejian, Jr.
We were all instructed by John that should we get Bingo, instead of Bingo, we were supposed to stand up and shout, “HORSE!”
I will never forget the thrill and surprise of 300 people jumping to their feet and shouting HORSE!!! all at the same time. (Needless to say, all of our Bingo cards had been rigged for this moment, and I was later told it was the idea of Scott Ringwelski and Robbi Rustuen). That was one of my favorite memories of John Daniel. There are many more. He was a good man.
– Marianne
