WC_011719

24 | January 17, 2019 | The winnetka Current LIFE & ARTS
winnetkacurrent.com
Winnetkan grants late husband’s wish
Helps publish
memoir
Ronnie Wachter
Freelance Reporter
The story of Steve
Zucker’s life is complete,
but the story of his work
has just begun. His wife,
Shelly, had to let go of his
hand on Dec. 2, but she
now holds his memoir in
her own hands.
Steve was a Winnetka
resident and an attorney
who represented several
famous athletes, including
12 of the Chicago Bears
who won Super Bowl XX.
At the behest of many
friends, he funneled his
experience in negotiation,
reading people and managing
egos into a memoir;
as stomach cancer drained
his life away, Shelly drove
her husband’s book to
publication just before his
death.
“He just took such good
care of me,” Shelly said,
adding that she wanted to
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take care of Steve’s last
wish while he could still
see it.
The result became
“Playing Games is Serious
Business,” Steve’s 240-
page look back at what he
learned from decades as
an agent. The memoir is
now available from New
Orleans-based publisher
Ampersand, Inc.; Shelly
said Amazon.com sold
out of their first shipment
in mid-December and ordered
more.
The book details the importance
of knowing what
value an athlete has in that
off-season’s market, how
to repair his image when
he makes a public mistake
and what lengths an agent
must sometimes travel
to prevent that mistake.
Shelly recalls when the
first athlete Steve represented
— quarterback Jim
McMahon — made an appearance
and a horrifying
gaffe during a taping of
the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Winfrey asked McMahon
about Miracle Whip,
a product he endorsed at
that time, and it didn’t go
as planned.
“My husband was sitting
in the audience, and
he almost passed out,”
Shelly said. “But he spoke
with Jim and Oprah right
there on the set, and she
agreed to retape that segment.”
Steve studied law at De-
Paul University, receiving
a degree in 1966 with future
Chicago Mayor Richard
M. Daley. That was the
first of several connections
that paid off, and Steve
earned a job in the city’s
corporate counsel office.
From there, he switched to
private criminal defense.
Amidst that, he fell in
love with Shelly. A courtship
that began at a May
3, 1970 party turned into
marriage on Dec. 29 of
that year.
“Everybody said ‘Are
you crazy? You just met
this guy,’” Shelly said.
“And we proved everybody
wrong.”
Steve turned out to be a
strong negotiator, but not
a wise gambler. Shelly
recalled their three-week
honeymoon, which began
in Europe but careened
into Las Vegas, “where
we lost all our wedding
money.”
Shortly after marrying
him, her city attorney
wanted to defend people
Wizard
From Page 21
Glencoe’s Gwen Girard,
who plays the lion. “For
example, our musical director
taught us about
staggered breathing which
means you take a quick
breath when you are holding
a long note. It’s very
accused of crimes. Shelly
said she never worried
about his first major career
change.
“He was always honest,”
she said. “He laid the
cards on the table. He told
the client up front, ‘I don’t
take any chances.’ He told
a few people that he didn’t
think he could win their
case.”
The couple raised two
sons and two daughters,
and settled in the northern
suburbs. In 1984,
McMahon needed a new
agent, but looked outside
the existing options in the
field and asked Steve to
represent him. After earning
McMahon a favorable
contract, future Hall
of Fame defensive end
Richard Dent and several
other Bears asked to work
with him, and he opened
Zucker Sports Management
Group.
Suddenly, the guy who
defended accused criminals
became much more
popular at parties.
“Every time we’d go out
to dinner with other couples,
everyone’s always
asking him questions
about his players,” Shelly
said. “People would say
‘Why don’t you write a
book?’”
Steve played those request
off for years, she
said, until around 2012,
when he started putting
thoughts into notes. The
helpful and I can use this
tip in other performances
too.”
The lessons learned and
the months of preparation
are further enhanced by a
few unique surprises, such
as the inclusion of the “Jitterbugs”
and the use of
animation and projection.
“What I love about this
Tams-Witmark version of
“Playing Games is Serious Business” was written by
the late Steve Zucker, of Winnetka. Photo Submitted
couple wintered in Palm
Springs, Calif., and he
used one of those stays to
get serious about putting
those notes together.
It was the same trip
when he started having
trouble swallowing. When
the came back home,
Shelly made her husband
get checked out.
His doctor found cancer
in his esophagus. Which
spread to his stomach,
then his lungs. One of his
two sons, Herbie, recalled
the fervor with which his
parents worked earlier this
year.
“He just really wanted
that book published before
‘The Wizard of Oz’ is that
although it is very similar
to the movie and we hear
many treasured songs,
there are a few additions,
like the ‘Jitterbugs’ who
will keep the audience
engaged and surprised,”
Borris said. “And, for the
first time we are using
animation and projection;
I am so excited to bring
he left us,” Herbie said,
“and she got it done.”
“I said to him ‘Steve,
what can I do for you,’
and he said ‘Get my book
published,’” Shelly added.
“It came out 10 days before
he died. They sent us
the first copies. He was so
happy.”
Shelly said she was
proud of the moment
when she put the last of
her husband’s work into
his hands. How many will
it sell? She said she isn’t
concerned.
“I have no expectations,”
she said. “I just
know he wanted it for his
family.”
this into our show. It’s unlike
anything most have
seen in a children’s production.
Just wait until the
audience sees how we are
able to recreate the tornado
scene and the melting
witch.”
Tickets for are on sale
at http://bit.ly/broadwaybound14.
They are $13 advance
and $15 at the door.