Mel Haber was a true friend to our Coachella Valley

The headline in this paper reporting his passing used the phrase, “A lovable character,” and indeed, the late Mel Haber was both lovable and a character.  He was also the very successful owner and operator of the most iconic hotel and restaurant in Palm Springs, if not the entire Coachella Valley.

Over the years, The Ingleside Inn & Melvyn’s Restaurant played host to both the famous and the infamous.  I was neither, but I was fortunate enough to become Mel Haber’s friend.

As Mel’s friend I want to be sure that his celebrity doesn't overshadow something that was very near and very dear to him – his charitable work.  His decades-long devotion to Angel View helped develop that organization into one of the most effective charities in our valley.  Each year the organization would help hundreds of children and adults with disabilities to attain their maximum potential.  Many a morning over coffee Mel would talk about how proud he was to have been a part of Angel View’s growth and success.

In that same vein, after his tenure as president of Angel View, Mel turned his time and attention to another worthwhile valley organization – SafeHouse of the Desert.  SafeHouse provides emergency shelter, intervention and outreach services to youths in crisis, including runaways, abused children, and sex-trafficked kids. When he became a member of the SafeHouse board, Mel asked if I would volunteer my time along with him.  I said yes and before I knew it we were at the SafeHouse facility in Thousand Palms talking to about a dozen young people ranging in age from 11 to 17.

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One of those kids, a young boy about age 12, asked if he could read a letter that he had written to his mother.  Mel, said yes, of course, and so the child pulled a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket and read this short note telling his mother how much he loved and missed her.  I looked at Mel – a Bronx-born, street smart, successful entrepreneur and celebrity in his own right – and watched a tear slowly stream down his face.  When he saw me watching, he quickly turned away.

Later we learned the boy’s mother had died in childbirth and he had never known his father.  As we were leaving, Mel said to me “There’s too much ugly in the world.  These kids don’t deserve it.”

Something that Mel Haber deserves and will soon become a reality is a Wall of Stars, which will be erected at the SafeHouse in Thousand Palms as a thank you to those who have contributed to the cause.  And oh so appropriately it will be named "The Mel Haber Wall of Stars."

I truly feel privileged to have known Mel Haber and to have called him friend.  To use a well-worn catch phrase, but one that very much applies in this case – Mel Haber may be gone, but he will never be forgotten, certainly not in our valley.  And to use a phrase of my own making, I heard someone recently say about Mel: “Mel Haber is a Damon Runyon character.”  To which I quickly commented:  “No, no. Damon Runyon was a Mel Haber character!”  Amen.

Frank V. Furino is a former staff director for ABC News/Sports, a network TV writer/producer and playwright. E-mail him at frank.furino@gmail.com.