The Story of Ted Weisgal and Leisure Learning Unlimited

Written by Rick Archer
July 2012

Forward

At one point in my career, I firmly believe SSQQ was the largest dance studio in America.   The peak of SSQQ took place in the years 2000-2001 thanks to the confluence of the Retro Swing Craze and the emergence of the Living La Vida Loca Salsa Craze.

SSQQ became so swollen with students that people began to complain about the over-crowding.  That forced me to hire Hall Monitors and install an On-Line Registration system to limit the number of people coming into the studio on any given night.   One thing the Registration system did was keep track of the numbers.  There were times when 1,400 people a week walked through the studio doors.  I would be very surprised if there was another dance studio in America that could match those numbers.

Ted Weisgal and his Leisure Learning adult education program were at the core of the SSQQ success story.   During our 30 year relationship, Leisure Learning sent countless students over to SSQQ.   I will forever be grateful for Ted's help.   Here is the story.

The Story of Ted Weisgal and Leisure Learning Unlimited (the original article)

Written by Rick Archer
August 2002

Introduction

As a long-time resident of Houston, for 30 years I have been directly involved in adult education in three different ways - as a student, as an instructor, and as the employee of four different programs. Basically I have seen it all. 

Back in the 70s Houston had four different adult education programs:

1. The University of Houston Sundry School 
2. The University of Saint Thomas Courses a la Carte
3. The Class Factory
4. Leisure Learning Unlimited.

At different times the first three organizations were highly successful, then fell upon hard times and disappeared. Thirty years later only one organization still stands - Leisure Learning. 

Maybe there is a reason behind the survival of Leisure Learning.  There was one man who was a major part of all four organizations.  His name is Ted Weisgal, co-director of Leisure Learning Unlimited.

I would like to share the story of Leisure Learning and chronicle its importance to Houston and to SSQQ over the years. 

Leisure Learning is an adult education/life-long learning program run here in Houston by Ted and his wife Kathy Kamin-Weisgal. The first issue of the LLU catalogue appeared in September 1979.

Many SSQQ students are familiar with LLU since they first heard about SSQQ through Leisure Learning. Over the years people have noted the similarity of the SSQQ and LLU schedules. This is not an accident. We have been in business together since 1980. When I first started with LLU, I set up my classes to parallel the Leisure Learning schedule.

Today there is no other Houston adult education program that even comes to mind with the size and widespread recognition of LLU. Leisure Learning towers over its competition. I am aware of other community adult classes since they contact me from time to time about teaching classes for them. They are sprinkled across Houston such as Bellaire, Katy, Kingwood, North Harris County, Houston Community College, the Jewish Community Center (where I got my start!!), and Spring Branch among others, but their operations pale in comparison to the Leisure Learning juggernaut. The gap is so great I don't even know who is in second place. 

Ted and I have been in business for over two decades.  Long ago we hitched our wagons together and we have helped our mutual businesses grow to prominence.  He is clearly the strongest business ally I have ever had.

When you open a Leisure Learning catalogue it is easy to assume LLU has been around forever. LLU currently offers 500 different classes per catalogue and runs 33,000 people a year through its program. The catalogue of courses is impressive for its diversity and comprehensiveness. Their courses range from fun stuff to practical stuff, from hobbies to career-enhancement, from self-help to adventure, and of course from slow dance to romance. Check it out: www.llu.com 

Believe me, it hasn't always been that way. For example, when we watch someone who has made it big like a Robert Redford or a Barbara Streisand, we often take their success for granted. It is only when we see an Arts and Entertainment documentary that we begin to realize just how hard they had to work to get there.  I have had a front row seat to watch Ted and Kathy's business grow from zip nada nil nothing into the huge operation it is today. In fact I probably have a better perch than anyone because Ted's career and mine were running a parallel path long before LLU even came into existence.

One note - as I relate the history of LLU, you will notice I don't say much about Kathy. She stays pretty much out of sight, perfectly content to handle the money end of the business.  She prefers to keep a low profile, but I am well aware of Kathy's important "power behind the throne" role as the financial wizard in the family business. I might add Ted is quick to credit Kathy's help whenever I compliment him on the success of his business.

Ted and Kathy run a true Mom and Pop organization. They ARE Leisure Learning.

Ted and Kathy have every right to be proud of their success. They built their business from the ground up.  There was no family business handed down to either person nor any silver spoon. They had to take a lot of chances and work very hard to get where they are today. If they went under, there was nothing to fall back on. Operating without a safety net made for some pretty tough times.  But they made it. I think the story of how they accomplished their goal is excellent reading for anyone interested in starting their own business.

Chapter One - Ted Weisgal

Ted Weisgal developed his interest in lifelong learning as early as junior high school. During the late 50s/early 60s the Los Angeles school district gave flyers to all its students to take home to their parents. These flyers would publicize cooking classes, typing classes, auto repair classes, and language classes - practical things for the adults to take at the junior high campus during the evening. Ted read the flyers with interest and realized he was attracted to a career in education.

Ted went to college at San Jose State in the late 60s. He majored in Journalism with a minor in Recreation and Leisure Studies. Those were the days of the Vietnam era and social idealism on campuses. A California boy, Ted was sent clear across the country to spend his entire junior year in the Baltimore ghetto doing social work as part of Vista. 

Ted came back to San Jose State for his senior year. After graduation he stayed on campus at San Jose as part of their Experimental College in the early 70s. This gave him the experience needed to get a job with the University of Houston in 1973 as their Campus activities director.

The University of Houston Sundry School

It was at this point that Ted established the Sundry School, an impressive adult education program affiliated with the University of Houston. 

I remember participating in many Sundry School classes such as Disco Line Dancing with Beth Kennedy and my first-ever Ballroom dance class with Jack Flanigan during these days. The Sundry School was one of my favorite places to find dance classes in 1974-1975 in the days when Disco was growing but still flying low under the media radar screen. 

Unfortunately the Sundry School had a huge Achilles Heel - parking. Their classes were held at night on the University of Houston campus at Cullen.  Campus security was becoming a problem. One day some genius decided to make Sundry School students register their vehicles in order to take classes. The administrative hassle was too much for most people to put up with. Who wants to wander around looking for some office and stand in line to get a parking sticker just to take a cooking class?

Consequently the program had begun to struggle in 1977-1978. Ted identified the problem, but couldn't get anyone to agree with him to change the policy. It was also about this time that Ted had a huge run-in with his boss over 'Robert's Rules of Order'. 

You should know Ted has a passion for Robert's Rules of Order, a system devised for running meetings. In his course write-up in Leisure Learning, Ted asserts that "Meetings are fundamental to Democracy". So you can assume that in Ted's mind, an attack on Robert's is an attack on Democracy.

Although I don't know the details, there was obviously a serious disagreement. As usual when arguments of this nature get heated, someone has to go.

Exit Ted in 1978. He didn't mind too much since the Sundry School was already headed downhill.  What the Sundry School didn't know is that showing Ted the door would accelerate its demise dramatically.

 

Chapter Two - Deborah and the Class Factory

In the summer of 1978, I was fairly new to the dance world. I had been teaching for about eight months. My first job as a Disco dance teacher was at Stevens of Hollywood, a dance studio located on Westheimer a block west of Shepherd across the street from St. Anne's Catholic Church. 

One Saturday afternoon I showed up at the studio early. Lance Stevens, 55, the owner of the studio, was teaching a Country-Western class in the main ballroom. With time to kill I stood and watched as he taught the old step-touch, step-touch walk-walk belly rubbin' Twostep. It was the old style Twostep with the man's arm wrapped around the woman's neck and the woman's finger in the man's belt loop. Believe me, Western dancing has come a long way since then. 

Mr. Stevens had a rough personality at times. For starters, he could be sarcastic. He also liked humor that embarrassed women. I am sarcastic too, but I do my best to make sure my jokes aren't too vicious. When Mr. Stevens picked on you, it stung a bit. His jokes felt like put-downs. An attractive woman about my age at the time - 28 - was standing near me shaking her head in disgust. She turned to me and commented on how mean some of his humor was. I can still remember the first thing she said to me, "Is he always like this?" 

I smiled and told her yes. Mr. Stevens thought he was being funny, but to many people he seemed gruff and condescending. The woman turned back and watched some more. She was fuming. Then she turned to me again to complain some more. I said something that made her laugh and she cheered up a little. 

Now this lady looked at me directly. She was sizing me up.  She decided to introduce herself.

"My name is Deborah. I run an organization called the 'Class Factory'. Are you one of the teachers here?"

I said, "Yes."

Then she asked me if I taught Country-Western.

"No", I told her. I didn't have a clue about Western dancing nor did I like the music very much.

Deborah frowned.  This wasn't the answer she wanted.  She definitely was uncomfortable with Mr. Stevens' sense of humor, that was obvious. 

Now she grew quiet and began to watch Mr. Stevens teach again.  But now I had grown curious about her so I asked a couple questions.  Since I had gotten my start as a dance teacher by taking dance classes offered through adult education programs such as the Sundry School, Courses a la Carte, and the Jewish Community Center, I was always interested in programs like the one she appeared to be running. So I asked her about the Class Factory.    I explained that I had never heard of the Class Factory.   Deborah handed me a catalogue. I looked through it and noticed it contained classes similar to what Leisure Learning offers today. I also liked her catalogue - it was really cute!  It was decorated with all sorts of little Gremlins (see pictures), all of whom clearly were full of excitement and mischief.  The creativity of her catalogue impressed me quite a bit.   Deborah continued to watch the dance class as I leafed through the catalogue.  That is when I realized I had never heard of her organization because it had just gotten started.

In fact, the Class Factory was so new that I think Deborah was at Stevens of Hollywood that day to make sure her first class with Mr. Stevens was going okay.  

Then Deborah broke the silence.  She asked me if I would consider teaching a dance class.

I explained that Mr. Stevens was the right guy for Western dancing. I admitted I didn't have a clue about C&W.  But I had an idea - maybe I could teach a Disco class for her. Saturday Night Fever was just getting started.  Deborah liked that idea a lot and accepted my idea on the spot. 

Starting with Deborah's next schedule I began to teach Disco classes for the Class Factory.  

This was a very big break for me.  In fact, I consider it one of the four biggest lucky breaks in my life.

The Class Factory helped me get started as an independent instructor.  Disco was just getting starting when I met Deborah, but it would soon bring me countless new students.  I may not have been the greatest dancer, but I was a good teacher.

In other words, my chance meeting with Deborah was another one of those amazing blessings.  I was in the right place at the right time.  Each new student was a gift from heaven in my opinion.  Whenever a Class Factory class ended, I offered the students a chance to take an Intermediate class, then an Advanced class. 

Deborah's program jump-started my career.  It was an extraordinary break for me.  You can easily understand why I feel so grateful to her.  (For more information, see History of SSQQ)

During the next two years Deborah and I became good friends.

I learned that she was happily married with a beautiful house in Fondren Southwest.  This area was definitely the 'in-place' to live back in those days. Her home looked like something out of 'Better Homes and Gardens'.  

However Deborah was not content to relax in the armchair of luxury. She had plenty of ambitions of her own. Since her husband Bruce had an executive job which kept him pretty busy and they had not begun their family yet, Deborah found herself spending a lot of time at home with nothing to do while he left on frequent business trips. 

 

Deborah had a lot of options. For one thing she was very bright and very poised. Deborah reminded me of a Vassar graduate - educated, polished, and gifted at dealing with people.  Deborah had every skill necessary to succeed in business. Judging from the size of that house, she had money too. Deborah didn't have to work, but to her credit she wasn't going to sit around and waste her time.  Deborah decided to set up a business of her own.  Thus the Class Factory was born. It was an immediate hit in the Houston area.  The design of the catalogue was clever and many her ideas were very innovative.  This sophisticated lady with her marvelous communication skills was definitely the perfect person for the job.

Chapter Three - The University of Saint Thomas Courses a la Carte

The University of Houston Sundry School came first in 1973.

Watching its success carefully, St. Thomas University decided to develop its own adult education program in 1977. Titled "Courses a la Carte", I was very excited about their program because most of their classes were held in the Montrose area where I lived at the time.

In early 1977 I immediately signed up to take their Disco classes which were held at Stevens of Hollywood.  On a side note, this was the move that would lead to my teaching there eight months later.  While taking a Disco Line Class, I noticed the owner, Mr. Lance Stevens,  perform the Whip on several occasions.  In September 1977 I came to take Whip classes from him. This is how he noticed me which led to me getting hired there. But that's another story.  

Despite the Sundry School's head start, Courses a la Carte caught up quickly. Personally I thought Courses a la Carte had a program superior to the Sundry School. For one thing their catalogue was easier to read than its counterpart at the Sundry School. Even more important, the St. Thomas campus was much closer and more accessible than the Sundry School for many students. Plus its campus had a vastly friendlier environment. 

The parking and location problem hadn't killed at the Sundry School, but they had made the program vulnerable.  Once Courses a la Carte came along, their stiff competition finished the job.  There was a third reason the new program pulverized its predecessor, but we will save that for later.
 

I had several reasons that visiting Nicholas became one of my favorite daytime activities.  One of the reasons I visited Nicholas was because he was so darn interesting.  He was quite the raconteur. 

Another reason I visited Nicholas was in hopes that I would discover the origins of his effortless charm. Perhaps some of it would rub off on me! 

But I had a darker reason to visit Nicholas as well.  The man was a complete mystery to me!   As much as I admired Nicholas for his gift of popularity, there were two things about him that bothered me.

The first eyebrow raiser were teeming masses of young girls who worked part-time at the Courses a la Carte office on a campus work/study program. Whenever I came to visit, it seemed like Nicholas would have one of these beautiful St. Thomas coeds in his office laughing and hanging onto his every word.

They should have been in the other office working, but keeping Nicholas company obviously was part of their job description. Nor was it just one particular coed - since these young ladies all held part-time work-study jobs, there was a different girl for practically every day of the week.  Judging from their smiles they all had crushes a mile wide. 

Was I envious?  Hell, yes, I was envious!!  I was only 29 and these girls were old enough to have me salivating.  But at the same time I knew they were also about two or three years too young for me to chase. 

But I wasn't sure Nicholas thought the same way I did.  I strongly suspected that Nicholas took advantage of their crushes.  At this, I frowned because I didn't think he was playing fair. Although these young ladies were college age and therefore 'legal targets', they had to be pushovers for someone as smooth as Nicholas with his position of authority, his Warren Beatty charm, and his rock star good looks. 

I think it is only fair to say that my suspicions were totally circumstantial. 

There was something else about Nicholas that bothered me as well - I never saw him working!  I was curious about the girls, but the 'secret of his success' became a real mystery to me.

For example, when I would visit Deborah at the Class Factory, she was always taking calls, answering messages, editing the catalogue, paying bills, or writing something. Our conversations were rarely longer than 5 or 10 minutes. Deborah would gracefully excuse herself to take a call and then I would go visit other people in the office.

But when I visited Nicholas, he would immediately call me in to his office, find me a chair next to the coed de jour, get me some coffee, rock back with his legs up on the desk and shoot the breeze. Our talks would last an hour, two hours sometimes, but I never saw Nicholas do a lick of work!!  Never!  I enjoyed our talks so much, but at the same I couldn't figure out where he found the time. Not one time did he ever suggest I come back later because he had an urgent project or something of that nature. 

There was never a crisis.  There were never any signs of stress.  Nicholas was the Boy Wonder!

Once I peeked through his window before entering the office just to see if he ever touched a piece of paper when no one was looking. He was on the phone laughing.  Nicholas may have been working, but I doubt it. More likely he was developing his connections, something Nicholas was extraordinary at.

The only thing I ever saw Nicholas put energy into was playing campus politics.  This was his gift.  When it came to politics he was the best I have ever seen. He would have to run an errand and would invite me to go with him for company.

Nicholas knew everyone in the Saint Thomas administration on a first-name basis. He schmoozed constantly. He shook hands, introduced me to people, paid compliments, dropped names, patted backs, asked questions, showed concern, told people to give him a call, do lunch, blah blah - Nicholas seemed destined to become mayor.

The guy had it made.  I never saw him work!


So How Did Nicholas Do It?

One theory I had was Nicholas's seemingly limitless supply of beautiful college students who worked there part-time.  Certainly this had to be one of the answers.  But none of these girls were there on a regular basis.  Where was the glue that kept them organized?

Then one day the mystery was solved.

On one of my visits, Nicholas introduced me to his assistant, a man named Ted Weisgal. Ted was a tall, quiet, serious-looking guy with red hair and a light complexion. The moment I met Ted, I had a strong hunch I had found the answer to my mystery.

There was something about Ted that made light bulbs go off in my brain. Here was a guy who looked like he worked...and liked to work hard!  Ted radiated intensity and responsibility. I would have bet money on the spot that Ted was doing his job and Nicholas's at the same time. 

I never got to know Ted while he at Saint Thomas.

For one thing his concentration was always on his work.

Second, Ted lacked the easygoing affability of his boss, Mr. Sunshine Nicholas.  Ted usually didn't even look up when I arrived.  

And for that matter, frequently Ted wasn't even there, but if I tell you the reason now it would ruin the secret of another mystery later in the story.

It would be several years later before I discovered that it was Ted all along who was making Courses a la Carte explode with enrollments. 

After Ted left the Sundry School, Nicholas had hired Ted to be his second-in-command. However Ted was hired for the position only on an interim basis.  Apparently St. Thomas was conducting a national job search for this position.

The conjecture was that Nicholas had burned out his previous assistant by letting him or her do all the work so they quit. Despite the job search, someone was needed to fill in immediately or else Nicholas would actually have to work for a while. 

As I said, Ted was available because he had just been fired from his previous job.  It was a real coupe for Nicholas to get Ted.

First of all Ted had built Sundry School from scratch and knew how to run a program like this. Second, Ted brought many of his loyal Sundry School teachers with him to teach their classes for St. Thomas. This created a seesaw effect. Losing these teachers hurt the Sundry School while gaining them immediately boosted enrollment for CALC.  Although I did not know it at the time, it had been Ted working behind the scenes who was making the real difference. He put Courses a la Carte on his back and carried it to its highest level.  Nicholas was taking the glory while Ted was doing the work.  And despite my frequent visits, I never had a clue at the time.  That is one example of how skillful Nicholas was - as long as he was getting results, he was getting the credit.

Then a funny thing happened. After only 6 months, Ted was gone from Courses a la Carte.  Apparently the nation-wide job search was over and Ted finished second in the running. Someone from the outside was brought in to take Ted's interim position. 

This meant Ted was out of a job again.  Bad move - didn't Nicholas know that firing Ted was a jinx?

Believe it or not, within a year after Ted was gone, Courses a la Carte folded!  

The first victim of the "Curse of Ted the Dread" was the Sundry School.   Now Courses a la Carte became mysterious Victim Number Two of the mysterious "Curse of Ted the Dread".

Ted left two programs.  Both folded.  Coincidence?   

And what about the Boy Wonder?   I asked Ted what ever happened to Nicholas.  Ted told me Nicholas was caught in an embezzlement scheme at St. Thomas and disappeared.  Hmm. 

Chapter Four - Ted Weisgal and the Class Factory

It turned out that the Class Factory office was located across the street from Westbury Square where I took private dance lessons twice a week from Glen Hunsucker.  As a fledgling dance instructor, I knew if I was going to make a living at teaching dance I needed to improve my own dancing.  Since I had free time during the day, occasionally after my lesson I would visit the Class Factory offices just like I did with Courses a la Carte.

One day early in 1979 I dropped in to chat with Deborah. To my surprise I saw Ted Weisgal working at a desk in the Class Factory office. I was completely unaware of the shameful way Ted had been treated by Nicholas. In fact I barely knew Ted since as I mentioned earlier. Either he was so busy working he didn't even look up or he wasn't even in the office to be seen.

As I noticed Ted at the Class Factory office, I remembered what a strong impression Ted had made on me the first time I saw him at the Courses a la Carte.  It seemed like a good move for Deborah to hire him. 

Sure enough, Ted provided a strong immediate boost for the Class Factory.  He worked the same initial magic for Deborah that he had done for Nicholas.  Ted used his experience and his connections to boost her business dramatically.

It turned out there were many instructors at Courses a la Carte who were loyal to Ted.  Many of them had begun an association with Ted all the way back in his Sundry School days.  In fact, Ted had found many of these instructors himself and had given them their first job. Naturally they were just as loyal to Ted as I was to Deborah.

So when Ted left the Sundry School to move over to CALC, he recruited them to come with him to Courses a la Carte.  Now that Ted had moved to the Class Factory, history repeated itself.  Ted lured many of the same people away from Courses a la Carte.  Now the seesaw effect took place again - Class Factory attendance rose while Courses a la Carte dropped. 

I believe Ted was the first person Deborah hired. She didn't have a lot of money so Ted worked for free for a couple months to show his value.  Ted's version of the understanding was that Deborah promised Ted a share of the profits. Ted would become a partner. So naturally he worked his tail off.

With Ted's help, the Class Factory's business expanded rapidly. 

As promised, Deborah did pay Ted a percentage of the profits for several months. But one day in April 1979 Deborah told Ted she had decided to pay him a salary instead. No more share of the profits. This was a huge blow to Ted. Ted told me that Deborah had not anticipated that her business would become so lucrative so quickly. Her suggestion basically meant that Ted would become an employee rather than a partner. This meant less reward for his efforts and far less control of the business.

Ted told Deborah that her change of mind was unacceptable. He had no intention of agreeing to this switch. Ted was understandably angry with working so hard without the promise of major financial rewards. 

Furious at Deborah's U-turn, Ted went home and told the story to his wife Kathy. She listened sympathetically and let him vent his frustration. Finally when Ted had calmed down enough to listen a little, Kathy spoke up. 

"Ted, why do you keep working for other people? You have built three organizations from the ground up only to get pushed around and receive nothing in return. You need to be in charge of your own program."

Kathy's keen observation hit home. Ted immediately recognized the perfect way to fight back was to form his own organization and go into direct competition with the Class Factory. That was the night Leisure Learning was born. 

(Editor's Note: In April 2006, Deborah sent this email to present her side of the story. Under threat of a libel lawsuit, I have edited the juicy portions out of the following email.  She sent a second email which she claims I had no right to publish since it contained a copyright warning.  For the record, I saw a far different side of Deborah in her two emails to me.)

-----Original Message-----
From: Deborah
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 6:01 PM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: The Class Factory Inc.

Rick,

Imagine my surprise, after all these years, to have your online story about The Class Factory brought to my attention.

I am rather distressed, however, at the inaccuracies included in your account. Details about my agreement with Ted are incomplete and misleading

Obviously one's memory can be unreliable after 25 years. I understand that. But I simply can't allow these inaccuracies to float around in cyberspace unchecked. Much of the paperwork from The Class Factory is still safely tucked away in a safe deposit box and will refute most of what you have said. This paperwork includes the agreement Ted signed to work for a percentage -- until I could afford to pay him a salary.
 

April 2006.  My Reaction to Deborah's email above:

I certainly do not know the real story. Most of what I have written was told to me by Ted.  No one but Ted or Deborah knows what the truth is.  And since both people have been very good to me, I am reluctant to take sides. 

I will say this - Ted is a very powerful man.  He loves control and he needs to be in charge.  I cannot imagine a more unstable partnership than him and Deborah, especially if Ted was second in command.  This is not meant as criticism to Ted, but it is not in his nature to 'follow'. He is born to do things his way.  Nor does he take 'No' for an answer gracefully.  He will push for what he believes in because that is his nature. That said, Deborah is an incredibly talented woman. I cannot imagine her tolerating Ted's constant insistence that they do things his way for very long.  Ted had left two previous organizations because I am sure he presented a threat to his bosses.  At some point, I am sure he and Deborah would have butted heads. Their styles were total opposites.

January 19, 2007. Since all the information above was given to me by Ted Weisgal.  I decided to get a second opinion.  In a January 2007 phone call to Kathy Kamin-Weisgal, she told me the following: 1. Kathy could not verify that Deborah promised Ted Weisgal a partnership. 2. Kathy was certain that Deborah promised to pay Ted a percentage of the profits. 3. When Deborah reneged on this offer, Ted quit the Class Factory and took every teacher he had brought on board with him over to his new organization, Leisure Learning. 4. Kathy recalled working many nights for the Class Factory at no pay in an attempt to help get this business up off the ground.

Chapter Five - Leisure Learning goes Head to Head with the Class Factory

One morning in July 1979, out of the blue I got a call from Ted.  He invited me to work for him at the new program he was putting together called Leisure Learning. I declined as gracefully as I could. I explained that Deborah was my friend and I was loyal to her.

After I hung up the phone I wondered if I would regret my decision. There was something about Ted that worried me. I barely knew him, but I nursed the distinct feeling that he was a definite threat to the Class Factory and my patron Deborah.

Often times your brain may not have the facts, but your gut sends out powerful warning signals. My gut told me that Ted was a huge threat.  

It didn't help that I had big problems of my own. There was a lot of uncertainty in my life.

For one thing my beloved Disco dancing was beginning to go the way of the dinosaurs. Disco had been replaced that summer by the new Urban Cowboy-inspired Western era.  I didn't even know how to Western dance at the time. I was faced with the decision to either embrace what I considered "Dancing For Hicks" or get a real job again (inside joke). 

Second, I was having a lot of trouble at Stevens of Hollywood.  All the Disco students I had received from the Class Factory had resulted in an awkward situation. It seems I actually had more students than Mr. Stevens.  Understandably, he wasn't very happy about this situation.  There was constant tension between us.  I was bending over backwards to appease Mr. Stevens, but it wasn't working. The writing was on the wall that eventually I would have to leave, a prospect that worried me a lot. 

Third, I was not getting any new students from Courses a la Carte because it had mysteriously just gone under. 

The temptation to jump ship and go with Ted was great, especially because enrollments from the Class Factory were also mysteriously dwindling.  

Plus I didn't have all the facts. What I didn't know is that Ted's leaving back in April was the major reason for the Class Factory's maladies. If I had made the connection between Ted's departure and Class Factory's slump, I would have been even more tempted to jump ship.  In the end my loyalty to Deborah and my lack of knowledge about Ted made it difficult to go with the unknown new organization.  After turning Ted down, I was sick with worry. I called Deborah to tell her about the recruitment contact from Ted. She did not seem concerned. Although I could be wrong, it is my recollection that Deborah said Ted would have trouble succeeding because he was too hard on people. It was her opinion that Ted would have trouble succeeding in a 'people business' because he was so intense.  She said that Ted had a lot of drive and determination, but his lack of political finesse would ultimately prove to be his Achilles heel. I was taken aback by her nonchalance. My gut told me the guy was a serious threat not to be dismissed. Nonetheless I was reassured by her prediction that losing Ted would not affect the Class Factory.   Like a little boy reassured by mommy that the bogeyman wasn't real, I went back to running my own business.

As you have guessed, Deborah's prediction did not hold.  There is something very powerful about working for yourself.  There is something even more motivating about not having anything to fall back on. Ted was on the war path from the moment "Go". After Ted left the Class Factory, I saw an immediate change for the worse.

Once LLU came on board in September 1979, enrollments for the Class Factory began to drop. I didn't know what Leisure Learning's numbers were, but every time I picked up a catalogue, it seemed to have doubled in size.  Plus the speed of Class Factory's decline was alarming.  To be honest, I don't think Deborah's heart was in it any more.  One day in the summer of 1980 I got a surprise phone call from Deborah. It seems that her husband Bruce had been transferred to Washington, DC. Deborah had decided to sell her business. My worst nightmare had come true. The Ted Jinx had hit again. The Class Factory was in trouble.  I had backed the wrong horse. The Class Factory stayed around for a couple of years after Deborah sold it, but it was never the same.  Deborah had been the heart and soul.  After the new owners stiffed me on my salary several times I dropped them. Chalk up Victim Number 3 to the "Curse of Ted the Dread".  Ted Weisgal was the last man standing.

Chapter Six - SSQQ and Leisure Learning Join Forces. 

Ted was the enemy. That was pretty much how I saw him.  

Beyond a cordial hello in the rare times when I would see him at the Courses a la Carte or Class Factory office, I barely knew the man.  Ted was not the conversationalist - he was always too busy working.

Therefore my main perspective on Ted was what my two friends had said about him. First Nicholas had bad-mouthed Ted as the single most humorless person he had ever met, then Deborah told me he was the most relentless person she had ever met. For two years I had heard nothing good said about him from either of my two benefactors.

Yet now his Leisure Learning program was the only one still in business.  Imagine that. 

I have always valued actions over words. No matter what my friends had said about Ted, it was plain as day that Ted had some kind of magic or maybe it was voodoo.

Whatever it was, "It" was powerful. When Ted joined an organization, it grew. When he left the organization it dwindled.

In a nutshell, Ted giveth, Ted taketh away.

To this day I have never understood why another dance teacher wasn't already in the LLU catalogue. That spot had stayed open for nearly a year. Why I don't know, but thank goodness the opening was still.  Just like Deborah's decision to hire me on the spot, I consider Ted's decision to hire me as a huge stroke of fortune.

Almost immediately after Leisure Learning hired me, in October 1980 Mr. Stevens decided he had had enough of this "two dance studios under the same roof".  He basically told me to get the hell out . Luckily, my dance teacher from Westbury Square, Glen Hunsucker, had just rented a huge new space on Bissonnet. Glen was more than happy to sub-lease a couple of his side rooms to me. I was incredibly fortunate. I lost Class Factory, but Leisure Learning took me in. I lost Stevens of Hollywood, but Dance Arts Unlimited took me in. I was able to land on my feet.  Those were the days when I led a charmed life.

Things had been looking pretty grim that summer. Now with a great new location and a steady supply of new students courtesy of Leisure Learning, I was ready to start the next phase of my dance career. This moment was the true start of SSQQ. Now that I had escaped from under Mr. Stevens thumb and acquired the backing of LLU, my dance program accelerated with explosive force.

Thanks to Ted, I have enjoyed a great climb up the ladder ever since.

All I knew was that Ted was "The Man" now.

Like a boy sent to live with a distant relative after his parents died, I wanted to know as much as I could about him. How much  could I count on him? 

I was determined to figure this guy out. 

The first thing I discovered was that Ted and Kathy worked out of their apartment. You should have seen the place - catalogues in the living room, catalogues in the dining room, catalogues in the bathroom. I didn't have the courage to look in the bedroom, but I will tell you there was a running joke what the catalogues in the bathroom were used for…

I also found out that Ted and Kathy had risked everything to form this business. Kathy had quit her job with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department to help Ted get the business off the ground.  Ted got a $3,000 loan from his parents for living expenses and took out his life savings - another $3,000 - to print the first LLU issue.  After that Ted had nothing - his whole adult life had been Vista, experimental programs, volunteer work, and jobs where he did all the work for little or no pay.  If this venture failed, Kathy and Ted would be in debt up to their necks. Talk about guts!  These guys had crawled way out on the limb.  They were scared.

I decided this had to be a major piece of the puzzle. Unlike Nicholas or Deborah, it was sink or swim for these guys. They had their backs to the wall. Every day they had to get up running and make it happen or the bill collector might be gaining on them.  The second discovery I made was that Ted treated his teachers like a rare stamp collection. He collected them, guarded them, and cherished them. They were his source of income and he let them know he appreciated their work. One time I came by their apartment to drop off my new schedule of classes. I could barely get in the door and had to work my way past twenty prospective teachers jammed into the living room. They were there to get their 'introduction to the organization' lecture from Ted.  After I finally worked my way to Kathy's office in back, I let out a sigh of relief. Amazed at all the people crammed into the tiny apartment, I asked Kathy if it was always like this. She smiled and said there were old teachers and new teachers and god only knows who else in their home day and night. She added the only benefit of being poor was there wasn't anything for them to take.  I smiled at her joke, but inside I was incredulous.

Over the years I have learned that Ted lets his teachers have a lot of leeway, pays them fairly and sends them a lot of students. In return his teachers have been extremely loyal. 

Now I had the second piece of the puzzle. The loyalty of his instructors is a major reason for Ted's 'giveth and taketh away magic' I have alluded to. Every time he goes to a new place, his most productive teachers leave the old place to come with him. This phenomenon enriches the new organization while crippling the previous one. 

I was making progress, but I was certain there was something else that I was missing. I could understood why losing a whitewater rafting instructor would hurt the Class Factory overall, but I could not figure out why losing the whitewater rafting instructor would drop enrollments in my Class Factory Disco class. This question gnawed at me. 

I recalled that after Ted left the Class Factory, the wind had gone out of its sails almost instantly. My dance class enrollments were cut in half. How could one man have such a powerful effect? 

One night I got my answer. I was at Miller Theater in Hermann Park on a hot summer Saturday night in 1981 for the TUTS performance of 'West Side Story'. As I walked toward the hill with my date, something caught my eye. I stopped in my tracks. There on a sidewalk corner was Ted Weisgal handing out catalogues to anyone and everyone as they passed by. I stood there and watched Ted with fascination as he worked the crowd. He was not afraid to approach anyone and rejection didn't faze him. He was handing out a lot of catalogues! I shook my head in awe. It was Saturday night for heaven's sake!  It was the night when the rest of the human race was relaxing from a tough week at work. Not Ted. He was working the whole night long - I know because as I sat up on the hill I watched him more than 'West Side Story'.  My date asked me why I didn't say hello to him. I was ashamed to admit it, but I told her the truth - I was afraid to say hello because I was certain he would ask me to help him distribute the catalogues. If you think I am jesting, believe me, I am not.

As I sat on the hill slapping mosquitoes, I was also kicking myself for overlooking something this obvious.   I was the definitely the fool on the hill at Miller Theater.   Despite all my speculation, I had totally missed the biggest factor in Ted's success - he was willing to outwork the entire human race. Three programs had fallen flat on their face when he left. I had assumed that the defection of the instructors was the reason one program got a boost while another program fell. Tonight for the first time I was seeing the real reason behind his success - Ted worked day and night distributing catalogues.

Ted's true power was his dogged determination to get out as many schedules to as many people as he humanly could.

Whoever replaced him as "catalogue distributor" for Sunday School, Courses a la Carte, and Class Factory certainly possessed on a mere fraction of this man's drive.

I had discovered the voodoo behind the "Curse of Ted the Dread".

Whichever program lost Ted lost a phenomenal distributor.  Whichever program gained Ted gained a phenomenal catalogue distributor. It was so obvious, but I had never realized it before until this chance meeting.  I felt like falling on my knees and honoring the man right there on the spot.

Whoever had been hired to take his place could never hold a candle to Ted. It wouldn't matter two or three men took his place for that matter.  Wherever Ted went 24/7, he would drop off catalogues.  No one on earth could match his drive, his determination, and his ceaseless effort. This was Ted's greatest Magic - he was a Distribution Superman.

I had found the final piece of the puzzle, the most important secret of all - Ted was unbelievable when it came to catalogue distribution. He would work tirelessly to get them handed out, even at the cost of his own personal life on a Saturday night. 

The next time I saw Ted, I asked him about seeing him at "West Side Story".  He told me he is a regular at every Miller Theater event. He also works the Houston International Festival.  Ted said he will go to any special event if it is an opportunity to hand out catalogues.

Ted even gets his teenage daughter Amy to help him!!  (If you are a parent like me, I am sure you wonder what magic Ted uses to accomplish a feat of this magnitude. Maybe he tells her it is Houston Community College instead of Rice and a bicycle instead of a car if she doesn't give him a hand.) 

Through the years I have observed that Ted keeps as many catalogues in the back seat and trunk of his car as the poor old vehicle can hold.  In response to my question, Ted admitted that back in the beginning, practically every day of the week he would drive around town single-handedly supplying all of Houston with LLU catalogues. Sometimes it was morning, sometimes it was noon, sometimes it was night, and sometimes it was morning-noon-and-night, but Ted would do anything to avoid failure. Ted was unceasing in his prodigious effort to make sure no supply stand ever went empty. And it was always eight days a week. 

Twenty years later and counting, Ted still has catalogues in his back seat.  One day we went to lunch in Ted's car. I watched with a grin as he left catalogues behind at the restaurant.  This wasn't the first time I had seen him action. He does this all the time.

Practically wherever I go, I see his LLU catalogues prominently on display. Despite a mailing list of some 25,000 people, Ted still distributes 50,000 more every two months. I know he has help now, but I will never forget that in the beginning he did it all by himself. That is a phenomenal amount of work. I am in awe of the man.  I can work hard for prolonged periods, but then I want to relax. I don't know when Ted relaxes. I am not even sure he does ease up. Ted has been like this twelve months a year for 20 years. His dedication is unbelievable. 

I suppose when you look at the big picture Ted is better off for being forced to go out on his own, but I am still sorry for the hard times and humiliation he had to endure. Ted may not always be the easiest guy to get along with, but he is honest, hard-working, and responsible.  

On the other hand, maybe they did him a favor.  Ted has always had something of a score to settle.

When you see how hard he worked, how he was backstabbed, how he was insulted and disrespected by Deborah, Nicholas and his Sundry School boss, he probably has a right to have a chip on his shoulder.

They say we should forgive our enemies, but only after they've been taken out and shot. In this vein I imagine the 'Curse of Ted of the Dread' has definitely evened the score. 
 

Chapter Eight - Another One Bites the Dust

I got a phone call from Ted in 1986. He told me the Learning Annex was coming to Houston. The Learning Annex was the LLU of New York City. It had a fabulous reputation. They figured Houston was ripe for a more sophisticated operation. They knew about LLU, but expected their big city bucks would bury the competition.

Ted was clearly worried. The Learning Annex had lots of money behind it. He had beaten Sundry School, Courses a la Carte, and Class Factory, but this would clearly be his biggest challenge yet.  He asked me not to jump to the Learning Annex if they asked me to. I promised him I wouldn't. 

Ted must have known something. Sure enough, I got a call from the Learning Annex. They were conducting a teacher raid. At the time I was running the biggest dance studio in town although Marilyn's Dance Studio was a close second. I told them I preferred to stick with Leisure Learning. 

Then I got a big surprise - they offered me $1,000 to run dance classes behind Leisure Learning's back under another name. Again I said no. Ted had treated me fairly when I was down. I owed it to him to return the favor. 

Chapter Nine - Leisure Learning is Everywhere

One day in 1997 my daughter Samantha came home and announced to her mother and I that she had discovered we were famous. It seems Judy and I had posed for the cover of Leisure Learning and two different girls in her class had brought a catalogue to school to show everyone else. I don't think Sam has ever been more impressed with me than that moment.

In March 2001 I was playing volleyball at the Jewish Community Center. A man named Alan Shapiro asked me what I did for a living. I told him I was a dance teacher. He said his wife wanted him to take classes and did I have a schedule or a card. I said no, but then I had an idea. I walked into the lobby and found a Leisure Learning catalogue to hand to him. 

In May 2001 I was eating breakfast at the 11th Street Café in the Heights when a student named Billy Steward recognized me and said hello. He introduced me to the waitress. The next I knew the waitress was asking about dance classes. I knew exactly what to do. I walked over to the corner and found an LLU schedule to give to her. 

Leisure Learning catalogues are everywhere, a constant reminder to me that Ted Weisgal is incredible in the devotion he gives to his business. 

Mattress Mac, another Houston entrepreneur well known for his work ethic, offered this is his motto: 

Late to Bed, Early to Rise
Work Real Hard and Advertise

Along those lines I decided Ted deserved a poem too:

Early to Rise, Put on your Boot,
Get in Your Car and Dis-tri-bute. 

Ted Weisgal is without question the single hardest working man I have ever met in my life. I have never seen anyone like him. I am in awe of his tenacity. 

Ted is a bulldog. He never gives up. You cannot just kick him. He will keep going. It does no good to knock him down. He will get back up. Ted will out-work you. And don't hope to stall him either by saying let's get back to it later. That does no good because Ted never forgets. You might as well do what he asks because he will never rest. He will wear you down with Will Power. Ted is the Terminator - he is relentless. He will never give up.  He just keeps moving forward until you give in.  I should know. I have worked with him for twenty years. Ted can be stubborn, he can be heavy-handed, and he can be controlling, but the bottom line is that he is the man who puts the bacon on the table for a lot of people. I have never before seen someone like Ted who has the ability to achieve success through determination.  His family, his employees, his creditors, and his teachers all depend on him to get up every morning and play Atlas as he continues to put out the same prodigious effort he has expended for 30 years in pursuit of his career.

In the "Jimmy Stewart - It's a Wonderful Life" mode, I cannot imagine the success I have achieved without Ted.

Since he is not the flashiest guy around and certainly not one to toot his own horn, I would bet a lot of people probably take Ted for granted. Not me. I am completely aware of the significance he has made in my life and grateful for his help. 

I feel very fortunate to be able to have Ted Weisgal as my friend and business partner. 

Follow-up to this story

Tuesday, August 20, 2002 9:00 PM 
Letter from Ted Weisgal to Rick Archer 

"Rick, As much as I appreciate what you've written, I'm sorry I come across as so serious. 

You've opened my eyes to the way I come across to others. Hopefully some people see me in a different light. Thanks for the story. I hope what you've written will inspire me to do more of what you claim I do. 

Ted."
 

Wed 08/21/2002 10:55 AM 
My Response to Ted 

"Ted, you seem to be concerned about your seriousness. For what you accomplished, I think your intensity and focus has served you very well. You found the perfect job to match your nature. Your intensity is a gift. You have it; other people don't. Your force of will is something to behold.

I knew Nicholas and Deborah pretty well. I meant it when I said I thought they were talented.   Nicholas had immense personal charm. His political abilities were the best I have ever seen.   Deborah was very creative, very bright, very poised, and unlike Nicholas pretty committed herself.

You were a huge underdog.

Yet you beat them both and put their programs out of business. Both Nicholas and Deborah underestimated you. They didn't see what you had inside - your heart, your willingness to work 24/7. You left them both shaking their heads saying "how in the hell did he do it?"

So quit picking on yourself for being serious!! It is a strength, not a weakness. I doubt you would have succeeded without your amazing drive. You are the embodiment of the American ideal - that hard work pays off!!

Considering the head start both programs had on you, your come-from-behind victories are a testimony to your own considerable talent. My girlfriend Marla, no slouch at business herself, proof-read my article. When she finished, she smiled in acknowledgement and said your story impressed her a lot.

I have admired your drive for twenty years and I finally decided to tell the community you serve about it.

So embrace your seriousness!!  Keep up the good work and quit worrying about your image. You are starting to sound like Nicholas... ;-) 

I will take your substance over his style any day.


Rick Archer"