Entrepreneur, celebrity, salesman, philanthropist, and proud Jew—these are just a few ways to describe Leonard “Boogie” Weinglass. An American businessman, Boogie founded the retailer Merry-Go-Round and a chain of restaurants named Boogie’s Diner. His early life in Baltimore was immortalized on screen in the 1982 film Diner, directed by his dear friend Barry Levinson.

Raised in Baltimore by parents who fled Poland and Germany just before the Holocaust, Boogie’s family only spoke Yiddish at home. They were very poor and lived in a crime-ridden neighborhood, often struggling to afford food. To help, Boogie collected glass bottles from alleys to redeem for cash deposits. The family also relied on assistance from the Associated Jewish Charities. Boogie credits his drive to fight antisemitism and help those less fortunate to his early childhood experiences.

Boogie attended Talmudical Academy and Forest Park High School, where he was frequently truant, preferring to hang out at the Hilltop Diner with his buddies Barry Levinson, Ray Altman z”l, Harold Goldsmith z”l, and others. Barry Levinson’s film Diner catapulted Boogie to celebrity status.

In his 20s, Boogie worked as a packer in the basement of a clothing manufacturer in Baltimore. Eventually, he approached the owner for a position in sales, launching his career in the fashion industry. With an uncanny intuition for what would sell, Boogie opened his first Merry-Go-Round store in Atlanta in 1968 at the age of 27.

In 1970, he became partners with Harold Goldsmith. Together, they expanded to 1,500 stores, 17,000 employees, and 1 million square feet of warehouse space in Baltimore. Merry-Go-Round became an international, publicly traded retailer with over $1 billion in sales. By 1987, it was ranked 34th on Forbes’ list of the 200 best companies in America. After leaving Merry-Go-Round, Boogie opened a string of retail locations called Boogie’s Diner, a combination of 1950s-style diner, clothing, and memorabilia boutique.

Known for his generosity, Boogie is somewhat of an angel, a fairy godfather, and a secret Santa. He set up the Weinglass Foundation to grant wishes to terminally ill children and people with financial problems and illnesses. He also chaired the Buddy Program in Aspen, a mentoring program for underprivileged youth, funded scholarships for teens, and quietly paid medical expenses for local families. Boogie has changed countless lives.

A giant in the fashion industry, a philanthropist with a heart of gold, a celebrity immortalized on screen and in several autobiographical books, but most of all, a proud Baltimore Jew, Boogie Weinglass is a true trailblazer.