Bernard (pots and pans) Rogoff passes

W

wincardona

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Bernard was a unique person and a friend. I was in Las Vegas two months ago and visited with Bernard he was recovering in a recovery for the elderly. At that time Bernard wasn't doing very well he was down with his weight, weighing about 125 pounds, however, he still had a fairly sharp wit. He would make good sense for a few sentences then he would talk about things that were totally unrelated with our topic of conversation. I would try to keep up with him but it wasn't working and it didn't seem to bother him he kept going on and on. It was sad to see my friend going through this but I just wanted to be there for him. He really doesn't have any family other than a son who has a drug addiction and sadly hadn't visited with his father. The care taker asked me if Bernard had any family or friends other than his son and I gave them Artie's number. I also contacted Artie and informed him where Bernard was and I told Artie that they were moving Bernard to another facility where they were better equipped to take care of him. He wasn't in the best of health. I believe Bernard was 82 years old when he passed, he loved being around pool players, always had, and he just wanted to be considered one of the sharps...which he was. Bernard was the best of a dying breed ( a two dollar bar hustler) he was the best bar hustler there ever was, his drunk act was a sight to see and he played this role perfectly. He wore a truck driver out fit and had a wallet that was attached with a chain which he pulled out of his back pocket when he lost a game and paid out from it. He would carefully open the wallet and clumsily take out the money he lost (two dollars) pay off and continue with his drunken act along with the sucker jargon that kept his customers. He was a beauty.

R.I.P. Pots and pans.

Your Pittsburgh champion and friend,
Bill Incardona
 
J

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
wincardona said:
Bernard was a unique person and a friend. I was in Las Vegas two months ago and visited with Bernard he was recovering in a recovery for the elderly. At that time Bernard wasn't doing very well he was down with his weight, weighing about 125 pounds, however, he still had a fairly sharp wit. He would make good sense for a few sentences then he would talk about things that were totally unrelated with our topic of conversation. I would try to keep up with him but it wasn't working and it didn't seem to bother him he kept going on and on. It was sad to see my friend going through this but I just wanted to be there for him. He really doesn't have any family other than a son who has a drug addiction and sadly hadn't visited with his father. The care taker asked me if Bernard had any family or friends other than his son and I gave them Artie's number. I also contacted Artie and informed him where Bernard was and I told Artie that they were moving Bernard to another facility where they were better equipped to take care of him. He wasn't in the best of health. I believe Bernard was 82 years old when he passed, he loved being around pool players, always had, and he just wanted to be considered one of the sharps...which he was. Bernard was the best of a dying breed ( a two dollar bar hustler) he was the best bar hustler there ever was, his drunk act was a sight to see and he played this role perfectly. He wore a truck driver out fit and had a wallet that was attached with a chain which he pulled out of his back pocket when he lost a game and paid out from it. He would carefully open the wallet and clumsily take out the money he lost (two dollars) pay off and continue with his drunken act along with the sucker jargon that kept his customers. He was a beauty.

R.I.P. Pots and pans.

Your Pittsburgh champion and friend,
Bill Incardona
Click to expand...

Beautiful tribute to the last of the Mohegans when it comes to road players. There will never be another one like Pots and Pans.

May he rest in peace! :angel2:
 
Ken_4fun

Ken_4fun

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Several years ago, Rogoff called me a few times and wanted me to go to Vegas and write his life story.

He told me he had a couple houses and offered to let me live in one of his houses for free while I was working on it. I admit it did intrigue me. But he would not get off his "shtick" and speak with me for very long until he went back to his lines.

He did tell me that he never really worked a day in his life, and sold pots and pans to support his pool adventures. He really took pride in this, as he considered those who worked in normal jobs were suckers. He led me to believe that he had plenty of bucks and had made quite a bit over the years. I have been around enough pool players to know that most consider themselves smarter and relate their "wins" and seem to forget about their losses.

After these telephone discussions, I thought that Rogoff was going to be too much of a challenge and take up too much time. So obviously, I never went out to Vegas and work on this project. I do admit that over the years I did think about doing it, but now that opportunity is gone forever.

Best of rolls,

Ken
 
randyg

randyg

www.randygpool.com
Silver Member
Thanks Bill

I spent a little, but very dear time with on the road with Bernard. Never forget that road trip.

I always enjoyed his "Charlie Chaplin" skit.

randyg
 
cardiac kid

cardiac kid

Super Senior Member
Silver Member
Billy,

A great tribute to a friend. From Ken's post I got another twinge of sadness. Like Ronnie and Grady, nothing really got written down. All the great pool history gone and perhaps forgotten :shakehead::sad:. Again, a great post!

Lyn
 
Keith McCready

Keith McCready

Pro Player
I heard about the bad condition Bernie was in. I've known him a very long time.

He hustled me pretty good one time and got me to spot him 3 balls off, playing 8-ball. I had about 1,100 of my own money on me. It was, I think, around early 1970-ish, which in the '70s, 1,100 bucks was a lot of money. He had me slamming the balls in the rack, balls were flying off the table. Boy, was I hot, because he was the type of guy that you couldn't quit him. He busted me. :embarrassed2:

The last time I saw him was in Reno, and I sort of knew he was in bad health then. I let him stay in my room, and needless to say, his respiratory system then was scary.

I will miss Bernie. He always had a famous line that he'd say to me, and the line was, "How do you like me now, sire?" :grin:

Rest in peace, Sire. See ya' soon.
 
Juice

Juice

Efren da king of pink!
Silver Member
randyg said:
Thanks Bill

I spent a little, but very dear time with on the road with Bernard. Never forget that road trip.

I always enjoyed his "Charlie Chaplin" skit.

randyg
Click to expand...

imagesCA5XZLH2_zps9d07c391.jpg
 
W

wincardona

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What a doozy he was.

I was 23 years old and hustling pool in Miami Fl., I ventured into a bar located on the 79th. st causeway ( I believe) called "Jilly's" Jackie Gleason at times would play pool there ..usually on a week end. The bar was a dimly lit place that seemed a little 'eerie' kinda got my adrenalin flowing as I walked deeper into the club. I found a stairwell that led me into an area where there were 3 bar tables and a crew of somewhat rowdy guys drinking beer and playing pool. That's when I recognized that ..pots and pans was one of the players playing. I didn't want anyone to know that we knew one another because I knew something different was about to happen and so I just stood there silently. They were playing $20 8ball and you put a quarter on the table to challenge the winner. Bunny as we called him (Bernard Rogoff/alias "pots and pans") nodded to me in his discreet way to put a quarter up and challenge...which I did.... Moving along with the story.. I played in the game for about an hour holding my own..back and forth the money went, then Bunny said (dressed in his truck drivers out fit..playing the drunk act) I'll tell you what i'll take this kid (meaning me) and play you two guys partners for 20 bucks a man. As he wobbled across the room.:thud: Well, these guys thought that they had something good playing against a kid and a drunk so they suggested that we put up 100 bucks apiece and play $20 a game till someone won the money. I didn't say much because I wanted to keep a low profile and because I was actually intimidated and wanted to "be cool" and not over hustle..not in this spot. Just didn't feel right. We put the $400 on the light and began playing, after playing about another hour one of the guys said that we probably knew one another and he was getting angry. Being three games up at the time certainly didn't help our situation, other than helping it ..financially...I think. Well, we won 3 of the next 4 games to win the freeze out and things were starting to get scary. One of the guys said that he was going to take all the money because we hustled them (and he was pretty big and angry) Bunny then said in his drunken voice... you can't do that this kid won the money fair and square... The big guy started to walk over to the light to grab the money...thats when Bunny ran to the table and jumped up and grabbed the money off the light and took off running out the door. The other guy pulled a gun and fired it as bunny was running out the door, fortunately missing Bunny. Everyone ran outside and Bunny ran into a field in back of the club as this guy was shooting at him.:yikes: My car was in the parking lot so I figured this was a good time to jump into my car and boogie..which I did ..in a hurry while they were occupied chasing Bunny.:sorry: Well Bunny got away clean and it wasn't until almost 10 years later before I saw Bunny again, he walked up to me and said ..Cardon-eee (thats what he called me) here's that $200 I owe you.

R.I.P. Bunny.

Bill Incardona
 
J

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
wincardona said:
I was 23 years old and hustling pool in Miami Fl., I ventured into a bar located on the 79th. st causeway ( I believe) called "Jilly's" Jackie Gleason at times would play pool there ..usually on a week end. The bar was a dimly lit place that seemed a little 'eerie' kinda got my adrenalin flowing as I walked deeper into the club. I found a stairwell that led me into an area where there were 3 bar tables and a crew of somewhat rowdy guys drinking beer and playing pool. That's when I recognized that ..pots and pans was one of the players playing. I didn't want anyone to know that we knew one another because I knew something different was about to happen and so I just stood there silently. They were playing $20 8ball and you put a quarter on the table to challenge the winner. Bunny as we called him (Bernard Rogoff/alias "pots and pans") nodded to me in his discreet way to put a quarter up and challenge...which I did.... Moving along with the story.. I played in the game for about an hour holding my own..back and forth the money went, then Bunny said (dressed in his truck drivers out fit..playing the drunk act) I'll tell you what i'll take this kid (meaning me) and play you two guys partners for 20 bucks a man. As he wobbled across the room.:thud: Well, these guys thought that they had something good playing against a kid and a drunk so they suggested that we put up 100 bucks apiece and play $20 a game till someone won the money. I didn't say much because I wanted to keep a low profile and because I was actually intimidated and wanted to "be cool" and not over hustle..not in this spot. Just didn't feel right. We put the $400 on the light and began playing, after playing about another hour one of the guys said that we probably knew one another and he was getting angry. Being three games up at the time certainly didn't help our situation, other than helping it ..financially...I think. Well, we won 3 of the next 4 games to win the freeze out and things were starting to get scary. One of the guys said that he was going to take all the money because we hustled them (and he was pretty big and angry) Bunny then said in his drunken voice... you can't do that this kid won the money fair and square... The big guy started to walk over to the light to grab the money...thats when Bunny ran to the table and jumped up and grabbed the money off the light and took off running out the door. The other guy pulled a gun and fired it as bunny was running out the door, fortunately missing Bunny. Everyone ran outside and Bunny ran into a field in back of the club as this guy was shooting at him.:yikes: My car was in the parking lot so I figured this was a good time to jump into my car and boogie..which I did ..in a hurry while they were occupied chasing Bunny.:sorry: Well Bunny got away clean and it wasn't until almost 10 years later before I saw Bunny again, he walked up to me and said ..Cardon-eee (thats what he called me) here's that $200 I owe you.

R.I.P. Bunny.

Bill Incardona
Click to expand...

I love that story about you and Mr. Rogoff. :smiling-heart:

Well written, Billy. I can just picture him running in the field with the thugs in tow, as you quietly slipped out the door to safety. :angel:

And the fact that he remembered the number after all those years. That's priceless! What a great memory! :cool:
 
Juice

Juice

Efren da king of pink!
Silver Member
wincardona said:
I was 23 years old and hustling pool in Miami Fl., I ventured into a bar located on the 79th. st causeway ( I believe) called "Jilly's" Jackie Gleason at times would play pool there ..usually on a week end. The bar was a dimly lit place that seemed a little 'eerie' kinda got my adrenalin flowing as I walked deeper into the club. I found a stairwell that led me into an area where there were 3 bar tables and a crew of somewhat rowdy guys drinking beer and playing pool. That's when I recognized that ..pots and pans was one of the players playing. I didn't want anyone to know that we knew one another because I knew something different was about to happen and so I just stood there silently. They were playing $20 8ball and you put a quarter on the table to challenge the winner. Bunny as we called him (Bernard Rogoff/alias "pots and pans") nodded to me in his discreet way to put a quarter up and challenge...which I did.... Moving along with the story.. I played in the game for about an hour holding my own..back and forth the money went, then Bunny said (dressed in his truck drivers out fit..playing the drunk act) I'll tell you what i'll take this kid (meaning me) and play you two guys partners for 20 bucks a man. As he wobbled across the room.:thud: Well, these guys thought that they had something good playing against a kid and a drunk so they suggested that we put up 100 bucks apiece and play $20 a game till someone won the money. I didn't say much because I wanted to keep a low profile and because I was actually intimidated and wanted to "be cool" and not over hustle..not in this spot. Just didn't feel right. We put the $400 on the light and began playing, after playing about another hour one of the guys said that we probably knew one another and he was getting angry. Being three games up at the time certainly didn't help our situation, other than helping it ..financially...I think. Well, we won 3 of the next 4 games to win the freeze out and things were starting to get scary. One of the guys said that he was going to take all the money because we hustled them (and he was pretty big and angry) Bunny then said in his drunken voice... you can't do that this kid won the money fair and square... The big guy started to walk over to the light to grab the money...thats when Bunny ran to the table and jumped up and grabbed the money off the light and took off running out the door. The other guy pulled a gun and fired it as bunny was running out the door, fortunately missing Bunny. Everyone ran outside and Bunny ran into a field in back of the club as this guy was shooting at him.:yikes: My car was in the parking lot so I figured this was a good time to jump into my car and boogie..which I did ..in a hurry while they were occupied chasing Bunny.:sorry: Well Bunny got away clean and it wasn't until almost 10 years later before I saw Bunny again, he walked up to me and said ..Cardon-eee (thats what he called me) here's that $200 I owe you.

R.I.P. Bunny.

Bill Incardona
Click to expand...

Wow thats a cool story and shows how much of a stand up guy he was. One thing I love about pool is listening to the road stories that go with it. LOL
 
Fatboy

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
wincardona said:
I was 23 years old and hustling pool in Miami Fl., I ventured into a bar located on the 79th. st causeway ( I believe) called "Jilly's" Jackie Gleason at times would play pool there ..usually on a week end. The bar was a dimly lit place that seemed a little 'eerie' kinda got my adrenalin flowing as I walked deeper into the club. I found a stairwell that led me into an area where there were 3 bar tables and a crew of somewhat rowdy guys drinking beer and playing pool. That's when I recognized that ..pots and pans was one of the players playing. I didn't want anyone to know that we knew one another because I knew something different was about to happen and so I just stood there silently. They were playing $20 8ball and you put a quarter on the table to challenge the winner. Bunny as we called him (Bernard Rogoff/alias "pots and pans") nodded to me in his discreet way to put a quarter up and challenge...which I did.... Moving along with the story.. I played in the game for about an hour holding my own..back and forth the money went, then Bunny said (dressed in his truck drivers out fit..playing the drunk act) I'll tell you what i'll take this kid (meaning me) and play you two guys partners for 20 bucks a man. As he wobbled across the room.:thud: Well, these guys thought that they had something good playing against a kid and a drunk so they suggested that we put up 100 bucks apiece and play $20 a game till someone won the money. I didn't say much because I wanted to keep a low profile and because I was actually intimidated and wanted to "be cool" and not over hustle..not in this spot. Just didn't feel right. We put the $400 on the light and began playing, after playing about another hour one of the guys said that we probably knew one another and he was getting angry. Being three games up at the time certainly didn't help our situation, other than helping it ..financially...I think. Well, we won 3 of the next 4 games to win the freeze out and things were starting to get scary. One of the guys said that he was going to take all the money because we hustled them (and he was pretty big and angry) Bunny then said in his drunken voice... you can't do that this kid won the money fair and square... The big guy started to walk over to the light to grab the money...thats when Bunny ran to the table and jumped up and grabbed the money off the light and took off running out the door. The other guy pulled a gun and fired it as bunny was running out the door, fortunately missing Bunny. Everyone ran outside and Bunny ran into a field in back of the club as this guy was shooting at him.:yikes: My car was in the parking lot so I figured this was a good time to jump into my car and boogie..which I did ..in a hurry while they were occupied chasing Bunny.:sorry: Well Bunny got away clean and it wasn't until almost 10 years later before I saw Bunny again, he walked up to me and said ..Cardon-eee (thats what he called me) here's that $200 I owe you.

R.I.P. Bunny.

Bill Incardona
Click to expand...

good stuff, thx Dr Bill:smile:
 
12squared

12squared

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
wincardona said:
I was 23 years old and hustling pool in Miami Fl., I ventured into a bar located on the 79th. st causeway ( I believe) called "Jilly's" Jackie Gleason at times would play pool there ..usually on a week end. The bar was a dimly lit place that seemed a little 'eerie' kinda got my adrenalin flowing as I walked deeper into the club. I found a stairwell that led me into an area where there were 3 bar tables and a crew of somewhat rowdy guys drinking beer and playing pool. That's when I recognized that ..pots and pans was one of the players playing. I didn't want anyone to know that we knew one another because I knew something different was about to happen and so I just stood there silently. They were playing $20 8ball and you put a quarter on the table to challenge the winner. Bunny as we called him (Bernard Rogoff/alias "pots and pans") nodded to me in his discreet way to put a quarter up and challenge...which I did.... Moving along with the story.. I played in the game for about an hour holding my own..back and forth the money went, then Bunny said (dressed in his truck drivers out fit..playing the drunk act) I'll tell you what i'll take this kid (meaning me) and play you two guys partners for 20 bucks a man. As he wobbled across the room.:thud: Well, these guys thought that they had something good playing against a kid and a drunk so they suggested that we put up 100 bucks apiece and play $20 a game till someone won the money. I didn't say much because I wanted to keep a low profile and because I was actually intimidated and wanted to "be cool" and not over hustle..not in this spot. Just didn't feel right. We put the $400 on the light and began playing, after playing about another hour one of the guys said that we probably knew one another and he was getting angry. Being three games up at the time certainly didn't help our situation, other than helping it ..financially...I think. Well, we won 3 of the next 4 games to win the freeze out and things were starting to get scary. One of the guys said that he was going to take all the money because we hustled them (and he was pretty big and angry) Bunny then said in his drunken voice... you can't do that this kid won the money fair and square... The big guy started to walk over to the light to grab the money...thats when Bunny ran to the table and jumped up and grabbed the money off the light and took off running out the door. The other guy pulled a gun and fired it as bunny was running out the door, fortunately missing Bunny. Everyone ran outside and Bunny ran into a field in back of the club as this guy was shooting at him.:yikes: My car was in the parking lot so I figured this was a good time to jump into my car and boogie..which I did ..in a hurry while they were occupied chasing Bunny.:sorry: Well Bunny got away clean and it wasn't until almost 10 years later before I saw Bunny again, he walked up to me and said ..Cardon-eee (thats what he called me) here's that $200 I owe you.

R.I.P. Bunny.

Bill Incardona
Click to expand...

Great story and tribute, Bill. I will see your R.I.P. Bunny and raise you my sincere condolences for the loss of your friend. It's sad that in the last year or so we have lost so many of our icons in pool.

Dave
 
cardiac kid

cardiac kid

Super Senior Member
Silver Member
Bill,

Read most all the posts about Bernie. Of all the nicknames mentioned, am I the only one who knew him as Governor? Honestly can't tell you where the name came from. Just heard all the other guys in Vegas call him that.

Incidentally, another great post.

Lyn
 
Chicagoplayer

Chicagoplayer

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I'm so grateful...

wincardona said:
Bernard was a unique person and a friend. I was in Las Vegas two months ago and visited with Bernard he was recovering in a recovery for the elderly. At that time Bernard wasn't doing very well he was down with his weight, weighing about 125 pounds, however, he still had a fairly sharp wit. He would make good sense for a few sentences then he would talk about things that were totally unrelated with our topic of conversation. I would try to keep up with him but it wasn't working and it didn't seem to bother him he kept going on and on. It was sad to see my friend going through this but I just wanted to be there for him. He really doesn't have any family other than a son who has a drug addiction and sadly hadn't visited with his father. The care taker asked me if Bernard had any family or friends other than his son and I gave them Artie's number. I also contacted Artie and informed him where Bernard was and I told Artie that they were moving Bernard to another facility where they were better equipped to take care of him. He wasn't in the best of health. I believe Bernard was 82 years old when he passed, he loved being around pool players, always had, and he just wanted to be considered one of the sharps...which he was. Bernard was the best of a dying breed ( a two dollar bar hustler) he was the best bar hustler there ever was, his drunk act was a sight to see and he played this role perfectly. He wore a truck driver out fit and had a wallet that was attached with a chain which he pulled out of his back pocket when he lost a game and paid out from it. He would carefully open the wallet and clumsily take out the money he lost (two dollars) pay off and continue with his drunken act along with the sucker jargon that kept his customers. He was a beauty.

R.I.P. Pots and pans.

Your Pittsburgh champion and friend,
Bill Incardona
Click to expand...

______________________________________________

Billy,
Your loving tribute to Bernard has moved me to tears (again)
I have been uploading footage (for what seems forever)
because I must do it in real time-and had just finished an hour in which he was sitting ringside at DCC, when I decided to take an fb break-
I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am I was at Tunica for the wonderful stories and interview time with you and Bunny (and Ronnie W.)
thank you Billy
-A
 
F

fathomblue

Rusty Shackleford
Silver Member
I posted this in another thread about meeting Pots and Pans, but I think anything about him deserves repeating, due to his passing:

I met Pots and Pans at the Southern Classic in July of 2012. He was A CHARACTER.

To be truthful, you could pretty much tell that he wasn't.....well, completely there. And I DO NOT mean that in any disrespectful way. It's just that I work in healthcare and see people like that every day.

With the above said, there's every chance it could have just been his personality and the fact that being that advanced in age, maybe he just didn't give a flip anymore and decided to turn off his filter. I mean, what are you really going to tell a guy that's almost 90 when he says something off the wall? I know if I'm lucky enough to get to that age, I'm gonna go out a crazy sonuva*****. Or at least let people think I am.

Anyway, 2 quick Pots and Pans' anecdotes from the only time period that I got to see him:

1. He was in the food court there in Tunica and I walked up to him and saw "The Jacket". It was in immaculate condition, but looked like it was vintage 70's. It said "I need the last 2. Scout's Honor." Or something to that effect. It was a black silk jacket with a big 8-ball on it. (Kinda like Lenny Kosnowski would wear on "Laverne & Shirley", actually).

I walked up to Pots and said, "Excuse me sir, but I really, really like that jacket. How long have you had it?" At first he didn't understand what I said, so I repeated it. This time a bit louder. So, Pots says really loud..........."This jacket is 40 years old! And now I need the last 4!" I BUSTED out laughing and shook his hand. It caught me so off-guard.

2. Another classic moment. I'm standing directly behind Buddy Hall, while one of the 10-ball on a 10-footer matches is going on. Literally I'm at Buddy's right shoulder. He's sitting on his scooter. Pots comes up and starts talking to Buddy. They're in a bit of a conversation, with the gist of it being Pots constantly saying, "Hey, Buddy, do you remember......so and so?" And then repeating a story.

This goes on for about 10 minutes. I can tell Buddy is getting a little exasperated by the whole thing, but he's being VERY polite. With some of the stories, he did know who Pots was talking about and added in a few details of his own. BUT, finally, Buddy just had had enough and politely says, "Pots (I think that's what he called him, but I honestly can't remember that significant detail at this time).......I like talking to you, but I'm trying to watch a match."

Pots just looks at him and says loudly, "Well, you don't have to hit ME in the f ucking head with a hammer. I'll leave." And with that he spun around and was gone. Buddy looked a little embarrassed, but just kinda whispered to everyone around that he was sorry and was just trying to keep things quiet for the match. Everyone understood.

Also, Pots would go around and stop random people to tell some pretty filthy rhymes and stories. Damn, if they weren't hilarious.

I'll be honest, I wish I had asked him to sign my case, but now I sadly won't get the chance.

Another legend in the annals of pool, soon to be a memory, but not forgotten. Really glad I got to meet him several times over the course of those 10 days in Tunica. It was a great event top to bottom and Pots is a memory that definitely sticks out. Everyone knew him there.

I would have loved to have seen him play.


Is there any video of him playing?
 
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