Upper East Sider Bill Diehl began his foray into flea marketing when COVID hit and he could no longer use ABC’s studios on the Upper West Side, where he had been recording obituaries, with his voice to be used on air.
Diehl, 85, enjoyed an illustrious nearly-50-year career as an ABC correspondent, starting in radio news and then transitioning to entertainment news, interviewing countless celebrities from Audrey Hepburn and Dolly Parton to Harrison Ford and Paul McCartney, and covering the Academy Awards 25 times.
“I had a wonderful career at ABC, but now it’s a fun new phase,” he said. “I think of flea markets as kind of an adventure.”
The spry octogenarian compiled his experiences finding flea-market treasures—such as old college yearbooks, old copies of TV guide, and even a Howdy Doody doll—into his new book, Confessions of a Flea Market Junkie, in which he includes photos of rare finds, interesting vendors, and even adorable pets he’s met along the way.
His favorite local flea markets are the Grand Bazaar, which is held every Sunday on West 77th Street, and the Chelsea Flea, open on Saturdays and Sundays on West 25th Street.
Although he lives in a two-bedroom apartment, his wife, Lorraine, an author specializing in New York City history, to whom he dedicates the book, puts up with his pastime.
“Every once in a while she would say, ‘Now, don’t bring home any more junk that we have no place to store,’ ” he said.
“But she puts up with it, and we’ve been married 55 years, so I think it’s going to last.”
Tell us how your foray into flea marketing started.
I started on a regular basis when the pandemic hit and I couldn’t use the studio at ABC anymore, so I said, “Okay, it’s over. Bye-bye.” I’m a flea-market junkie. My publisher gave me that title. Occasionally I find what I see is kind of a treasure. Somebody told me there are 1,100 flea markets across the country, and that’s quite something. I went to two of them in Russia, which are in my book. But I have enjoyed visiting three in the New York area. The one in Chelsea, downtown. The Grand Bazaar over on the West Side in the school yard on Columbus Avenue. There’s one in Dumbo, but I haven’t gone there in a while.
You have a penchant for old magazines and newspapers.
I was just looking at a TV Guide from 1954, kind of a little prized possession that I have. A comic named Red Buttons is on the cover. I found another one from 1964, and listen to these listings of shows: My Favorite Martian, Lassie, Bonanza, The Judy Garland Show (that said her guest would be her 11-year-old daughter, Liza). That was Liza Minnelli and I interviewed her. The Beatles were on several TV Guide covers. Paul McCartney, I interviewed him.
I love to find old newspapers, like issues of the Daily News, New York Post, New York Times, and as the years go by, it’s harder to find them. You can find lots of Life magazines. They’re all over the place. New York magazine, which came out [in 1968], I have one with John Lennon when he was assassinated. Ms. magazine, I’ve got one of the first collections of those when they first came out. But I found a Journal-American at the Chelsea Flea from 1961 with a huge banner headline, “Astronaut Back Alive.” That was Alan Shepard, and he’s quoted as telling the president, “Man, what a ride. America’s first astronaut in outer space.” Of course, less than a decade later, we went to the moon.
What are some interesting things you’ve spotted during your flea-market travels?
On a recent Saturday [at the Chelsea Flea], there was a guy selling a Howdy Doody dummy. And I took a picture of it with him holding it. And I said, “How much is it?” and he said, “$60.” Actually, that’s not a bad price. But I didn’t buy it. I mean, what was I gonna do with that? I’m sure somebody must have bought it. There must have been a kid who would love to have that.
What are the best pieces you’ve found so far?
A guy who sells Bluetooth radios, Nick Eglevsky. He’s a picture in the book. He once gave me a [toy] car and it’s got a radio in the hood. And I thought, “That is special,” because people did not have radios in their cars until like the 1940s, and they were run on batteries, which is quite something. It’s stuff like that that grabs your eyeballs, and I marvel that somebody left it behind. Old yearbooks are just fun finds. I found an old yearbook from Finch College. And under their photos, a young woman said, “Imagination is simply a pair of bright eyes.” Finch is no longer around anymore, but it was on the East Side of Manhattan.
You also take pictures of fellow flea marketers’ dogs and cats. How do you choose which ones to photograph?
Well, I will find a dog that I think is kind of special. And I tell the person, “I love taking photos with dogs. Would you let me take a picture of your dog?” Nobody’s ever turned me down. They love that somebody cares about their dog. They had crazy names like Shirley Temple. There were two dogs together, Lucy and Ricky. At the Chelsea Flea, there was a guy with two cats on his shoulder. One was called Buttercream. And at the Grand Bazaar, a man had a cat named Orpheus on his shoulder.
Who are some interesting people you’ve met at flea markets?
I rarely see big stars. But, as I mention in the book, Bernadette Peters was over at the Grand Bazaar. I had interviewed her for ABC, so I went up to her and I said, “What are you doing here?” She said, “I’m here looking for my jeweler.” There is an area in the back of the flea market which is indoors, and a lot of people are selling all kinds of jewelry pieces. I don’t go for that kind of stuff, but obviously she did. And I said, “Can I have a photo with you?” The guy who she was with took the picture of us and that is in the book.
You also acknowledged two of your favorite vendors, Wendy and Johnny, at Grand Bazaar.
Johnny Classi of Johnny’s Random Relics, who sells a wide variety of antique cigarette lighters, political campaign pins and old magazines. I had a big collection of old magazines that I gave Johnny to sell. He loved hearing about my many years at ABC covering the Academy Awards, Emmys, and other big events. Wendy De Shong-Neuhalfen’s husband died a few years ago. He was a big collector, so she has a little area at the flea market selling vinyl with a lot of really special albums that are kind of collector’s items. She has a little record player playing. People dance to the music. And I told her that my wife wanted to get rid of all of my albums. Wendy said, “I’d love to have them.” I said, “I’m not selling them. Would you like them?” She came over with a big van and took all of them, 600 albums, unbelievable. And so she has put those in her collection and she sells them now. The sales go to a special project, the nonprofit New Direction Services [which supports community health, food, hunger, wellness, literacy, and climate change].
I found a Journal-American at the Chelsea Flea from 1961 with a huge banner headline, “Astronaut Back Alive.” That was Alan Shepard. Author Bill Diehl