FRED GRANGER
Coinman of the Month
There are few people who are more recognizable
in the coin-op amusement industry than this
month's Coinman, Fred Granger, executive vice
president of the Amusement and Music Operators
Association [AMOA).
But Fred doesn't seem to relish all that attention.
"A n executive director," he told us when he
reluctantly agreed to be interviewed, "should stay
in the background if he's worth his mettle. And I'm
already too much in the foreground as it is . ..
Be that as it may, PLAY METER felt that with
its comprehensive treatment of the jukebox
copyright issue at hand, there was probably no
other person in the industry who knows more about
all the developments surrounding this volatile issue
than Fred. After aU, he's been plugging away in the
industry's behalf for more than fifteen years.
He's spent a lot of time testifying before
governmental bodies about the industry and the
copyright law. He's also spent a lot of hours putting
together the industry's largest trade show; and, on
both counts, he's come under a lot of fire. But, as he
puts it: "I've been given credit for a lot of things I
haven't done, and I've been blamed for a lot of
things I haven't done . ..
He joined the AMOA in January 1964 and has had
a stabilizing influence on the association through its
growing years. Before coming to this industry, he
served as the executive director of the Advertising
Specialty Guild for seven years. Before that he was
an advertising agency account executive.
His professional career also includes a rather
varied stint in the U. S. Navy as a foreign service
officer. After coUege he became a naval officer
8
during World War II, serving in the North Pacific
during the war as a line officer at sea. Near the end
of the war, he was ordered back to Washington,
D. C. and became the administrative assistant for
the Navy's Advanced Technical Service Schools. He
then advanced to become the administrator of the
technical schools and later went on to the Navy
Department where he served as the executive
officer for the Secretary of the Navy, heading up a
section that was preparing a list of ships lost at sea
during the war. His duties at that time called for
him to escort Congressmen from time to time on
cruises to different Navy installations.
In 1947 when he was ready to leave the Navy, he
was offered a position as assistant public relations
officer in London. He accepted and became involved
in the drama of the Berlin airlift. He rode some of
the planes from Frankfurt to Berlin and, taking
along his trusty camera, shot some historic pictures
which were used in "Time" Magazine.
His wife, Maria Sancia, is Portuguese, but-Fred
is quick to add-she's an American citizen now. As
for Fred, he's 62 and has his eyes set on retirement
in about two or three years.
It should be pointed out that Nicholas AUen, the
AMOA 's counse~ assisted Fred Granger with some
of the legal aspects relating to questions about the
copyright law.
We found our Coinman, though reluctant to
attract so much attention, free with his answers.
Our questions, while focusing mainly on the
jukebox issue, also touched on the future direction
of the national association and some aspects of the
annual trade show held in Chicago.
PLAY METER. July. 1979