Dr. Dave Tobolowsky
Dave Tobolowsky was born April 15, 1922, in Dallas, the ninth of ten children. His parents came from Poland; his father, Abraham Benjamin, married Lena, and the family lived on Carolina Street in a modest house without air conditioning or central heat. His father worked as a peddler, traveling to small towns to buy, sell, and trade goods, first by horse and wagon and later by truck. The family was close-knit and stayed home most of the time, gathering to read, play cards, and play baseball on the gravel street where they had to pause games for passing streetcars.
During the Depression, the Tobolowsky boys sold newspapers downtown, buying papers for a few cents and selling them for a nickel. The money went into a pot at home that their father used to send several children through college. Dave attended Tech High School and finished at Forest High School, then went to SMU, graduating in 1941. He entered Baylor Medical School in Dallas, which later became Southwestern Medical School, training through Parkland and children's hospitals. When he tried to volunteer for military service, the draft board sent him back, saying doctors were needed more than soldiers.
After completing his internship in New York and serving in the military, including a posting in Newfoundland where his son Paul was born, Dave returned to Dallas and trained at Children's Medical Center. He opened a solo pediatric practice in Oak Cliff in 1950, working long hours with house calls and hospital rounds, before joining the SMU Health Center in 1971 and later becoming its medical director until his retirement in 1991. He and his wife raised three children, including actor Stephen Tobolowsky and a daughter, Barbara, who earned a PhD. He credited his family's success to his father's hard work and sacrifice.
Full Transcript
Dave 1922 Dallas Texas yes sir town has changed a little bit hasn't it thata has for sure yeah let's go back when you're just a little boy talk to me about life when you were just a little kid well I was born April 15th 1922 the ninth of 10 children we lived on Carolina street from before by birth of 1922 to 193 six five oldest ones were male next was a female Sarah next was three boys including me as the youngest and Miram and they're all going now except for Miriam who lives in La My Father's House cost $1,000 about 12200 Square ft we lived
there and it's because all of us there without air conditioning or central heat or anything and then we slept on the floor on Caroline Street in the summertime get a little fresh air going through that hallway father had about four or five houses we had one that cost $1,000 on the right which would be North uh was a house and on the South Side there two other houses and he owed all of those where he got them I don't know but like I say he just cost $1,000 but it's hard to get $1,000 in those days too and we were more or less a stay-at-home
group no would seem to go go out except to work or go to school and my father some my older siblings with the synagogue older brother Hyman and Jake used to go on Saturday with my father but mother rarely went she's too busy working at home I guess and uh in my case at six years of age I used to walk about three blocks the C Hill School the first Elementary School in Dallas eventually it became so they couldn't use the school and understand somebody who was in charge of Slumber J explor oil exploration company bought the things to use in his office to help
preserve the the school what did your dad do for a living I guess simply say's a pedler uhhuh used to buy things to take things in his truck I understand before that it was a horse and wagon and but my time there was a truck and you go out the little towns are out here like little and d and so these other little towns around here and trade or sell things and U most time went by myself I remember once he took me with him I must have been four or five years old I remember we slept Outdoors he had a blanket or something so
he just put it on the ground and stepped out doors in some little town me do you remember your grandparents at all once I think I may have seen my grandmother who came over from Europe and where she stayed I don't know but she's over our place for a short period of time do you know where they came from in Europe parents came from Poland so imagine they they were there did your folks know each other in Poland before they came over as far as I know the answer is no so they met here the rovski lived within a block Dave and uh Dave's father
AB Abraham Benjamin married Lena skybel who was living with the rosis on the same block so his days parents were living on the same block the rovski thought that his father was an honorable man and encouraged him to marry Lena skybell before someone else could get her who was the sister of Mrs rosi Katie Ros did they ever talk about that Journey coming from Poland why they came over not nothing that I ever heard when you were a young man the Depression hit do you remember how that affected depression yeah you remember how it affected your family I didn't know they didn't change at all
all eight Boys sold newspapers here in Dallas one time or another two or three at a time when I started about 1930 or so I was about eight years old that time Nathan my brother just old I was and silv and I were sold his but I went and S to sell his papers because just before that ether was next oldest next youngest he had gone to law school here at SMU in fact the first sibling to go to a college and I don't know where I don't know where the money came from maybe but anyway uh he left the go to a law practice
and uh that was a third better out what would do that one of us would get on the corter bait a little more and get the papers the heral the journal and the dispatch and some and we got some magazines too the sale Liberty magazine Saturday evening post colur and maybe one or two other now you had nine siblings so there were 10 of you you had enough for your own baseball team what what did you guys do for fun as kids together well again I don't remember my siblings ever going anywhere every now then my brother hman or S may go to a meeting
somewhere but the AR there they be home reading the paper or doing whatever uh for play baseball silvin was very good at it and EA was very good at it and aan just thought I was he's there some of the time but uh we played on the street there's a gravel Street and in the middle of the street with street car trucks and with the street car we heard a street car coming we stop the gam we go to the side let it pass that is a main Hazard and we made an old Baseballs in that we get old old socks and garbage put the
garbage in the sock uh make it real snug tie knots on it flip it over to make a make it tighter hit it on the floor or something if you had to and then uh keep doing until you got to the very top if it wouldn't go anymore then we get a needle thread and would sew it to the port right underneath it and it was I didn't do too many of them but I did I did a Moder number CL by the time but I had to do it there weren't too many other people around the pl they were all busy with school work
and stuff like that now of course when you were a kid there was no pro team in Dallas did you you guys follow baseball at all though were you able to follow any of the teams I think the Dallas steers are used to be at o Cliff was a professional baseball team in doua right used to was in that division for worth was in that division eight teams all together do you remember any of the players did they go on to the major leagues any of them that you knew Dallas was the form club of the Chicago White Sox and if they ever had any
at that time the Chicago White Socks got him and I remember one of the brothers would have a crystal set person holding can hear it and he tell us ball wood strike wood and he tell us what happened as they told us to have all the crystal set we live in this little frame houses about five or six houses on each side of the street all Latin americ on our block and at the corner or the kitty with Al Phoenix across the street from where it is now it used to be across the street for where it is now then they built the wood all
Rogers freeway it had a move so they got a a place right across the street from where they were now did you have any animals when you were a kid you say we had a cat but they were in the house maybe hung her around the house cuz my younger sister would feed them every down there so your job was selling newspapers when you were young after school uhhuh and now on Sund just Monday through Saturday uh the three afternoon newspapers the Herold the journal the dispatch if they the journal dispatch combined together become a journal dispatch so it be two afternoon papers the Herold
and the journal dispatch now papers at first when I first start about 1929 cost us a full pity and we sold it for two penties and over the next all 10 years would have so we were paying three and a four cents for a paper and selling it for a nickel those good days ended for me when I had to think about going to college there was three of us down there one to St on the corner and then the other two would get some of the papers and we have call regular customers some in the bank some hang aboutou courthouse and all those places
the record really and we delivered out where the West End is now we had a lot of stops all the way there back we took the money home put it in a pot at home and that's that I never saw it my father took care of it and the funny thing is four older siblings never went to college they all went to high school but the money I guess that came from that is other things was able to send four boys and two girls through college and two boys went to law school Nath and I both went to medical school which means we went through
college four years in medical school and two sisters became School teachers of course College didn't cost what it cost now but when you bring home a penny for each paper you s a penny to 34s as TI went on now where did you go to high school I had had six siblings that graduated no seven siblings that graduated from Tech High School we used to walk there from our house maybe a mile I don't know and when I was started selling newspapers Nathan and Sil and the two siblings just St I were downtown in 1936 we moved to 246 South Boulevard in Dallas the junior
year I still went to Tech High School got out of hour early so I go from The Tech High School downtown to sell newspapers continue working 19 the next year 1937 I was a senior but one of a Jewish H and Russ sh keer something was there Passover I don't remember I couldn't enroll the day first day so the course I had to have chemistry I couldn't get there but I could get it at Forest High School my sister is already going to Forest High School the senior year I went to Forest High School got out of hourly took the bur street car uh downtown
got my papers and delivered them of course my time about got downtown I been just as fast I think to take the extra period of Tech High School to get my chemistry course they get downtown and sell newspaper when you're in high school are you dating are you thinking about the future my first start in high school was a little before war time was 1934 I graduated 38 uh we didn't date no none of us did for they didn't go to any programs at school the evening whatever it was that they had we just came home read the paper at all weekends we play cards
or something four was the together so I was pretty good at CS incidentally anyway after I graduate high school 1938 it was time for college and just like older brothers we had a lot of Laboratories chemistry biology physics which means we took five six subjects during the day and about four afternoons a week had Laboratories either chemistry or physics physics was tough for me and the biology had all kind of biy coures I took four years of biology four years of chemistry one year physics and the rest was English German religion you had take it SMU after graduated SMU in 1941 started medical school and
that was tough tough tough work I thought I thought anything hard before that I was mistaken medical school was so hard after two years I set up with it study study study so I went down to the draft board on Grand Avenue in Harwood it's about three months where we live to volunteer for service and they asked me what I was doing I said I'm going to medical school but be a doctor said you go to go back to school we need doctors worse so we need soldiers so thank goodness for that and a finish medical school we went summer and winter and had a
speed up prr no no vacation I graduated December the 18th 1941 went to New York for an internship in January that year that's 44 incidentally 41 to 44 went to medical school a little over 3 years the new four years work and then where where were you in medical school first two years start off as bayor Medical School here in Dallas okay where the hospital still is after two years of some kind of split the B moved down to hou and Southwestern Medical School started in Dallas instead of going to bayor hospital for our last two years of study there's a new school Southwestern Medical
School the last two years we work through Parker Hospital our main hospital which is O Maple and oakl a half a block down the street to Riverside Park was a chillers Medical Center uh Freeman Clinic hope Cottage uh Texas Children's Hospital Scottish Hospital six five or six different hospital and we thought we we rotated through through the most of the time at Bradford Hospital which had a baby under two years of age Texas Children's Hospital was had between 2 and 12 or 14 whatever age it was and uh Freeman C and now you move on to New York was that a culture shock for you
took the train took day and a half or so got out of the Time Square and I couldn't even believe what was I saw I what I saw just all people big buildings and stuff anyway got on the subway had to ask somebody how to get the Israel's Z Hospital in Brooklyn and I asked about two or three people and finally got there is that now it's called by Fiora hospital and U after I was there a half a year first 6 months of 1945 my wife be came she was in nurse from came went to Philadelphia for training that next February we were married
in SC Pennsylvania which is our home town and about two months later I was in military service went down to San Antonio first for a couple months then went to West Overfield Massachusetts for a and then that there called I call played to Newland that's where I served most of my time from oh about October of one year of October 46 to December of 47 I was stationed in Newland my wife came up couple months after I did and Paul was born October 15th 1947 after I been there a year and a half so was Paul born in Canada L yes sir okay Andy when
he got when I got out he got he had a choice 16 he be made a new citizen or he could go wherever he wanted to go which was of course the United States and he became americ ciem full time so when did you come back to the States December the 18th around that time there 19 48 is when I came back went to work at Children's Medical Center I got a job there don't pay again but I got Ruben boor and Paul and his mother lived in a little red place nearby but uh fabulous training now were you still in the service at this
time no sir got charged uh December 47 now do you remember when you got your first car huh it's easy 1948 and so July 4th I 1948 Paul who was almost 9 months old my wife and I we were going to drive to Pennsylvania to see her family unfortunately we got as far as the H Denis and and all the happened and she was got a broken back out of it and I ended up unconscious for about eight days but I didn't lose anything else I been physically and that was from the your first car you had that wreck in first car and it was
1940 didn't get another till 1950 when I started uh my practice and then 48 from then until about I'm sorry September 5th Cook County Children's Hospital in Chicago okay then I came to Dallas the old Cliff had started my practice of Pediatrics in the W professional building and during the course of 6 months before that and a couple years later I took the bance pedri Society uh whatever I had to do that I had to pass some kind of Examination for the Texas Pediatric Society which I did and then for the American Pediatric Society which gave me the privilege of uh working wherever I wanted
to in the United States I went someplace in Michigan and passed that examination so I could pra anywhere the United States Pediatrics and then where did you guys settle down call home uh I started with PX of Pediatrics about September 49 until September until about that time a year ago later 50 and 50 is when I moved to the W Professional Building as the first doctor actually R there Angus W had Six Flags and stuff had an office and I got know real well we have a lot of doctors there there's about two or three different pediatricians different places and this is in Dallas yes
sir it's an old Cliff November December 1952 I slowly building up a practice actually always in the reserves I couldn't get out of that which the doctors had to stay there unless they put it a full time and I got out a few months early cuz I had leave I could they kep that I had about two years and that's all I needed but I was drafted supposed to go for two years 1953 they called us back for supposedly 2year term but after 6 months they let me go and where were you stationed in amarill we rided our house for a year with the lease
and we couldn't buy the lease back so we rided an apartment in woodwood well somebody occupied our house for another 6 months and then we mov back to our house this been a couple years I was doing the Sol practice incidentally and a lot of doctors at the time had groups of two three or five or something but in my case I was doing solo practice and uh I was available 24 hours a day seven days a week except for a half a day off or Thursday where I took off and somebody took my call and I took his calls on Wednesday afternoon and we
worked every other uh weekend took a old work in the morning both Saturday and Sunday but we say weekend from a noon Saturday but to Sunday morning then get Sunday new time to Monday morning I got worn out and skip a few years in 1971 I've been there for 18 years doing Pediatrics again I got worn out so I had a general practitioner friend I knew from old cliff and went to work at SMU Health Center a couple years before so I Happ to call him one day he says why come out and visit they so we arranged it well after we talk for a
while he said come on across the hall let me introduce to the boss so I went across street met Jim mff it was the boss and that was in 71 but I left a little bit later he said first before I left like to work here I said well I had even thought about it he said the 1st of September this was a couple months before so he said take over the weekend and think about it and let me know so I did and so I made up my mind to quit my practice and go to to work as one of the doctors there called
all my patient about the middle of July the 1st of September to tell my patience on leaving get your records or whatever else you wanted and needed and as busy busy times went back to my practice till about the 1st of September to work ATU and the nice thing is you get pay by the month there and September the 1st was Saturday so I don't have to work on Saturday or Sunday so I started on the 3 and incidentally I was making $199,000 that's what the guy president vice first vice president student affairs who I had to pass through said I'd be making 19,000 a
year but I just one of the general physicians we had four doctors that always so on call we had a laboratory there we had a pharmacy there we had a big building uh a big structure right behind that connected with us for mental health Psychiatry we had a psychiatrist there upstairs we had a 33 bed hospital and I tell you when you live in a dormatory you don't want any kid around coughing and sneezing and doing a lot of things with well people that's way they get sick yeah so my very first Sunday I had to work I went there and there were 33 flu
cases pneumonias and stuff like that in emergency in the hospital and boy I tell you that's a good way to get started there were little raises every year but two years later became medical director in addition there were four doctors in this new Health Center uh and we were always available but the make clinic hours was from like 8:30 in the morning till 4:30 in the afternoon and uh that's Monday through Friday Saturday was 8:30 to 12:30 and Sunday there's no regular hours if anybody ever wanted me see we just have to call the number we have to make arrangements to see it that we
did when I came medical director we were still living in Old Cliff I told my wife I'm going make my life here let's find a place to live close with SMU so we moved from a beautiful home 1621 water relet at oldak Cliff to 2844 University of Boulevard until I retire 1991 over the course of the years of your practice what were some of the major advancements in the technology you've seen from when you started to when you retired new things about nutrition that we learned I mean always there but we learned about it always made little changes here and there and what we did
in 1950 Pediatrics is quite different what we did in 1970 I started in the morning 7:30 8:00 in the morning uh I used to always had to go to Beth's hospital for a newborn or sick sometimes I go to Baylor sometimes St Paul and St Paul at that time was on Hall Street and Brian or something so I had a sick kid I had Children's Medical Center and then of course my practice I saw my first patient in the office at 95 every morning sometimes I leave home 6:30 or so they get busy in the various hospitals sometimes I had to go to two or
three different hospitals and they weren't on Old cliff and some cases took a little longer than others he would have to call the answering service every 3 hours for all these years when he wasn't in the office so he was always having to leave to go see someone and then return to his activities and he lived that way for a long time so when you were practicing there were a lot of house calls that you would have to leave during the day house house calls Hospital calls and just plain telephone call yeah they they could wait so back in your day you were going out
house to house what did you charge $6 plus any shot we gave we didn't always give a shot uh and $4 in the office for office visit six for a house call yeah it went up to $5 for an office visit and $7 for a house call that's about as high as I think it got it it's changed a little bit $199,000 was about beginning ofu the guy so barar that was a second year old R I forgot what I made but it was more than I expected what what is it that you that you know that uh in Pediatrics they have today that you
wish you had when you were practicing huh right not going out at night on weekend what was the happiest time in your life do with my wife my kid said the happiest I've seen him the two he had two boys first and he when my sister barbar was born and he was just thrilled he got that girl that he'd been hoping for actually Dr Don Harold delivered stepen Paul was a new Steven was here and when Sten Don har one of the leading Obstetricians in Old Cliff he took all the a partner Henderson who was a classmate of m a medical school and he haded
to be on duty with orber was born he he said they got new you know how to take care of a little girl he knew wanted one but it didn't work out it didn't work out but it worked out she's fantastic now you have the three kids Paul stepen and Barbara and what what does Barbara do now she's a got her PhD and she works teaches some you univers Texas too and Stephen what is he's the acting B also WR a couple books and now he's he's a very well-known actor what was that like for you when he said he wanted to go to interacting
I wanted a favor I tell you that I want to have some substantial he graduated from 1973 and I started working at SMU two months later 3 months later if I been there he to go to school i' got all tuition benefits what it cost anything he went into acting what was it like for you when you saw him on the big screen for the first time before the Big Screen there's a lot of stuff in SMU we saw and also in New York he he was on Broadway he was nominated for award for H day he didn't get him he got aible mention but
at least he's nominated so when you see him in a movie now you you feel differently don't you I feel different with whenever you start making money what what was your the favorite movie he was in that you like the best I don't know but ground hom day is what it gets the most publicity there Murray was was Bill Murray yeah he insurance adusted and your other son what does he do PA he's was a physician okay so you were happy with that choice weren't you oh yeah I was happy with all of them I just uh thank dad every chance I get uh I've
had a wonderful life and so my brother and sister have also had wonderful lives because of the incredible hard work and sacrifice of my dad and we we thank him constantly can't thank him enough well that goes both ways I tell you I couldn't get Al without Paul and Judy now in your lifetime was there an invention that came along that you just went wow how did we ever get along without that of course TV came along you remember getting air conditioning I don't think we ever got it my first house on Carolina Street 2220 but at 2844 you South Boulevard when we mve there
we had air conditioning there now in your lifetime there's there's been so many momentous occasions on the national scene some good of course some not so good you live through uh War eras of course the Vietnam era the hippie movement President Kennedy assassination uh something good the moonlanding in 69 for the first time tragedy of course of 911 what stood out in your mind that you go gosh I know exactly where I was when this was going on when JFK was shot here in Dallas I used to deliver newspapers and magazines a little there right across from from The Book Depository was the Records building
and courthouse and stuff like that i' went in there lots of times every day for many many years and then of course when Harvey OS was found he found in the Texas theater in Old Cliff the main theater there in capture there who's your favorite team the local team who wins and the Cowboys for years and then and lately it the Rangers to some extent baseball where they flub at the end usually one way or another what was it like when the uh when the Cowboys came to town for the first time you remember that I remember we could go to football games one ATO
take five children I think a ticket cost about $9 or so yeah and what was it like when uh Jones bought the team and fire Tom Landry well everybody sort unhappy if they just went two straight Super Bowls first two that W it a long long time and they weren't happy the way landre was fired either you and June have the um three children and five grandkids yes sir what advice does Granddad have for those grandkids be happy yes that be have something to have a job you can survive everything cost so much more now well thanks for doing this today well thank you very
much