When his two-year stint as a truck driver in the U.S. Army ended in the late 1960s, Allan Fingerhut could have easily gone to work for the namesake corporation that made his family one of Minneapolis' wealthiest. Instead, he took a much rougher and wilder road to create one of Minnesota's richest cultural landmarks.
The original owner and longtime backer of First Avenue nightclub, Fingerhut died Monday at age 76 surrounded by family at his home in Northern California. Daughter Rain Fingerhut said he suffered from Lewy body dementia.
"He only showed dire signs of this little-known disease within the past two months," Rain said.
Fingerhut had not been formally involved in First Ave since 2004, but he still factored heavily in its story as recently as this year, appearing in a TPT TV documentary and Minnesota History Center exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the venue where Prince filmed "Purple Rain."
"I have many friends who shared a long and impactful ride in the music world," said Steve McClellan, former First Ave general manager, "and for many of us, it started with Allan Fingerhut."
In a skeptical 1970 write-up about the old downtown Greyhound bus station's rebirth as a rock club originally called the Depot, Minneapolis Star columnist Jim Klobuchar described Fingerhut as "a boy impresario [who is] squat, mod-groomed, flawlessly mustached and lathered with suntan oil."
The stylish scion was the second of three children born to Rose and Manny Fingerhut, co-founder of the Fingerhut catalog retail empire. After graduating St. Louis Park High School in 1962, he studied art and photography in New York and then joined the Army as the Vietnam War escalated.
He had no experience as a bar owner or rock promoter, but with musician Danny Stevens' help he was confident the club would work.
