A life lived to the hilt, from music to hot dogs and horses

Don Schoenborn made the transition most teenage music lovers only dream of: he parlayed his connections at The Cellar teen dance club in Arlington Heights into becoming the road manager for nationally recognized bands.

Mr. Schoenborn passed away on Sunday. The longtime Palatine resident was 67.

Family members say "Dano," as he was called, loved The Cellar and its draw as a local music venue accessible to teens. He had graduated from Palatine High School in 1960 and was not a musician himself, but he loved the sound of rock 'n' roll.

One of the hit bands to come out of The Cellar was the Shadows of Knight, originally formed by Prospect High School students. With its release of "Gloria" in 1965, the single drew lots of regional play on its way to topping the charts.

As the band began touring, Mr. Schoenborn went with them, earning the role of road manager.

"He handled all the business aspects of their tours," his brother, Paul, says, "from the bookings and support systems, to travel arrangements. He was the detail guy."

Mr. Schoenborn later moved to take on the same role with a split-off band, called Bangor Flying Circus, before he hit the big time, serving as road manager for the Buckinghams.

"He was with the band in the beginning, when they had their first two hits, 'Don't You Care,' and 'Kind of a Drag,'" Paul Schoenborn adds. "Those were the songs that put them on the map."

By the late 1960s, Mr. Schoenborn left the rock 'n' roll life to settle in Tucson, Ariz., where he opened an artisan pottery store. Before long, he uprooted himself again, this time going to Nashville to develop a Chicago-style hot dog stand called the Nashville Dog, with his longtime friend and partner Mickey Finn.

"It was the first Chicago-style hot dog stand south of the Mason-Dixon line," his brother says.

"Dano's" entrepreneurial spirit moved him still again, this time in the late 1970s to the field of horse racing, where he joined partners Mike Miller and Mike Keller to form KSM Stables. One of its most successful horses, Chief Illini Wick, drew the trio to the winner's circle at Arlington Park.

In doing so, it brought Mr. Schoenborn full circle. He had worked summers in high school for Marjorie Everett, the former manager of Arlington Park, and now returned as a successful horse owner.

The death of Mr. Schoenborn's father, Raymond, brought him back to Palatine to care for his aging mother, Hattie, who now survives him at the age of 98.

"He had this incredible lust for life," says his brother. "He had friends everywhere. Everyone loved him."

Visitation takes place from 2-9 p.m. Friday at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 185 E. Northwest Hwy., Palatine. Funeral services are private.