He was born in Atchison, Kan., and raised in the Ann Arbor, Mich., area. In many ways he took after his father, Bruno Meinecke, a prominent Latin scholar at the University of Michigan who also conducted symphonies.
At 5, Mr. Meinecke "drew photo-realistic faces," his son said. After studying art at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1942, he moved to Chicago in 1943. Mr. Meinecke, who played the clarinet and saxophone, performed in the first interracial (Black & Tan as the saying went) jazz band in Chicago, his son said.
At the famous old Ballantine's restaurant in Chicago, Mr. Meinecke met Lorraine Johnson, a TV actress and television pioneer,who starred in a children's show using the stage name
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