Max P. Berry, 93, a former clothier to stars who came to perform in Chicago theaters during the 1950s, died Thursday, Oct. 5, of heart failure at the Lieberman Center in Skokie. Mr. Berry’s parents, who emigrated from Russia, had 11 children. A native of New York, Mr. Berry opened his first store on Wall Street in 1927, said his son Bruce. “He went through the Depression, when guys were flying through the canopy of his building,” his son said. In those years, Mr. Berry sold three shirts for a dollar before his business ultimately went under, his son said. The family later moved to Chicago, and Mr. Berry opened his first Oxford Men’s Shop at State and Lake Streets in 1938. “He did very well,” his son said, adding that stars who appeared at the Chicago Theatre or the Oriental Theatre often stopped at his father’s store, including Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante. After closing his stores in 1963, Mr. Berry devoted himself to Jewish causes; he was the unofficial greeter of the Loop Synagogue in downtown Chicago for many years. “He was a salesman, at being Jewish, or selling shirts, or Israel bonds,” his son said. He was preceded in death by his wife, Bess Feldman Berry. Other survivors include another son, David; a sister; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Services will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at Waldheim Cemetery, 18th Street and Harlem Avenue in Forest Park.
