Michael L. Wilkie was noted as much for his personal life as he was for his professional one. He was known as a man about town. Most notable, he is remembered for making his way past the security guards at Chicago’s Drake Hotel to ask Lady Dianna to dance. He was married twice, but he moved with all the fashionables, including some of this nation’s most glamorous women.

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He and his father, Leighton, were inventors and tool makers. Leighton founded the DoAll Company in Des Plaines, Illinois which produces a range of modern machine tools and grew to embrace over 70 countries around the globe. The stroke of genius came in 1933 when Leighton invented the metal-cutting bandsaw, one of the most widely used tools in manufacturing today.

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Michael ran the business for over 60 years. He was also a world-class diving and spearfishing enthusiast, representing the United States in two international championships. The art and antiques in his collections were bought by him to adorn the 1929-built penthouse at 1500 North Lake Shore Drive, or furnish the offices in the family business.