David Sheridan, 53; entertainer, sauce maker

David Henry Sheridan, affectionately nicknamed "Toady" for his stubborn and sometimes slow-moving ways and founder of the Captain Toady's line of sauces, died of heart failure Wednesday (Oct. 3) at his Leschi home while doing what he loved most: making sauce. He was 53.

"Our grandmother Gertie was the best cook in town, that's where David got his interest in cooking," says his sister, Anne Sheridan of Seattle. "But pretty soon, everybody said he just made the best damn tarter sauce around."

Mr. Sheridan was born Nov. 14, 1947, in Chicago, just before his father, Seattle native Alfred Sheridan, finished medical school at Northwestern University. His parents moved to Seattle's Madison Park neighborhood when Mr. Sheridan was 1. Mr. Sheridan and his sister attended Edmond Meany Junior High and Garfield High School.

He and Anne — his younger sister by 18 months — grew up around music. Their father crooned Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland tunes while playing the piano every night. The family acted out musicals. The siblings emulated their parents, who often danced through the house.

It became clear early on that Mr. Sheridan was a natural entertainer. His voice was a little too loud and often flat. But he was good with words and jokes and had a natural pizzazz and charm. And he could dance. Even when he was young, Mr. Sheridan dressed the part, favoring white pants and white buckskin shoes. His closet would eventually contain 100 pressed shirts.

"All the girls were in love with him; David was a magnet," his sister recalled. "My girlfriends adored him so much. I would get jealous that they wanted to be with him and not play with me."

In the mid-1970s, after graduating from the University of Washington, Mr. Sheridan worked at Music Street, the giant music store in the University District. He managed a couple of local musical acts and wanted to pursue a career in music.

He never gave that up, friends and family say, even when he went to work as a stockbroker at Piper Jaffray in 1976.

He traveled frequently to Las Vegas to follow the legendary "Rat Pack" — Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., among others — or his favorite comedians. He purchased a condo in Palm Springs, Calif., and frequented an old piano bar in town at Melvin's restaurant. His trademark song was "Mac the Knife."

He loved that life. Friends and family called him the consummate gourmet and entertainer — smoking, drinking, smiling and singing.

"If he had had a decent voice, he'd still be singing in a lounge in Nevada," says Tom Jaffe, a Seattle attorney who met Mr. Sheridan in college. "It was always his goal to be a singer. The one thing holding him back was that he couldn't carry a tune."

No one seems to know quite when, but somewhere along the way Mr. Sheridan picked up his nickname.

"He was famous for sitting on this old rowing machine," his sister recalls. "He'd light up a cigarette, read a paper, then he'd get off the machine, and he'd never even have turned it on. Sitting on the lily pad. 'Get moving, Toad,' we'd say."

In 1987, David found his true calling.

That's when he bottled up some of his famous homemade tartar sauce, used his natural entrepreneurial talents, got his friend to draw up some labels and started pitching Captain Toady's Tasty Sauce to local stores. It was successful and his business expanded into cocktail sauces, batter mixes, horseradish and salad dressings.

"He was very enthusiastic, not sleazy at all," says Mary Raschko, a longtime friend who helped Sheridan sell his products. "We would travel to specialty food shows in New York and California and demonstrations in grocery stores, food stores all over the country.

"He dressed up in a blue blazer and an old captain's hat and he would say, 'Hey, have you heard about Captain Toady's? This is great on crackers. This will make a great dip. Here, have a Captain Toady button.' "

Mr. Sheridan is also survived by his father, Alfred Sheridan, and his father's wife, Sally Sheridan of Mercer Island; his stepfather, Alvin Schneider of Seattle, and his nephew, Brewster Stanislaw of Seattle.

A celebration of his life will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the Sorrento Hotel, 900 Madison St., Seattle.

Michael Ko can be reached at 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com.