Oct. 23–The crown moldings in the lobby of The Skirvin Hilton Hotel downtown bear carved corner pieces of two men's faces. One has been identified as Bill Murray, or the former Oklahoma Governor William "Alfalfa Bill" Murray. But it's unclear who the other is; some believe it's Bill Skirvin, who founded the hotel 105 years ago.

Gerald Rappaport, the Skirvin's general manager, jokingly calls man No. 2 "Chevy Chase," because the other shares his name with the comedic actor Bill Murray.

Guests and visitors can decide for themselves when the hotel has its "Grand Reveal" on Tuesday.

Rappaport would be delighted to have the traffic. Since he took the helm of the 180-employee hotel last September, he's overseen extensive renovations efforts, including to all 225 guest rooms.

On the ground floor, the old heavy red velvet curtains have been ditched to let in the sunlight. Lobby tiles have been replaced and lobby seating expanded. Meanwhile, the Red Piano Lounge adjacent to the lobby features a new red piano and all new seating, including booth seating along the windows.

Rappaport has worked more than 30 years in the hotel business, including 25 with Marcus Hotels & Resorts, which is the majority owner and operator of the Skirvin. He most recently managed the Phillips Hotel in Kansas City.

From the Skirvin's Pearl Mesta second-floor boardroom, Rappaport, 55, recently sat down recently with The Oklahoman to talk about his life and career. This is an edited transcript:

Q: Tell us about your roots.

A: I grew up 35 miles south of Chicago in Park Forrest, Ill., which was once honored as the all-American city. My father worked for Chicago-based W. Braun container company, working his way up from office boy to president of the company. My mom was primarily a homemaker. I'm the third of their four children. I have two older sisters and a younger brother.

Q: What was the highlight of your childhood?

A: I was raised in a conservative Jewish home, attended Hebrew School twice a week, worshipped on Saturdays and went to Sunday school on Sundays. I was a member of the Masada of the ZOA (Zionist Organization of America) youth group and went to overnight camps for six weeks every summer. Today, I'm not religious, but consider myself a righteous man. My faith has made me a better neighbor, friend and person in general.

Q: How did you get your start in the hotel and restaurant business?

A: With the Hilton Hotels Corporation in Chicago. During college, I interned three summers, from 1979 to 1981, for the 1,900-room Palmer House Hilton. Then, I got impatient and dropped out of school to go to work full-time for the 2,300-room Conrad Hilton — now the Chicago Hilton Towers. I worked the 3 to 11 shift as assistant front office supervisor and then chief supervisor from 1982 to 1984, when the hotel closed for multimillion-dollar renovations. At the time, the Conrad Hilton had the largest manual room rack. Every room had its own little card or stock ticket, and we were full all the time. On any given day, 1,600 guests would check in. If we had 1,200 left to check in and were overbooked by 300, we knew we were fine because of late arrivals and cancellations. It was crazy, and I loved it. The next 30 years, I worked in Milwaukee, largely for Marcus Hotel & Resorts, which is based there. When I joined them, Marcus had only three hotels. Today, they have 19. Throughout my career, I've run seven hotels including the Hilton Milwaukee; the InterContinental Milwaukee; the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee; Timber Ridge Lodge & Waterpark in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa; The Hotel Phillips in Kansas City; and now the Skirvin Hilton.

Q: What's your leadership philosophy?

A: Put your employees first and everything else will fall in place. If employees are happy, they'll not only be productive, but also smile at guests and guests will smile back. It's contagious. I meet with all new hires on their first day to explain the difference they make, and make rounds daily to look at the hotel from guests' perspectives and catch employees doing things right. People who are lifted up have higher self esteems and are so much better at what they do. Before coming to Oklahoma City, I built a strong team at The Hotel Phillips in Kansas City that over the 18 months I was there worked to increase revenues by 24 percent and profits by 80 percent before the hotel was sold. I call it my Gandhi experience: "There goes my people. I must follow them, for I am their leader."

Q: Have you met some famous hotel guests?

A: I have. Just this past year, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder and Jerry Seinfeld have been in our lobby. When Terry Bradshaw (TV analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback) walked in the front door, I said to him, "Terry, why didn't you tell me you were going to be in town!" He was a good sport and played along. Similarly, when the crazy chef Gordon Ramsay walked in the Long Beach Westin when I was there, I remarked, "How are you? It's been forever." Unlike his TV shows, Ramsay was delightful, approachable, polite and took the time to visit with me.