Wayne Bramble was such an entertaining customer at the Blue Ribbon Grill, the owner hired him as bartender.

He spent the next 18 years of his retirement behind the bar. "I think he's a record-setter," said Blue Ribbon owner Paul Sachetti of Sandy Springs. "I don't think anybody else in Atlanta beats that except maybe some of the boys at Johnny's Hideaway."

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Blue Ribbon Grill bartender Wayne 'Burkey' Bramble had been shag dancing since the 1950s. When he was on the dance floor, 'It was like watching Fred Astaire,' said his friend Paul Sachetti of Sandy Springs.

Customers came to the Blue Ribbon Grill just to see him, said his son Buzzy Bramble of Isle of Palms, S.C. But not on Saturday nights when he was shag dancing at the Atlanta Marriott at Perimeter Center.

"When he walked in, the women would line up to dance with him," his son said, adding that at 5-foot-8, 260 pounds and a former Golden Gloves boxing champ, his father didn't look it but was a very smooth dancer.

"When he danced, shag danced, let me tell you, he was the lightest man on his feet you ever saw," Mr. Sachetti said. "It was like watching Fred Astaire."

Before attending the shag dance, Mr. Bramble held up his end of SADA, the Saturday Afternoon Drinking Association, a gathering of Blue Ribbon regulars, where he indulged in vodka martinis with olives and a twist or onions.

"We were so popular, a lot of customers came in just to listen to us. One Saturday things were slow, so Wayne and I cut a hole for our nose in Styrofoam plates and stuck them on like happy faces. It brought everybody to their knees when they came through the door," said his friend Gary Timberlake who lives in the town of Buckhead.

The memorial service for Wayne "Burkey" Bramble, 69, of Atlanta will be 4 p.m. Saturday at A.S. Turner & Sons. He died at Grady Memorial Hospital on Monday of complications from a fall. The body was cremated.

Before becoming Blue Ribbon's popular bartender, Mr. Bramble managed two finance companies and — because of his financial acumen — was a partner in B&W Electric Supply Co.

As bartender, he made first-time customers feel like regulars, remembered everybody's name and drink preference, entertained customers with his stories, and treated women and children with respect.

"He was always a gentleman," Mr. Sachetti said.

Holidays brought out the partymeister in Mr. Bramble, especially the Marine Corps birthday on Nov. 10, Mr. Timberlake said. A Marine Corps veteran, Mr. Bramble wore his Marines utility hat and a Corps T-shirt and served up the first slice of a big Marine Corps birthday cake to the youngest Marine among hundreds in the bar, and the second slice to the oldest.

Christmas, he wore a silly Santa apron, and he dressed in theme for St. Patrick's Day, Mr. Timberlake said.

Every Highland Games found him at Stone Mountain soaking up Scottish traditions and tearing up at bagpipe music, his son said.

Mr. Bramble was unprepossessing, never wanted to be a bother to anyone and never wanted anyone to go out of their way for him, Mr. Timberlake said.

"He didn't know what a treasure he was to everyone," he said.

Survivors include another son, Todd Bramble of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.