And The Beat Goes On

Today we found Nancy Sing Bock.

Thanks for letting me know what this is about. I lived in the Smith Projects. Many of my friends in my classes in elem school lived in Knickerbocker Village. It's great you are getting people from the old neighborhood back in touch with one another. I will check out your blog.

Today Nancy Merrill found us

Just found this site and love it.
I was a KV resident from 1953 to 1983. Went to Nursery school in the basement, PS 177, Camp Madison Felicia, Hamilton House, PS 12 and Seward Park.
Loved the pics from the reunion but wished you had put names with faces. I only recognized Paul Levine. Please let me know when the next one will be.
My sister Patti and brother Jimmy grew up there too. Please list Patti and I in your roll call. Jimmy passed away Dec. 2005.

Above is a video of Gene Krupa battling Buddy Rich on a Sammy Davis Jr. special. The audio is Buddy's daughter Cathy with the Buddy Rich Band. Lew Meyers should enjoy, besides I never did like Sonny and Cher.

Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da
Charleston was once the rage, uh huh
History has turned the page, uh huh
The mini skirts the current thing, uh huh
Teenybopper is our newborn king, uh huh
Chorus
The grocery store's the super mart, uh huh
Little girls still break their hearts, uh huh
And men still keep on marching off to war
Electrically they keep a baseball score
Chorus
Grandmas sit in chairs and reminisce
Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss
The cars keep going faster all the time
Bums still cry "hey buddy, have you got a dime"
Chorus

Dedication of the Five Points’ Mission House,” New-York Daily Times, June 18, 1853

The map is from 1903. The web source of the article is the lost museum

This newspaper article describes the 1853 opening of the Five Points Mission House, a Methodist mission located in one of New York City’s most impoverished neighborhoods. The article illustrates the attitudes that motivated urban missionary work in an “infected district of the City” that was predominantly Catholic, and reflects how Protestant evangelism, poor relief, and reform went hand in hand during the antebellum era. The Five Points’ Mission House, erected on the site of the Old Brewery, was opened yesterday afternoon with religious services, as the centre of missionary and humanitarian enterprize in that infected district of the City. Notwithstanding the excessive inclemency of the weather, a very numerous and highly respectable audience, the majority of whom were ladies, assembled in the Chapel of the Mission House. The children of the schools attached to the Mission were also in the room, and sang some simple hymns during and after the services. Amongst the several clergymen who participated in the proceedings we noticed: Rev. Dr. Bangs, Dr. Floy, Rev. J. B. Wakeley, and S. Martin-Dale. Messrs. Heath and Devois, Missionaries on their way to California, were also among those present. After the usual religious exercises, the Rev. Dr. Floy (of the Madison street M. E. Church,) delivered an appropriate discourse . . .It should be borne in mind that the house they stood in was erected solely for the relief of the poor. Nor was all that toil and trouble expended merely that the wretched sons of want might there find a home; nor was it in order that the little children, once running wild through this most wicked quarter of this wicked city, might be taken in there and taught to read and write. Its object was not to supply merely temporal wants. It had a holier end in view—one that, in the present day, was too much forgotten—for at this very period there was a widely diffused kind of infidelity that would place the temporal benefits of the poor above their spiritual wants, and inculcated as the paramount duty, that to clothe the naked and feed the hungry were the first labors of Charity. It would be far from his intention to say anything against that kind of charity either. But he would go much further—he would have the Charity exhibited by the Redeemer, who, during this mission, labored more to supply the necessities of the immortal soul, than those of the frail mortal body. Charity such as that was simply the teaching of pure Christianity, and for such an object, primarily, that building had been erected. He yielded to no man in his firm devotion to that phase or form of Christianity which he, in his ministration, was called upon to preach, and at whose altars he was a listener. But he never would unite himself to such an undertaking if its objects were merely sectarian—the elevation of one sect over another, or the promotion of any form of religious bigotry. The object of the enterprise was not that men might be made Methodists, but that they might be made members of Christ’s Church, and walk in the way of His law. Then as of secondary importance their temporal wants might be supplied, and, subsequently, if they should seem it good to them to seek Heaven in the same path in which the Methodists do, so much the more certainly would harmony be insured. Dr. F. then went on to speak in regard to the civilizing influences of Christianity. The knowledge of Christian truth removed ignorance much more efficaciously than mere secular instruction. . . .Rev. J. B. Wakely briefly addressed the meeting, stating that the Society was at present in debt some $15,000, and urged its friends to be liberal and open-hearted in their contributions for its aid. . . .

Oak Street: 1931

The view is looking east towards Oliver and Catherine. The smaller houses (22-24 Oak) were between Roosevelt Street and James Slip. The Clinton residence, mentioned on the previous post, may have looked like them. The image comes from the nypl digital collection

Oliver And Oak Street History

Oliver and Oak were located where the Al Smith Projects are now

Five Points Mission 2

A follow up to a previous post that showed the highlighted plaque
below information about the mission from the Five Points Mission site

Located at 69 Madison Street. The church was established in 1966 at Five Points Mission on Madison Street to serve the growing population of new Americans from Hong Kong and China; and the church's first community programs included an after school center, English language class for adults, boy scouts, Chinese folk dance class and the summer children's center. In 1970 the church was renovated and additional spaced added. In 1972 the Chinese Methodist Center was formed. As the church grew, new programs were continually added; and today the center has 8 full time and 33 part time staff members. Programs include the Mei Wah Day Care Center, The Mei Wah School-After School Center, Chinese Methodist English Institute, A Your Recreational Center, A Community Service Group, A Summer Day Camp, Tai Chi Chuan, Piano Lessons and a wide variety of programs for high school and college students. Chinese language and English languages church services are held, and the Flushing Mission in Queens has many programs for new Americans. The church acts as an advocate and participates in community affairs.

New York Observed: The Barber of Warm Feelings

Paul had some memories about a Clinton Street barber

Your mention of Steven Warbit reminded me: he was friendly with Barry Rosenband who was a few years older than me. His mother was friendly with my mom. Marion and Joe Rosenband: she taught hair dressing at some beauty school and Joe had an old time barber shop, with the barber pole in front, on Clinton Street. I know Barry had gone to Fredonia and did something in the science field. It's possible that Steven Warbit's mother Peshie is still around as I believe I've seen her on Grand Street.

Above, an image that combines where I go now for a haircut (13 Monroe Street) with Rocco who is mentioned in this excerpt from a Times' story below.

FOR once, in this city of cranes and money, it’s not about real estate. This is more a story of devotion — not to a usual suspect like a wife, not to the secondarily acceptable, like a mangy pet, and not to something embarrassing like a blanket. What I’m talking about is someone I’ve seen regularly for more than 10 years, someone who became a part of my life shortly after I moved to New York.
Oh, a therapist, you say, or someone herb-related. No. The man in question is Rocco, my barber, and he snips away in a narrow, old-school storefront on Spring Street in SoHo. Even back when I became a regular, before the city had so unapologetically traded its tattered edges for the relentless sheen of gentrification, his barbershop was a humble anachronism, somewhere too quietly perfect to last. I found him through a friend’s roommate, a Manhattan native who worked at an auction house and was the only consistent user of the apartment’s broom — and who I therefore assumed was spending lavishly for anything having to do with his hair. He swore that Rocco was the best in town and he was not alone; I quickly learned that Rocco is beloved by scores of men in New York, his name passed around like a gift. Rocco is not the only person ever to cut my hair. My mother was my first barber, draping a towel around my neck and sawing away with scissors so dull — she was deathly afraid of injuring me — that they were useless. Even with the right tools, I suspect, she wouldn’t have been a very good hairstylist. Once I determined that I required the services of a professional, my father took me to his barber, a woman named Tommy. I don’t remember the name of her establishment, but it was probably either A Cut Above or Shear Excellence. There were two major surprises (beyond the fact that a woman could be named Tommy): cut-out sinks — we didn’t have those in the bathroom salon at home — and a stack of Playboys in the waiting area, right next to Time and Esquire, not squirreled away in the den, passed down from a creepy uncle.

Connie Francis: Tweedle Dee

from 1959, Words & music Winfield Scott

Tweedle dee dee, Tweedle dee dee
Tweedle dee dee, Tweedle dee dee
Tweedle tweedle tweedle dee
I'm as happy as can be.
Jimminy cricket, jimminy jack,
You make my heart go clickety-clack.
Tweedle tweedle tweedle dee.
Tweedle tweedle tweedle dot
How you gonna keep that honey you got
Hunkies hunkies fish that bite
I'm gonna see my honey tonight
Tweedle tweedle tweedle dot
Tweedle dum tweedle dum
Give it up give it up,
Give your love to me.
Tweedle dot, tweedle dot.
Gimme gimme gimme gimme
Gimme all the love you got.
Tweedle tweedle tweedle dum
I'm a lucky so-and-so.
Mercy, mercy, pudding pie,
Hubba hubba honey do
I'm gonna keep my eyes on you
Tweedle tweedle tweedle dum.
Tweedle dum, tweedle dum
Give that kiss to me before you go.
Tweedle dum, tweedle dum
Lookie lookie lookie
Look at that sugar plum
Tweedle dee tweedle dum
You're as sweet as bubble gum
Mercy, mercy, pudding pie,
You got something that money can't buy.
Tweedle tweedle tweedle dum

Oh Say Can You Sing

The mention of a PS 177 schoolboy crush on Nancy Sing from a previous KV chatter post led me on a Nancy Sing quest. The name sounded familiar to me. I might have even met her in my former life working in the New York City school system. From her pic and bio from the PS 51 website below, Ron says he's 99% sure its her. I've reached out to her and I hope she joins our ever growing family. We'd be honored to have her.

This is my sixth year as Principal of PS 51. Before that I was the Assistant Principal of PS 40. I have been in education for over 30 years. I started out as an early childhood teacher in daycare. From there, I was a special education teacher in District 75 for 8 years. After that, I taught a variety of different subjects. I have taught science, art, music, language arts on the elementary and middle school level. One of my greatest accomplishments was conducting an inter-school chorus. We sang with many other choruses from around the world at Brooklyn Academy of Music. I graduated from Baruch College with a degree in Elementary Education. After that, I went to Queens College and obtained a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education. My second Master’s was in Special Education from Hunter College. When my son was 4 years old and my twin daughters 3 years old, I enrolled in an administrative program at Bank Street School of Education. When I graduated, I became an administrative assistant and staff developer in District 1. I then moved on to become the Assistant Principal of PS 40 in District 2. In 2005 I was selected to receive a Fellowship with The Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished NYC Principals at Teachers College, Columbia University. I also mentor Assistant Principals in the Executive Leadership Institute a professional development program the Council of Supervisors Association provides for Assistant Principals. It is a pleasure and honor to be the Principal of PS 51. We are a small school with wonderful students, parents, teachers and staff. We have incredible arts programs and tremendous community resources. I love being a Principal. I still try to get into classrooms with my guitar and have many students come to my office to read to me or share a piece of writing he/she is proud of. My three children are now in three different high schools. My son is 18 and my twin daughters are 16. My son is graduating from LaGuardia High School and entering Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa in September. My husband is a lawyer and we continue to sing in the chorus where we met 23 years ago. I am deeply committed to the students of PS 51 and strive to provide an academically, culturally and social-emotional education where students will reach their full potential.

Paul Newman For KV Honorary Membership

Generous, unpretentious, inclusive, politically progressive, a good friend, a good husband, a good father and crazy enough to drive race cars. Sounds like he belongs. Also he spent time on the LES while filming, "Somebody Up There Likes Me."
below an interview with Robert Wise from 1998 From December 13, 2007 a LES clip from the movie

Let's talk a little about Somebody Up There Likes Me, with Paul Newman as Rocky Graziano. Is it hard to tell the story of a man making his way to the top in the fighting ring? It was a particularly hard story. It was from an actual book written about Rocky Graziano. It was a real character and he was a real middleweight champion at one time. And Paul and I had the advantage of spending a lot of time with Rocky. He was living in New York, and Paul was there. I'd go back and we'd spend time with him. He would take us down to the Lower East Side where he grew up and where he hung out, and introduce us to a lot of his friends from those days and the candy store they used to hang out in. And he even got us a lot of photographs for wardrobe things. Also, there had been a long story about him in Look magazine, a long two-part series, and the writer had taped the interviews. So we had a chance to listen to the tapes and hear Rocky's actual voice and his manner of speech. And Paul decided, and I decided with him, that whatever he could make real and natural, and honest for himself from the speech patterns and his way of talking he would do, and if something wasn't right he wouldn't do it. So he picked up certain things that I think helped his characterization tremendously. I think it was one of Paul's very best characterizations as an actor, because it's so far away from actual Paul Newman, who's Cleveland and Shaker Heights, certainly not the Lower East Side.
Right. He had a rhythm, which he got from Graziano?
Yes.
And you actually tried to pick up that rhythm in the way you shot the film?
In a way. Rocky was always kind of moving around, in little jerky movements, and I wanted the film to have a little of that same kind of feeling. So I shot it in short bits and pieces, little short sequences, and tried to get an essence of that in the structure and methodology of shooting the film as it was.
When Rocky fights the winning fight for the championship at the end, there's a series of sequences, shots of his family, the crowd scene, but also the streets of New York. There's one scene were everyone is listening to the radio and you made it absolutely silent, the city street. That was quite effective.
Yes. It really worked, I think.

Judith Raskin Sings

the audio combines a clip of Judith singing with George Schick and then with Mario Lanza singing part of the finale from the Vagabond King. Many of the images are from the operalenz

The Raskins Of Knickerbocker Village: Then And Now

From a May 8, 1966 nytimes article. At that point the Raskins left 14 Monroe Street for Queens. Sadly, Judith would pass away at age 52 in 1972

Lisa is now the Psychology Chair at Amherst. Jonathan an internist specializing in pulmonary medicine at Beth Israel in New York. As Bob wrote "I see the resemblance with the Jonathan I recall running around the halls of the 10th floor--full face, lot of red hair, freckles. Pulmonologist makes sense--growing up with an opera singing mom, he had to have developed a fine appreciation of the importance of lungs."

Hotline, Hotline

from 1977

Number please
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
For your love, for your love
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
On the hot line
I'm calling on the hot line for your love
Baby, cause Im burnin' up
Like a house on fire
My desire
Is climbin higher
Baby, whoo-ooo
Girl, the way you move your lips
I can tell you got fire in your kiss
The way you flash your eyes
Looks like lightnin' lightin up the sky
Stop all the calls in the world
Till I catch you, girl
Catch you at home
I asked the CIA
If it was ok, to use their private phone
Oh, baby, baby
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
For your love, for your love
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
On the hot line
Operator, excuse me please
But this is more than an emergency
Take those phones off-a your ears
'Cause this is only for my baby to hear
Stop all the calls in the world
Till I catch you, girl
Catch you at home
I asked the CIA
They said it was ok, to use their private phone
Oh, baby, baby
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
For your love, for your love
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
On the hot line
Baby, where are you
Here am I
Should I get in touch with the FBI
I know my call will be accepted
There's no chance of bein disconnected, on the...
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
For your love, for your love
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
On the hot line
Don't keep it busy
Don't make me dizzy
Your love makes me want to shout, Ow
You're my lover, undercover
You know what Im talkin' about
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
For your love, for your love
Hot line, hot line
Calling on the hot line
On the hot line

Another Kind Of Hotline

The last post caused a sudden nostalgic desire to see the Sylvers' hotline video. I stumbled on this instead. Very funny

KV Chatter: Hotline, Hotline

New KV members have brought with them enthusiasm and great memories and as they've interacted with the "general membership" new lost names and stories have been shaken loose from the KV tree of knowledge.
Some Point:

Gary and Carol Wynshaw or Winshaw? Kathy and Steven Manus. The Youngers, Dana and Judy - their mother's name was Dodi and the father was the minister at Sea and Land Church near E. Broadway. Another minister was Rev. Romig, he was the minister of the Baptist Church near Jim Jims. Patty and Nancy Merrill - they had a brother Buddy. (Nancy married a guy named Engel from Grand Street), Denise and Dawn Rothstein - their brother Seth lives on Grand St last I heard. Lisa Raskin, daughter of opera singer Judith Raskin - several years ago there was a wedding announcement in the NYTimes - she was living in the western part of Massachusetts and was a shrink. Dorita and Bernard Dolansky whose parents owned a store near the Pizza place on Catherine St - they sold children's clothes. There was a kid named Joel Bloch who had an older sister - he was a rolly polly, cute kid. Jeffrey Nathanson had a best friend named Sandy Stutz. Denise Feinberg who lived in the A building and its thought she had an older brother. There were the Kefers in the F building - the youngest was Paul - he had two older brothers, one named Loren or Lawrence. There was Marty and Paul Bronstein - their mother was Vivienne and they were somehow related to the people who owned everyone's favorite shlock store - Honeys. Honey's husband was Cappy. The Sonnenblick sisters? Debra and her older sister who went to Performing Arts? And what about the Rothstein girls -- Denise and Dawn? Has anyone found them? Do you remember the Feigenbaums? Ethel was the mother and she had three daughters, one name Beryl. And the Warbets -- Steven Warbet (his mother was Peshie). Ring any bells? Ann Lackow, Ida Schnieder,and Ethel Feigenbaum, and a couple of others played mahjong. Apartments were rotated but the only break were the summers. Sarah Wenig's mother, Esther didn't play mah jong. She played scrabble with Blanche Schefflin. Stu Schumer worked for Max Lackow (Hymie's brother) as a runner on Eldridge St. There was always great food on mah jong nights with Connie Francis singing Yiddish favorites in the background - and Hy Lackow always went out for appetizing on Sunday morning. Judy Schnieder has two brothers. Michael (66) lives in NJ, Mark (62) in DC and Howard in California. All married with children. In fact, Mark has his first grandchild. Arlene Lackow is now Arlene Levinson and lives in Rockville Center.

Some Counterpoint

The list below is loaded with my classmates (the 54-56 current age range)
You can add Nancy Sing to the list of 'where are they now'. She lived in Smith, had 3 younger sisters and a younger brother. Two of my memories of Nancy:
1) She and I were cleaning paint brushes from art class at PS 177 when Sarah Wenig entered the room to announce that President Kennedy had been shot.
2) I had a big schoolboy crush on Nancy...she was very pretty. Her dad was Japanese; her mom was Pennsylvania Dutch....but alas, if memory serves me, she preferred Mark Schumer.......Mark, I've gotten over it...and I can't blame her for having good taste!
As for the list: Gary Winshaw was one of the pack that included Paul Levine, Bradley Joe and me...Gary lived on the first floor of the D building (our 'speak easy' entrance into 'K & K'...his dad was a fireman. Dana and Judy Younger were close in age...I was in classes with Dana up until 2nd grade; then with Judy starting in 4th grade (I skipped 3rd) I remember their dad, the minister. Michael Romig's dad was also a minister. Since we all lined up in 'size places', I spent a lot of time either directly in front or behind Michael, depending on the relative size of the heels on our shoes, on any given day. I remember Nancy Merrill's face, as if I was looking at a picture right now...the guy named 'Engel' that she married was either David or Michael. David Engel and I went to summer camp together...he had a great imagination...his older brother Michael had a 'tough guy' reputation from a particular incident that pre-dates my being friends with him. We regarded Mike as a good friend to have around if 'opposing forces' approached. Denise and Dawn Rothstein were a couple of cuties...and very sharp! Denise is my age; Dawn a year or two younger. I saw Denise last when she came by my store on Orchard St back in the 80s...I remember their mom as being very nice...lots of personality. I went to nursery school with Lisa Raskin...I remember that we had play dates then...her mom had a beautiful voice (Judith)...as does my mom! Dorita Dolnansky was in my 'up to 2nd grade classes'...her brother Bernard was about 4 years younger (my brother Bill's contemporary) I remember that Bernard got picked on often my his 'friends'...As an older kid, I took a liking to Bernard, and would often make him laugh. As an adult, Bernard would come into my shirt store from time to time. He shared with me stories of some of the cruel kids who picked on him...I have from time to time, warned my brother Bill to 'watch his back'...Bernard may be gunning for you!...Bill claims that he was 'less cruel' to Bernard than the others...I believe him. I remember Joel Bloch...but mostly the 'rolly polly, cute kid part'...he was a good guy.Sandy Stutz was in classes with me, Jeffrey Nathanson, Paul Levine, Michael Romig.....I remember that he was smiling much of the time...nice guy! (He was on the part of the 'size places line' that featured Michael, Paul and myself) Paul Keifer I see often...he lives in Southbridge, as do my brother Joel and I. Debra Sonnenblick was the poster girl for 'shy'...she was very sweet, and very smart. David Aaronson was also a 'runner' for the jewelers on Eldridge St...I would pass by their shops (near JHS 65) and look into the windows...several had calendars featuring provocative photos of the type of women that made 11 and 12 year old male minds fantasize... I remember Seth Low...but apparently I don't recall his Hullabaloo sister...or at least I don't connect the two. Judy Schneider lived in the A building (11 H)...we lived in 8H...the Buellers in 9H...I remember Judy well...and her brother Mark, and her mom. Arlene Lackow was one of the organizers of a reunion that was held at the hotel in the World Trade Center in the late 80s (?)...many of the current KV bloggers were there...I'm sorry to hear about Burton. ...and Sarah, I certainly remember you well! From Nursery school on...you had the type of laugh that sitcoms 'can'...I have a silly memory that involves you and I sharing our 'lunchbox lunches'...my sandwich; your Fritos. ......Now that I've emptied out a part of my brain, I need a nap! (or a restorative instant beverage

More Counterpoint

WOW...this is amazing! Arlene Sonnenblick was my age...I remember going to Camp Edalia with her - I think I have the picture..if not, Tina Pappas Tilzer does
Ilene Block (Goldsman) has a brother Joel...they lived in the the Smith Projects - her father still lives there and she lives in Queens - I'm seeing her on Columbus Day in nyc - we recently 'found' each other...Denise Fineberg. I think, lived in my building (A) and had an older brother...who was my age and the name escapes me right now- if the same one, I think she lost her father at a young age. Beryle Feigenbaum was a friend also...I think she lived in "C" building - same as the Aaronsons....Is that right Elaine? I thought Arlene Lackow lived in my building..I remember her father had a store on Orchard Street. She was older than me so we only saw each other in the elevator or lobby. Gerna Dolnansky owned the children's clothing store on Catherine a few stores away from the pizza place. It may have been called "Gerna's."

and More:

I lived next door to the Raskins on the 10th floor of the I (eye) Bldg. Imagine how lucky I was to wind up between Judith Raskin rehearsing on one side of me and Marty B.'s family of musicians on the other. When Judith wanted Lisa and Jonathan to come up from the park for dinner, she'd stick her head out the window and operatically yell (sing?) "Jonathan...Lisa..." You'd have to be there--it didn't sound anything like other parents yelling for their kids. As I recall, Mr. Raskin was a psychiatrist, which ties in with Lisa's vocation.

Who's Almost Who In Knickerbocker Village History: Justice Michael Corriero

Ex-judge turns energy to supreme mentoring Sunday, July 13th 2008, 10:47 PM Former New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Corriero admits the transition from the bench to civilian life takes some getting used to. An excerpt from a nydaily news article

"My wife, Mary Ellen, and I were driving on the Long Island Expressway the other day, and I changed lanes without putting on my blinkers," Corriero said. "She said, 'Remember, you're not the law anymore.'" After 28 years on the bench, Corriero stepped down this year to take over as executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York on June 30, succeeding Alan Luks. BBBS was founded in 1904 by New York City Court Clerk Earnest Kent Coulter to pair young men and women with adult mentors as a way to keep the former out of trouble. Corriero, 65, has been involved with youths and the law for most of his career. Since 1992, he had presided over the Manhattan Criminal Court's Youth Part, a court within the adult system that dealt exclusively with 13-, 14-, and 15-year-olds charged as adults. He also wrote the book, "Judging Children as Children: A Proposal for a Juvenile Justice System" (2007, Temple University Press). Corriero said he has been concerned about youth and crime since growing up an only child on Mott and White Sts., across from the Manhattan Detention Center - the legendary Tombs. He kept pictures of himself and his neighborhood buddies as teens on the walls of his chambers, and said he moved them to his BBBS office because he never wants to forget what it was like to be a teenager, and how easy it was to make careless decisions"I was fortunate that the repercussions from any careless decisions I would have made - and I have not admitted to making any - I have been able to survive and overcome," he added. Corriero credits his late parents, Frank and Antoinette, with drumming home the importance of education; the teachers at Transfiguration School on Mott St. with infusing him with a sense of restlessness to succeed, and legendary Manhattan District Attorney Frank Hogan, his boss for several years, with giving him "a special sensitivity to the issues of young people who got into trouble ... trying to help them avoid continued criminality."

Joe Bruno was a neighbor of Judge Corriero's at 134 White Street in Little Italy. As a kid Mike was known as Mikey Black

IN APARTMENT 22, WITH THE WINDOWS FACING BAXTER STREET LIVED MIKEY BLACK WITH HIS PARENTS. WE WERE BOTH ONLY CHILDREN. WE SHARED A FIRE ESCAPE. MANY TIMES MIKEY WOULD RETURN HOME WITHOUT HIS KEY TO HIS FRONT DOOR. HE WOULD THEN KNOCK ON MY DOOR AND ASK IF HE COULD USE THE FIRE ESCAPE TO GET INTO HIS APARTMENT. MIKEY BLACK WAS A SLIGHTLY WILD KID, WHO FINALLY SAW THE LIGHT IN HIS TEENAGE YEARS. HE WAS 4 OR 5 YEARS OLDER THAN ME. VERY QUIET. VERY INTENSE. HIS UNCLE MIKE WAS A BARBER WH LIVED ON THE SECOND FLOOR. WHAT I REMEMBER IS THAT HE WAS MOVIE STAR HANDSOME. ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD GIRLS WENT CRAZY OVER MIKEY BLACK. SINCE 1992, MICHAEL CORREIRO HAS BEEN A NEW YORK STATE SUPREME COURT JUDGE IN CHARGE OF THE JUVENILE COURTS.

Papa Loves Mambo: Film Project

Ok I think I have the mambo out of my system for now

from a youtubed Musical film project at New York Film Academy.Directed by Thiago Ruivo (8 Week Filmmaking Program's Student)

Papa Loves Mambo: The Perry Como Original

an excerpt from The Papa Loves Mambo Story "written" by Perry in Coronet Magazine February, 1955

How does a song hit 'get born'? It takes a lot of things: clever lyrics, catchy melody, a sixth sense of judgment about the mood of the times, shrewd exploitation. Here's the story behind my recent RCA Victor hit "Papa Loves Mambo," just as it happened.
MONDAY, 4:30 P.M.: Bix Reichner, a Philadelphia songwriter, stops by Hanson's luncheonette at 51st Street and Seventh Avenue in New York for a glass of milk. Hanson's is a hangout for musicians, songwriters and singers. Here they get their phone messages, catch up on news and contacts, and wangle a little credit.
At the counter, Reichner meets dapper, sad-looking Al Hoffman, a fellow songwriter. Reichner knows about Hoffman's work — "Mairzy Doats," "If I Knew You Were Coming I'da Baked a Cake," and "Gilly Gilly Ossenfeller Katzenellen by the Sea." Comparing notes with him now, Bix suddenly realizes Al is the man to write a mambo novelty to a title buzzing in his head for weeks.
As he leaves, Bix, a lanky part-time farmer with a predilection for loud shirts and a close working knowledge of the music industry, says, "I'd like to throw a title at you. See what you think. " Al puts down his root beer: "Shoot!" Bix holds his breath dramatically, then shoots it out: "Papa Loves Mambo." A glint appears in Al's eyes and Bix knows he has hit the target. Hoffman smiles and says, "I Like it. I'll talk it over with Dick Manning and se what we can do."
"It can't miss," Bix says. "The country's in the midst of a mambo mania. Kick it around." He waves goodbye and rushes to catch a train............Perry Como recorded "Papa Loves Mambo" on August 31, 1954; it was released in September, and charted on October 4, eventually peaking at number four, spending eighteen weeks on the charts. It was Perry's 98th hit

Papa Loves Mambo Line Dance

Too bad those community rooms aren't open in the basement. Those karaoke loving Chinese residents would be doing this

Love Finds Andy Hardy

And more and more people are finding Knickerbocker Village. These two lovely ladies (is there such a thing as a non-lovely KV lady?)just came on board this week

Well Hello! I was procrastinating and googling and came across the Knickerbocker blog site. I nearly fell off the chair but I was so thrilled to see the photos from your reunions. I am the daughter of Arnold and Esther Wenig. We lived at 40 Monroe st., apt. FC8 and moved to Warbasse in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn with many other KV families - the Buellers, the Lackows, etc - a move I regretted from day one. I attended PS 177, Hamilton-Madison House, Camp Madison Felicia and the nursery school that was in the basement of KV. I have a recurring dream, that I go to shop for furniture in a vast storage area near the KV laundry room - all the furniture belonging to every family that ever lived at KV is available for purchase. How I miss that place. Remember the live chicken place under the Manhattan Bridge? The little deli that sold the best hero sandwiched and on Friday the always had tuna and companata? Remember the little store that sold hot jelly apples that he dipped right into the jelly and you twirled it until it cooled and stopped dripping. Do you remember sweet potatoes being sold in the street? The knife sharpener? Those wonderful bread bakeries?

Hi David:
I got on your blog through Google and was surprised to see it. I lived in KV for most of my youth, attending PS 177, JHS 65 and then one year at Seward Park at which time my parents relocated to Whitestone. I noticed that you had us in your "annex": Irving and Ida Schnieder with Michael, Mark and Trudy. My real name is in fact Judy and you missed my youngest brother Howard. Glad to see the memories of KV are alive and I'll check the blog often.

Five Points: Gangs Of New York, Part 1

From a documentary done by the History Channel a few years ago called the real Gangs Of New York

Five Points-Part 2

from bowery boys once again. Part 1 of part 2 of their August 2008 series on the Five Points. This time I experimented with pairing the audio with video from a masters of photography series that's been youtubed by user cybelephotography
The photographers highlighted here are Jacob Riis, Eugene Atget, Helen Levitt and Alfred Stieglitz. Some of it works, some of it doesn't. If it's distracting, just close your eyes and listen to the history of the 6th ward. KV is in the old 4th ward.

Yentl: Barbra Streisand And Knickerbocker's Nehemiah Persoff

Two posts ago we were "mamboing" at Forlinis, now we're talmud scholars. Go know?

What Becomes A KV Legend: Passing On The Secrets

Bobby Knuckles passes on his famous Knickerbocker punch-ball secrets to his grandson Zach

Five Points History

Audio from an excellent 2 part podcast from the bowery boys'from august 2008
There should be over 50 images in this slide show but very few are showing. Some of the main sources are Patrick Reynold's comic history of New York City, Big Apple Almanac and
stills from the Gangs Of New York via Evan Richards cinematography blog and the map blog from the nypl digital collection

Five Points was a neighborhood area in Lower Manhattan, northeast of City Hall, at the intersection where Baxter [formerly Orange], Worth [formerly Anthony], Park Street [formerly Cross] came together to form a five point intersection. The area was made famous in the book, The Gangs of New York, by Herbert Asbury, 1928, and the screenplay to the 2002 movie. Matthew Dripps’ 1852 map, pl. 2, has the original street names, and notes the presence of the Pirnics Distillery, but not the Mission or House of Industry.
Matthew Dripps’ 1867 map of New York, pl. 5, still shows the House and Mission. G. W. Bromley’s 1879 Atlas, pl. 4 and the 1885 Robinson atlas, pl. 4, continues to show the Five Points House of Industry and the Five Points Mission, just south of The Tombs, notorious prison. The 1867, 1879 and 1885 maps all show a small underground stream in the area with a dashed line. This Five Points website has additional historical information about Five Points. The Sanborn Manhattan Landbook, pl. 8, shows the current situation with the N.Y. State Office Building and the New York County Courthouse on the old Five Points site.

Papa Loves Mambo (And Forlini's)

Images from the bridge and tunnel club Hey isn't that Joe Bruno with Lorraine Bracco?

Papa loves mambo
Mama loves mambo
Look at 'em sway with it
Gettin' so gay with it
Shoutin' "olay" with it, wow (huh)
Papa loves mambo
(Papa loves mambo)
Mama loves mambo
(Mama loves mambo)
Papa does great with it
Swings like a gate with it
He loses weight with it, now
He goes to, she goes fro
He goes fast, she goes slow
He goes left 'n' she goes right
(Papa's lookin' for Mama)
(But mama is nowhere in sight) (huh)
Papa loves mambo
Mama loves mambo
Havin' their fling again
Younger than spring again
Feelin' that zing again, wow (huh)
Papa loves mambo
(Papa loves mambo)
Mama loves mambo
(Mama loves mambo)
Don't let her rumba and don't let her samba
'Cause Papa loves Mama tonight (huh)
(Papa loves mambo)
(Mama loves mambo)
(Papa loves mambo)
(Mama loves mambo)
He goes to, she goes fro
He goes fast, she goes slow
He goes left 'n' she goes right
(Papa's lookin' for Mama)
(But Mama is nowhere in sight) (huh)
Papa loves mambo
(Papa loves mambo)
Mama loves mambo
(Mama loves mambo)
Havin' their fling again
Younger than Spring again
Feelin' that zing again, wow (huh)
(Papa loves mambo)
Mambo Papa
(Mama loves mambo)
Mambo Mama
(Don't let her rumba and don't let her samba)
'Cause Papa
Loves a mambo tonight

134 White Street: Then And Now

Before moving to Knickerbocker Village Joe Bruno lived at 134 White Street. That's what it looked like in 1934 (the smaller building on the corner) The inset shows the current structure:
from Joe
I WAS BORN AND RAISED ACROSS THE STREET AT 134 WHITE, CORNER OF BAXTER, RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE TOMBS. THE BUILDING'S BEEN DOWN SINCE THE 70'S. THE SPACE IS WHERE THE LADIES PRISON NOW IS. I MOVED TO KNICKERBOCKER IN EARLY 1963. AND LIVED THERE TILL 1996. STILL I WENT TO FORLINI'S AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK UNTIL I MOVED. IN FACT, I WAS THERE THE DAY IT OPENED IN 1956. AND I HAD MY DAUGHTER'S CHRISTENING PARTY THERE IN THE BACK ROOM IN 1977.

Five Points Mission

Interesting this plaque is not found in the Five Points, but just a block away from Knickerbocker Village

I'll Be Seeing You: Billie Holiday

I'll Be Seeing You

I was in the KV area yesterday and took some pics. Some highlights are Paul Levine's apt (with signs of the first KV air conditioner), the current state of Joe Bruno's former parking lot and the interesting mosaics I never noticed in front of 43 Market Street. I wanted to match up photos to the lyrics of Jimmy Durante's (of Catherine Street) great version of I'll Be Seeing You. I don't have the patience to do it now, maybe another time. Anyway, thought I'd put it up as is. Interesting that the composer of "I'll Be Seeing You" was Sammy Fain, born Sammuel Feinberg in 1902 in New York City. There are a couple of Samuel Feinberg's whose NY addresses I've found in the 1910 census. I don't have enough info (like his parents' names) to tell which Feinberg is Fain. One of them lived at 37 Rutgers Street, which is right near KV.

I'll be seeing you
In all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day through.
In that small cafe;
The park across the way;
The children's carousel;
The chestnut trees;
The wishin' well.
I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day;
In every thing that's light and gay.
I'll always think of you that way.
I'll find you
In the morning sun
And when the night is new.
I'll be looking at the moon,
But I'll be seeing you.
I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day;
In every thing that's light and gay.
I'll always think of you that way.
I'll find you
In the morning sun
And when the night is new.
I'll be looking at the moon,
But I'll be seeing you.

Nancy Sinatra: Sit Down/Stand Up

A fantasy of our KV meeting at Forlinis. The reality from a confidential source

VERY FEW MOBSTERS GO TO FORLINI'S. IN FACT, ALMOST NONE. THE REASON IS JUDGES, DETECTIVES, DA'S AND COURT OFFICERS HANG OUT THERE. MOB GUYS WOULDN'T BE CAUGHT DEAD IN THE SAME ROOM WITH THE LAW. ALTHOUGH, I'M SURE SOME OF THEM HAVE.

KV Blog "Board Of Directors" Sit Down/Stand Up

There was a KV blog unofficial Board Of Directors' meeting held a Forlini's last night.
Great food, a pic of the delicious hot antipasto platter personally chosen by Little Joe. Recommendations from long time customer and KVer Joe Bruno

TRY THE GOLDEN BROWN CHICKEN. IT'S ONE OF THEIR SPECIALTIES, OR THE INVOLTARI DE GAMBERI, WHICH IS SHRIMP. CAN'T GO WRONG WITH THE COLD FRUTA DEMARI (SHELL FISH SALAD).

KV Chatter: Hullabaloo

An anonymous email describing a certain fair lady from kv

There was no one in KV that looked like her. I believe she was a dancer with the tv show Hullabaloo and would wear the appropriate uniform of "go-go" boots and short skirt when going to the show. She would carry a round looking hat bag which I imagine had a mirror with make-up for the show. As a little kid, I would stop and stare in a similar mode to Matt Damon watching Julia Roberts walk down the steps in Ocean's 11 when he says, "This is the best part of my day."

about Hullabaloo

Running time 30 mins.NBC, Original run January 12, 1965 – August 29, 1966
Hullabaloo is a musical variety series that ran on NBC from January 12, 1965 through August 29, 1966. In contrast to American Bandstand, it ran during prime-time.
Directed by Steve Binder, who went on to direct Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special, it was originally a one-hour broadcast, airing from 8:30 - 9:30pm on Tuesday nights. In June 1965, it shifted to the 10:00pm time slot, but three months later, the network cut the show to thirty minutes and moved it to 7:30pm on Monday nights, where it remained to the end of its run, whereupon it was replaced by the sitcom The Monkees.
Hullabaloo served as a big-budget, quality showcase for the leading pop acts of the day, and was also competition for another like-minded television showcase, ABC's Shindig!. A different host presided each week—among these were Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark, Paul Anka, Jack Jones, and Frankie Avalon—singing a couple of his or her own hits and introducing acts such as Dionne Warwick, The Rolling Stones, Sonny and Cher, the Supremes, Herman's Hermits, The Animals, and Marianne Faithfull. Many early episodes included segments taped in the UK and hosted by Brian Epstein. Many of the programs in the series were videotaped at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. Others were taped in New York City at NBC's Studio 8-H, and in NBC's studio in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. Much of the series' color videotaped footage was later dubbed over to kinescope on film - as such copied in black and white.
Highlights of many of the segments have been compiled for release in VHS and DVD
The Hullabaloo Dancers—a team of four men and six women—appeared on a regular basis. Two of them—Michael Bennett and Donna McKechnie—went on to achieve considerable fame on Broadway. Dancer Patrick Adiarte, who also attempted to launch a solo singing career on the series, went too asssoishfklhagg Ho-Jon in the television series M*A*S*H. Another female dancer, model/actress Lada Edmund Jr. was best known as the caged "go-go girl" dancer in the "Hullabaloo A-Go-Go" segment near the closing sequence of the show. She also had a brief recording career with her singles "I Know Something" and "The Larue." She later appeared (and co-starred with Jon Voight) in the 1969 film Out of It and in Act of Vengeance released in 1974. Dancer Suzanne Charney also had some degree of fame on Broadway as the lead frug dancer in Sweet Charity, reprising her role in the 1969 film as well.

Joey Dee And The Peppermint Twist

Joey Dee and The Starliters are an American pop music group from the 1960s. Best known for their 1961 hit recording "Peppermint Twist," the group was founded by Joey Dee, born Joseph DiNicola in Passaic, New Jersey on June 11, 1940.
With lead singer Rogers Freeman, Joey Dee and The Starliters' first single was "Lorraine," backed with "The Girl I Walk To School," in 1958 on the Little label. That same year, Joey Dee recruited David Brigati for the group after meeting him during a gig at Garfield (New Jersey) High School. David and Joey would subsequently share lead vocal honors for The Starliters, with Joey ultimately becoming the primary lead singer. Another early single for the group was "Face of an Angel," with David on lead vocals, released on Scepter Records; the flipside was "Shimmy Baby." An album entitled The Peppermint Twisters and credited to "Joey Dee and The Starlighters" was subsequently released on Scepter as well.
Various members of The Starliters, such as vocalist Freeman and drummer Don Martin, came and went over the next few years; the most famous lineup of Joey Dee and The Starliters is considered to be Joey Dee, David Brigati, Larry Vernieri (vocals), Carlton Lattimore (organ), and Willie Davis (drums). Later members of the touring group would include Eddie Brigati (David's brother), Gene Cornish, and Felix Cavaliere - three-quarters of The Young Rascals - as well as guitarist Jimmy James (later known as Jimi Hendrix) and Charles Neville of The Neville Brothers.
In 1960, The Starliters were discovered by agent Don Davis while performing at a Lodi, New Jersey nightclub called Oliveri's. The group was booked at an intimate venue on 45th Street in New York City called the Peppermint Lounge for what was supposed to be a one-time weekend gig. Their initial appearance at the club found actress Merle Oberon and Prince Serge Oblinski dancing the night away at the Peppermint Lounge. This being in print the next morning by columnists Earl Wilson and Cholly Knickerbocker, it took barricades and mounted police to keep the crowds in line, which had backed up to Broadway, the next night! For several months, the craze would continue at the Lounge. Celebrity visitors continued to pour in and included Judy Garland, John Wayne, Jackie Kennedy, Nat "King" Cole, Shirley MacLaine, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Liberace, to name only a few! Joey Dee and company made such a smash that they ended up becoming the house band for the Peppermint Lounge, remaining onboard for more than a year. Joey penned "Peppermint Twist," along with producer Henry Glover, as a tribute to the lounge and the group took the song all the way to the top spot on the U.S. charts in early 1962. By this time the group had signed with Roulette Records. The Lounge became world famous during The Starliters' tenure, attracting celebrities such as Jackie Kennedy, Truman Capote, and Judy Garland.
One night in 1961, a trio of pretty teenagers were waiting on line outside the club hoping to be allowed inside. Dressed in matching brightly colored dresses, they looked like professional entertainers (which in fact they were) and in a case of mistaken identity, thinking they were the dancers he'd hired, the manager of the Peppermint Lounge ushered the girls - Ronnie and Estelle Bennett and their cousin, Nedra Talley - up to the stage and told them to dance. The Ronettes spent the rest of that night dancing and singing along with Joey Dee and The Starliters, and the reaction from the group and the crowd was so positive that the club manager, having realized his error, offered the girls a job on the spot. Every night, The Ronettes would dance and perform along with The Starliters at the Peppermint Lounge, even traveling with them to the club's Miami, Florida location in early 1962.
Early in their history, Joe Pesci, the actor played guitar with the band.
Also in 1961, Joey Dee and The Starliters filmed the movie Hey, Let's Twist, starring Jo Ann Campbell and Teddy Randazzo, for Paramount Pictures. Hey, Let's Twist was a fictional portrait of Joey Dee (Randazzo and Dino DiLuca played the parts of Joey's brother and father, respectively) and the Peppermint Lounge; its release capitalized on the current Twist craze and brought the once-obscure Lounge into the forefront. The movie and soundtrack album did their part in making the Peppermint Lounge a world-famous venue. Hit singles spawned from Hey, Let's Twist were the title track and "Shout - Part I," which became the group's second-biggest selling record. Other albums released during this time period were Doin' The Twist At The Peppermint Lounge, which was recorded live at the venue, and All The World's Twistin' With Joey Dee & The Starliters.
In 1962, Joey Dee and The Starliters starred in their second motion picture, Two Tickets to Paris, along with Gary Crosby, Jeri Lynne Fraser and Kay Medford. One of the songs from this film, "What Kind Of Love Is This," penned by Johnny Nash, was released in September of that year and became a Top Twenty hit. In December of 1962, the original Starliters did their final recording session as a group, turning out "Help Me Pick Up the Pieces," also composed by Nash, and "Baby, You're Driving Me Crazy," written by Joey Dee and Henry Glover. In 1963, Joey Dee recorded an album entitled Dance, Dance, Dance, with The Ronettes as his backup group. In spring of that year, Roulette released the track "Hot Pastrami with Mashed Potatoes," from the previously issued live album, as a two-part single; the record made the U.S. Top Forty. The label later released "Ya Ya" and "Fannie Mae" from the same album. In November of '63, The Starliters toured Europe with The Beatles as their opening act. During 1964, Joey Dee toured with various Starliters including Cornish, Cavaliere, and Eddie Brigati. Other group members at different times included Hendrix, Neville, drummer Jimmy Mayes and singer Tommy Davis.
Joey Dee continued to record and issue solo recordings from the mid-60s to the mid-70s, as well a song he wrote with original Starliters David Brigati and Larry Vernieri entitled "How Can I Forget" in the late 1960s which was released under the name Joey Dee and The New Starliters. During the 1980s, Joey lived for a short time in Florida before moving back to New York, to The Bronx. He continued to travel and make personal appearances with various Starliters.
In the 2000s, Joey Dee and The Starliters consists of Joey with Bob Valli (brother of Frankie Valli) and original Starliter David Brigati. The group tours and plays at various venues from Connecticut to New Jersey to Florida to Las Vegas, doing well over a hundred concerts per year. In 2001, the group was featured on a PBS special, Rock, Rhythm and Doo-Wop, and in 2005 they appeared on the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy. Joey Dee resides in Florida, while Brigati and Valli remain Jersey boys.

The Soul Survivors

I wonder whether Joe Bruno has some stories about these guys. Here Joey Dee joins the Inqui brothers

"Expressway" was followed by two other chart records, "Explosion In My Soul" and "Mission Impossible". At this time they also released their first album,"When The Whistle Blows". A second LP, "Take Another Look" for Atco Records, was recorded at Atlantic Records' New York studios and in the legendary Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with producer Rick Hall and his famous session musicians which included guitarist Duane Allman, as well as keyboardist Barry Beckett, guitarist Jimmy Johnson, drummer Roger Hawkins, bassist David Hood and, of course, The Memphis Horns. From these sessions came "Mama Soul",a regional hit in many markets including Memphis, Georgia, Connecticut, and Europe

My Baby, She Wrote Me A Letter 2

An email from Susan Gold (Miller) with a Seward Park High School link to the song.

MY BABY WROTE ME A LETTER WAS WRITTEN BY RICHIE INQUI AND RECORDED BY HIS GROUP THE SOUL SURVIVORS. HE WAS A SEWARD PARK HIGH SCHOOL GUY. I REMEMBER HIM SINGING ON THE ROOF OF THE SCHOOL.

Above is a video clip of Richie and his brother Charlie talking about their association with TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) and Kenny Gamble and Loen Huff.
More about the Soul Survivors

The Soul Survivors began their singing career in New York City as a street corner vocal group known as The Dedications. The early days were spent trying to audition and be heard by record companies and music publishers located in Broadway's famous Brill Building. Eventually, they found their way into the recording studios,landing their own record deal with Bell Records. Their first recording "I Ain't A Bit Sorry" reached the top ten list on New York's popular rhythm and blues radio station WWRL.
After several years of playing various venues in the New York area, they teamed up with a group of instrumentalists and became the band known as The Soul Survivors. As their popularity grew, especially in the Atlantic City - Philadelphia area, they attracted the attention of record producers Kenny Gamble and Loen Huff. Their meeting resulted in the recording of "Expressway To Your Heart". The record was a smash reaching one on all regional charts and number four on Billboard's national chart. Written and produced by Gamble and Huff, it would be that duo's first "crossover" hit and would serve as a cornerstone of what would later become known as "The Sound Of Philadelphia". In polls taken by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia's City Paper, "Expressway" was voted the number one record ever to come out of Philadelphia.

What Becomes A KV Legend?

My Baby, She Wrote Me A Letter

from 1970

give me a ticket for an airoplane
i ain't got time to take no fast train
oh ,the lonely days are gone
i'll be right home
my baby she wrote me a letter
i don't care how much money i got to spend
i won't find my way home again
oh the lonely days are gone
i'll be right home
my baby, she wrote me a letter
she wrote me a letter
said she couldn't live with out me no more
listen to me mister don't you ever xxxx
my baby once more
anyway
give me a ticket for an airoplane
i ain't got time to take no fast train
oh ,the lonely days are gone
i'll be back home
my baby she wrote me a letter
she wrote me a letter
said she couldn't live with out me no more
listen to me mister don't you ever xxxx
my baby once more
anyway
give me a ticket for an airoplane
i ain't got time to take no fast train
oh ,the lonely days are gone
i'll be back home
my baby she wrote me a letter
my baby wrote me a letter
my baby wrote me a letter
my baby wrote me a letter

Zacherley: My Baby, She Wrote Me A Letter

From a 1962 broadcast. In honor of a new baby, a KV grandchild named Zachary Harrison Nash. Congratulations to the Nathanson and Nash families. Letters? Now, who would have envisioned email in 1962. from wikipedia

John Zacherle (born September 26, 1918, he is sometimes credited as John Zacherley) is a U.S. television host and voice actor known for his long career as a television horror host broadcasting horror movies in Philadelphia and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Best known for his character "Roland/Zacherley," he also did voice work for movies, and recorded the top ten song novelty rock and roll song "Dinner With Drac" in 1958. He also edited two collections of horror stories, Zacherley's Vulture Stew and Zacherley's Midnight Snacks.
John K. Zacherle was born in Philadelphia, the youngest of four children of a bank clerk and his wife. He grew up in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood, where he went to high school. He received a bachelors degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania. In World War II he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in North Africa and Europe. After the war, he returned to Philadelphia and joined a local repertory theatre company.
In 1954 he gained his first television role at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia, where he was hired as an actor playing several roles (one was an undertaker) in Action in the Afternoon, a Western produced by the station and aired in the New York City market. Three years later, he was hired as the host of WCAU's Shock Theater, which debuted on October 7, 1957. As the host, Zacherle appeared wearing a long black undertaker's coat as the character "Roland," who lived in a crypt with his wife "My Dear" and his lab assistant Igor. The hosting of the black-and-white show involved numerous stylized horror-comedy gags that have become standard on television. In the opening sequence, Zacherle as Roland would descend a long round staircase to the crypt. The producers erred on the side of goriness, showing fake severed heads with blood simulated with Hershey's chocolate syrup. The show sometimes featured live "cut-ins" during the movie in which the soundtrack continued to play on the air, while the visual feed switched briefly to a shot of Zacherle as Roland in the middle of a humorous stunt, such as riding a tombstone. The show ran for 92 broadcasts through 1958.
He was a close colleague of Philadelphia broadcaster Dick Clark, and sometimes filled in for Clark on road touring shows of Clark's American Bandstand in the 1960s. Clark reportedly gave Zacherle his nickname of "The Cool Ghoul." In 1958, partly with the assistance and backing of Clark, Zacherle cut "Dinner with Drac" for Cameo Records, backed by Dave Appell. At first, Clark thought the recording was too gory to play on Bandstand and made Zacherle return to the studio to cut a second tamer version. Eventually both versions were released simultaneously as backsides on the same 45, and the record broke the top ten nationally. Zacherle later related several LPs mixing horror sound effects with novelty songs.
The purchase of WCAU by CBS in 1958 prompted Zacherle to leave Philadelphia for WABC-TV in New York, where the station added a "y" to the end of his name in the credits. He continued the format of the "Shock Theater," after March 1959 titled "Zacherley at Large," with "Roland" becoming "Zacherley" and his wife "My Dear" becoming "Isobel." He also began appearing in motion pictures, including Key to Murder alongside several of his former Action in the Afternoon colleagues.
In a 1960 promotional stunt for his move to WOR-TV, Zacherley staged a Presidential campaign. His "platform" recording can be found on the album Spook Along with Zacherley, which originally included a Zacherley for President book and poster set which is highly collectible today.
In 1963 he hosted animated cartoons on WPIX-TV in New York. He also hosted the TV show Chiller Theatre in New York on WPIX. In 1964 he hosted a teenage dance show at WNJU-TV in Newark called Disc-O-Teen, hosting the show in full costume and using the teenage show participants in his skits. The show ran for three years until 1967, when he became a morning radio host for WNEW-FM. Two years later in 1969, he became the station night broadcaster (10 PM–2 AM) for a progressive rock format. The success of the show led to the use of the same format in Philadelphia. In 1971 he switched his show to WPLJ-FM, where he stayed for ten years. Recent on-air appearances include a two-hour show at WCBS-FM on Halloween, 2007.
On February 14, 1970 he appeared at Fillmore East music hall in New York City to introduce rock act the Grateful Dead. His introduction of the band can be heard on the Grateful Dead album Dick's Picks Volume 4.
In the early 1980s he played a wizard on Captain Kangaroo, appearing without his trademark Roland costume and make-up. He continued to perform in character at Halloween broadcasts in New York and Philadelphia in the 1980s and 1990s, once narrating Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" while backed up by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
In 1988 he struck up a friendship with b-movie horror director Frank Henenlotter, voicing the puppet "Aylmer," a slug-like drug-dealing and brain-eating parasite, one of the lead characters in Henenlotter's 1988 horror-comedy film Brain Damage, and cameo's in his 1990 comedy Frankenhooker, appropriately playing a TV weatherman who specializes in forecasts for mad scientists.
Zacherle continues to make appearances at conventions, and to this day, Zacherle collectibles are still selling, including model kits, T-shirts, and posters.

In Search Of Reggie Ingram 2

Rachel Rosenthal's inquiry about Reggie Ingram led me to renew a search that failed in January I came up with picture of what looks like Reggie from a 2006 posting at the Church Of World Services site He still holds the position mentioned below.

Resource Development Director Also Appointed in New Agency Construct NEW YORK -- Church World Service (CWS) announced today the appointment of Reginald K. Ingram, CFRE, as Chief Development Officer and William E. Wildey as Resource Development Director, two key fundraising positions for the humanitarian agency. Said CWS Executive Director and CEO Rev. John L. McCullough, "These are two strong executives with extensive and proven experience to lead CWS in the area of resource development, guiding the direction of CWS. I am confident that with their leadership and skills that CWS will continue to grow in mission and ministry." Reginald Ingram's career has been dedicated to the institutional advancement of a variety of non-profit organizations. These include the United Negro College Fund, Georgetown University, Cornell University, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Center, among others. He has also run his own company, Ingram and Associates, providing a full range of business management consultant services. Raised in international settings, with his father in the Peace Corps and the Agency for International Development, Ingram received an M.A. and B.A. from Cornell University. He is a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Ingram is described by an associate as "an accomplished and respected fundraiser, with an ability to exceed goals."

PS 177: March 6, 1934

from the nypl digital collection

Rachel Isadora: Bring On The Beat

Another youtube video done to accompany Rachel Isadora's book, Bring On The Beat. This one done by the Reader's Theater Project from the Children's Museum of Los Angeles
from amazon

Gr 1-4-In this exuberant celebration of jazz, black endpapers usher readers into a quiet city neighborhood, in Harlem in the '30s, where a trio emerges from a jazz hall to "Wake up the street" with a jam session under the lights. People begin to peek out of shops and gather around the stoop where the musicians "Bring on that beat." Children and adults alike begin to swing and before long, the music moves up to the roof. More people join in, leaning out of windows, congregating on the fire escape, and dancing on the rooftop. Isadora's black-and-white spreads suggest a bygone era when boys wore knickers and cars looked very different. The art is executed in oil and overlaid with computer-generated watercolor splashes of Klee- and Kandinsky-like designs that simulate the sounds. Even the buildings seem to sway to the beat. One interesting spread depicts children in yellow-orange-red silhouette dancing on piano keys that extend from the buildings as the Man in the Moon, with the face of Duke Ellington, looks on. While the rhyming text, which appears in large negative type on a black background, is minimal, its constant urging to "bring on that beat" and its jazz rhythm works powerfully with the illustrations to evoke the excitement and swelling of the music from a quiet corner to a building to the whole city. Pair this offering with Chris Raschka's Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (Orchard, 1992) and Isadora's Ben's Trumpet (Greenwillow, 1979) for a swinging good time.

Who's Who In Knickerbocker Village History: Rachel Isadora (Rosenthal)

above a dedication video from a youtube user named tibbstv

A cinematic rendition of Rachel Isadora's children's book, "Ben's Trumpet". My homage to the illustrated portions of the Reading Rainbow television series, which was always special to me as a young child, and dedicated to my trumpet teacher

I've head back from Rachel Rosenthal from 40 Monroe Street. She was a ballet dancer and later became Rachel Isadora, the noted children's book author and illustrator. Glad to have her part of the ever growing KV community:
fro harpercollins

Many children dream of becoming dancers, musicians, actors, and artists, but few have the opportunity, the skill, and the determination to live out those dreams. Rachel Isadora is the exception. When she was young, she wanted to be a ballerina--and she became one. And now she has firmly established herself in a second career as an artist with an impressive string of picture books, including Ben's Trumpet, a Caldecott Honor Book.
Born and raised in New York City, Rachel studied at the School of American Ballet (associated with the New York City Ballet) as a Ford Foundation scholarship student. She danced with the Boston Ballet until a foot injury forced her to consider another career: book illustration. "I had always drawn for my own entertainment," says Rachel, "but I'd never had any instruction, and I wasn't sure how to proceed. So I just took a collection of sketches-odds and ends on bits of paper-to the first editor who would see me. She suggested I do a book about what I knew best." The result was Max, published in 1976 and named an ALA Notable Book.
Since Max, Rachel has written and illustrated many other books, and has illustrated three books by her editor, Elizabeth Shub. When Rachel begins a new book, she first imagines the story through the pictures. I 'see' each illustration separately," she says. "I write a description of what I envision on each page; then I go over it with my editor and make revisions. Next I do the actual drawing, and finally I write the text."
Rachel Isadora lives in New York City with her two children. When she is not busy with her family, she spends most of her spare time drawing. "Work like this is a dancer's fantasy," she says. "Because ballet is so demanding, dancers' stage careers are short. They can only dream of going on and on forever. With art, I can go on and on, and for me it's the only work that compares in intensity and joy."

KV Chatter Cynthia Miller: This Is Your Life

Some of the guys were "riffing" on their sweet memories of Debbie and Cynthia Miller -it all started with Rachel Rosenthal a few posts ago. Marv said the conversation sounded like This Is Your Life so I attached the classic spoof of the show with Sid Caesar, Howie Morris, Carl Reiner and Louis Nye.

1. My only recollection of Cynthia Miller is we were playing in a boys & girls pitching stick game. Eddie was pitching and hit Cynthia who ran home crying. Her father, who might have been a former boxer, came storming into the park trying to figure out which kid hit his daughter.

2. I was close friends with Cynthia's sister Debbie.Debbie and I were in the same classes all through PS 177, and went to the same summer camp (Educational Alliance - Camp Edalia) When we became teenagers, she and I shared many private thoughts about our respective 'coming of age'.Debbie was also pretty, like Cynthia. She was soft spoken, and she blushed easily...I was very fond of her. I remember when her dad passed away. Debbie was around 15 at the time. It was the first time I remember feeling someone elses sense of loss...and I can still remember looking into Debbie's sad eyes when it happened...The last time I saw her, we were in our upper 20s...she was married, and living on Grand St. Debbie is on my short list of people I would very much like to see again. I remember that Cynthia was very sweet; always nice to me, as her kid sister's friend. As for the moms that Marty mentioned, I remember Debbie and Cynthia's mom as being very nice. Peter Levine's mom, Elaine, was a close friend of my mom. Elaine would sometimes babysit for me. My mom still talks about how I would put Elaine through the mill when she was looking after me...me insisting on having 'a cheese sandwich, with mustard, with the edges cut off, and the sandwich cut at a diagonal, making two triangular pieces.' She said that whenever Elaine would refer to my unique lunch requests, she would break out in laughter about it...she had a great laugh! If she was laughing, that made everyone around her smile. Elaine worked for the NYC Park Dept...she had an unusual job that she was terrific at: She was stationed at the Central Park Zoo, in the children's section. Her job: She was the 'storyteller', reading popular tales to the infatuated children who gathered there. She had this natural ability to engage the kids; to get them to participate in the whole storytelling process...She really loved doing this!...Marty, it seems like you and I are motivated to find out where Cynthia and Debbie Miller are.

3.This has the makings of one of the old TV shows where a "blast' from the past is brought on stage. I can't recall the name of the show.

The Original Kalamazoo

This one features the original Glenn Miller band featuring Tex Beneke and the Modernaires and the great Nicholas Brothers

Julius La Rosa: I Got A Gal In Kalamazoo

Julie singing with a 1983 Glenn Miller Band
images from rootsweb-mikalama

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H
I got a gal in Kalamazoo
Dont want to boast but I know shes the toast of Kalamazoo
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)
Years have gone by, my my how she grew
I liked her looks when I carried her books in Kalamazoo
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)
I'm gonna send a wire, hopping on a flier
Leaving today
Am I dreaming? I can hear her screaming
Hiya Mr. Jackson, Everything's OK
K
A
L-A-M-A-Z-O
Oh, oh, oh, oh what a gal, a real pipperoo
I'll make my bid for that freckle faced kid I'm hurrying to
I'm going to Michigan to see the sweetest gal in Kalamazoo
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)
(Kalamazoo!!)
K
A
L-A-M-A-Z-O
Oh, oh, oh, oh what a gal, a real pipperoo
We're going to Michigan to see the sweetest gal in Kalamazoo
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)
Kalamazoo

Julius LaRosa: Crazy Rock N' Roll Party

Julie attempts to get down with the rock n rollers in the 50's
Rachel Rosenthal recently found the KV blog and mentioned her. Hey Rachel I emailed you
Blogger Rachel said...

I knew Reggie when I lived in his building (40 Monroe Street). I spent a great deal of time playing with Reggie and knew his family very well. I lived at FI10 and Reggie lived a floor or two below. We had many friends in the building including.......Steven Pelly, Laurie Puhn and others that I can't remember. Our other friends were Cynthia Miller, Eddie Applebaum (Toby), Lynn Steinberg, Lois Ebert (mother Pearl,father Jerry), Judy Platin, Joel Sosinsky and certainly many others. I came upon this blog and memories flooded back............please contact me if anyone reads this and shares the history.

A remembrance of Son Of Seth about Cynthia Miller

I remember Cynthia Miller very well. Her mother and Peter Levine's mother (Penthouse E-Building) threw what they called a "social." It was the first party with slow dancing that I ever went to. It was kind of bewildering, I remember it as a kind of surreal. The memory and associations of Peter Levine's mother's lamb chops hung deliciously in the air. There were songs like "Put Your Head on my Shoulders," and "When a Girl Changes from Bobby Sox to Stockings" playing. I remember that Cynthia was younger than I was. And I danced with her and she was flirty, or something I interpreted as flirty, and I was smitten with her. I think the event actually took place at Peter Levine's house now that I think about it but Cynthia's mother was the co--parent host. Strange, that party stayed with me and about fifteen years ago i saw this woman on the Upper West Side who I thought might be Cynthia Miller and reacted like I'd seen a ghost--or maybe more like an angel. Someone otherworldly in any case. Turned out it was someone else of course but I did go up and ask her if her name of was Cynthia and she probably thought I was hitting on her. Anyhow, there were ornamental faux chandelier ornaments on the piano in Peter Levine's living room. Strands of costume jewelery beads that hung down in rows, clear "diamond" and strikingly pretty emerald. Memories as fragile as nearly forgotten dreams. Cynthia had warm brown eyes and brown hair and she was cute in a teddy bear kind of way. I thought of her as an ordinary pretty girl--which made her adorable. The genuine article. But young for me, probably two or three years younger than I was. I was a big dude back then you have to remember. Probably in second grade.

Eh Cumpari

In honor of the Italian wing of KV. From wikipedia:

"Eh, Cumpari!" is a novelty song. It was adapted from a traditional Italian song by Julius La Rosa and Archie Bleyer in 1953, and sung by La Rosa with Bleyer's orchestra as backing on a recording that year. The song reached #1 on the Cash Box charts and #2 on the Billboard charts in 1953. As a result, the song was also featured in a performance by Dennis Day on The Jack Benny Program on CBS Radio. The song also appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather III as sung by Talia Shire, who played Connie Corleone, the sister of Michael Corleone.The song is a cumulative song, in which each verse contains all of the previous verse as well.
It is sung in a southern Italian dialect, with words common to Sicilian language and Neapolitan language. This leads to shortened or variant spellings even within the verses. The song is about the sounds of musical instruments. A rough translation:
Hey buddy, [music] is playing.
What is playing? The whistle.
And what does it sound like--the whistle?
[vocalized instrument sound] the whistle, [nonsense rhythm words] etc.
friscalettu = whistle [small flute]
saxofona = saxophone
mandolino = mandolin
viulinu = violin
trumbetta = trumpet
trombona = trombone
Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari
Chi si sona? U friscalettu
E comu si sona u friscalettu?
U friscalette, tipiti tipiti tam
E cumpari, ci vo sunari
Chi si sona? U saxofona
E comu si sona u saxofona?
Tu tu tu tu u saxofona
U friscalette, tipiti tipiti tam
E cumpari, ci vo sunari
Chi si sona? U mandolinu
E comu si sona u mandolinu?
A pling a pling, u mandulin
Tu tu tu tu u saxofona
U friscalette, tipiti tipiti tam
E cumpari, ci vo sunari?
Chi si sona? u viulinu
E comu si sona u viulinu?
A zing a zing, u viulin
A pling a pling, u mandulin
Tu tu tu tu u saxofona
U friscalette, tipiti tipiti tam
E cumpari, ci vo sunari?
Chi si sona? A la trumbetta
Ma comu si sona a la trumbetta?
Papapapa a la trumbetta
A zing a zing, u viulin
A pling a pling, u mandulin
Tu tu tu tu u saxofona
U friscalette, tipiti tipiti tam
E compari, ci vo sunari?
Chi si sona? A la trombona
Ma comu si sona a la trombona
A fumma a fumma a la trombona
Pa-pa pa-pa pa la trumbetta
A zing a zing, u viulin
A pling a pling, u mandulin
Tu tu tu tu u saxofona
U friscalette, tipiti tipiti tam
Tipiti tipiti
Tipiti tipiti tam

KVers Survive Ike

Hey let's lift a glass to celebrate the Venturato's surviving Ike's destruction. An email from Larry:

I just got electrical power back. It was a wild ride Friday night. I came out of it O.K. No damage to my home, but Houston is torn up. Trees uprooted, debris, collapsed structures, and broken glass everywhere. I'm sure you saw it all on TV. I can't believe that anyone who stayed on Galveston Island got out in one piece.

The Venturatos are both engineers living in Houston
From Anthony's bio:

Mr. Venturato has a 40-year career in the rail transportation industry and is an accomplished program manager. As a vice president of STV, he has managed major starter line rail projects throughout the country, such as the highly successful Houston METRORail, the Dallas DART system, and Portland's MAX. Prior to joining the firm 12 years ago, he had held high-level project management positions for a number of rail transit agencies, such as Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Tri-County Metropolitan Transit District, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and Bay Area Rapid Transit. Tony has also held key positions on notable projects, such as the English Channel Tunnel Project.

As for Larry, from his lifelong pal Joe Bruno:

LARRY VENTURATO GRADUATED FROM LASALLE ACADEMY AND MANHATTAN UNIVERSITY AND WAS VALEDICTORIAN OF HIS GRADUATING CLASS BOTH TIMES. LARRY IS NOW AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER FOR THE HOUSTON TRANSIT AUTHORITY.

The NARA Releases Secret Grand Jury Transcrpts Of Rosenberg Trial

The above is an abc40 (Western Massachusetts) video of Robert Meeropol which is coupled with a statement of his reaction to that release at The Rosenberg Fund For Children
an excerpt from the National Coalition For History on the release

On September 11, 2008, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) opened formerly secret Grand Jury testimony transcripts from the trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg more than fifty years after they were indicted on espionage charges, convicted, and executed. The release of the transcripts resulted from a successful lawsuit filed by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, the American Historical Association, the American Society for Legal History, the Organization of American Historians, the Society of American Archivists, and New York Times reporter Sam Roberts almost eight months ago.
NARA released 940 pages of transcripts from 41 of 45 witnesses’ appearances before the Rosenberg grand jury between August 1950 and March 1951. Testimony of three witnesses: David Greenglass, Max Elichter, and William Danziger, has been withheld due to objections by the witnesses.
In July, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said that the government must release most of the sealed grand jury records from the Rosenberg trials. The federal government conceded in a June filing that the Rosenberg case is of “significant historical importance” and said it would not contest the release of testimony of witnesses who have passed away or consented to the disclosure.
The documents include the grand jury testimony of Ethel Rosenberg’s sister-in-law, Ruth Greenglass, in which she describes writing in her own longhand the information her husband obtained at the Los Alamos nuclear installation, for passing on to Julius Rosenberg and the Soviet Union. Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that ten days before the trial against the Rosenbergs commenced, Ruth and David Greenglass for the first time mentioned that Ethel Rosenberg had typed those notes. At trial, Ruth and David Greenglass testified that Ethel Rosenberg had typed up the information from the Los Alamos nuclear installation. Ruth Greenglass was never herself prosecuted for her role. The lead prosecutor used the Greenglass testimony as the culmination of his closing speech to the jury, saying that Ethel Rosenberg sat at that typewriter and “struck the keys, blow by blow, against her own country in the interests of the Soviets.”
Ronald Radosh, co-author of The Rosenberg File and one of the experts who filed affidavits in the case, commented, “The grand jury documents cast significant doubt on the key prosecution charge used to convict Ethel Rosenberg at the trial and sentence her to death.”

Stan Getz: Seven Steps To Heaven

Stan Getz plays "Seven Steps To Heaven" for Ollie Shannon and for all those other KV related departed. According to the youtube post this was his last video recording and Stan knew he was living on borrowed time since he had liver cancer (which for a while he had put into a miraculous remission through diet and supplements). People forget how good Stan was. A comment from the posting:

Stan possessed the gift of perfect pitch, sometimes called absolute pitch and it occurs in about one in 10,000 people,and he was one of the best sight readers in the business, also he had an unbelievable photographic memory. I also mentioned before in other comment that the sound he gets is from blowing whole tones for 30min before his lesson when he was young. But most of that beautiful tone that he had also came from his cheeks, as if he had 2 large apples stuck in there.

Oliver Shannon: 3/23/66 Erasmus Defeats Franklin

Oliver Shannon

That's Oliver above, playing for Erasmus, scoring in the 1966 high school championship game against Clinton
Joe Bruno's mentioning of Oliver Shannon triggered some memories, numbered in sequence from different Kvers:

1. I knew an Oliver Shannon in Jr Hi. A black kid, great b-ball player. Is this the same person you mention. And do you know his whereabouts?

2. Now some bravado. Oliver came to "our" park having heard of my speed and challenged me to a race. I had "school" shoes still on and he had sneakers. I easily beat him. Another time some Italian "kid" also came to challenge me-he was from the Bronx or Brooklyn and looked real tough. Well the result was the same I easily beat him and he shook my hand and said "you won fair and square".

3. I have listened to the tales of Marvin K speeding up and down the asphalt, taking all comers from all neighborhoods and sending them on the impecunious ways besmirched and bedraggled, festooned in defeat and despair. And to o’ercome the human foe is grand and ne’er do I contest it. But I, in no less titanic a tussle have rebuked the grandest adversary of them all-–Father Time himself. Hear me now oh you from KV come. My daily journey around the Central Park of Manahatta runs up and down hill but always from North to South along the western ridge and then due up the Eastern byway. Just so, as the arrows point the path. Yet today I sought to run my duo-pedaled steed down the eastern and up the western drives, thus reversing the direction of traffic and, in effect, biding my pace betwixt and between the rungs of oncoming cyclists and motorists. Backwards did I run my race, you brethren. And for all the time I sped, spinning backwards, I out-pointed my previous best by a full 79 seconds. Around the entire park with time to spare. I beat my best time backwards. Say it with me please, he beat the best backward. And the best of the mightiest. Father Time himself stood speechless by the park exit and dipped his brow into the Harlem Meer, he was spent but now unencumbered by the mantle of invincibility that he once so proudly sported. Do you see what I’m saying here/ Can you make it out clearly oh yee of KV come?

4. Would you be kind enough to repeat that?

I looked to find an address and phone number for an Oliver Shannon. The one suspect I found in North Carolina wasn't him. In searching the Social Security Death Index I found an Oliver Shannon, born 9/29/47, and passed away 9/21/01. The card was issued in NYC and had numbers that corresponded to a lower east side location. This prompted this email to the chatterers.

Looks like Oliver Shannon may have lost the race we all will eventually lose, only looks like he lost in the trials at age 54

1. Very sad about Ollie. He passed 10 days after 9/11--I wonder if it had anything to do with the Twin Towers. Ollie signed my elementary school yearbook, played one year on my Edgies team--went on to star for Erasmus Hall on their city championship team with Coak Cannon and George Thompson and starred in the Rucker league, then played for the Cincinnati Royals for a year or two. Genuinely sweet guy.

2. He had that sleeper play where he would fall down at the key and writhe as if in agony and when people gathered around him he would dribble in and lay the ball up. Willowy and always smiling.  I can't even remember talking to him but I remember his presence very clearly.  A dominating player but a gentle soul. Poetry in motion. An idiosyncratic personality but a true as gravity eye. God bless Oliver Shannon.