That Old Black Magic On Halloween

from the youtube description

From the TV concert Ella Fitzgerald Sings: 'That Old Black Magic'. This is the final part of a 50 minute TV concert by Ella Fitzgerald, one of the world's greatest jazz singers, from TV Centre in London on 8 May 1965. She sings holding a chiffon scarf, and is accompanied by The Johnnie Spence Orchestra, with Tubby Hayes on sax, and The Tommy Flanagan Trio.

That old black magic has me in its spell, that old black magic that you weave so well.
Those icy fingers up and down my spine
That same old witchcraft when your eyes meet mine.
The same old tingle that I feel inside, and then that elevator starts its ride
And down and down I go, round and round I go, like a leaf that's caught in the tide.
I should stay away, but what can I do?
I hear your name and I'm aflame
Aflame with such a burning desire that only your kiss can put out the fire.
For you're the lover I have waited for, the mate that fate had me created for.
And every time your lips meet mine, darling, down and down I go, round and round I go
In a spin, loving the spin I'm in, under that old black magic called love.

Witchcraft On Halloweeen

Any excuse to use Sinatra I'll take:

"Witchcraft" is a popular song from 1957 composed by Cy Coleman with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It was released as a single by Frank Sinatra with an arrangement by Nelson Riddle, and reached number twenty in the U.S., spending sixteen weeks on the charts. Composed as an instrumental piece by Coleman for the revue Take Five, lyrics were added by Leigh.

Those fingers in my hair
That sly come hither stare
That strips my conscience bare
It's witchcraft
And Ive got no defense for it
The heat is too intense for it
What good would common sense for it do
cause its witchcraft, wicked witchcraft
And although, I know, its strictly taboo
When you arouse the need in me
My heart says yes indeed in me
Proceed with what your leading me to
Its such an ancient pitch
But one I wouldn't switch
cause there's no nicer witch than you

KV Archival Photo Bonanza 5

A majong game at Roslyn Romm's apartment with Ann Lackow, Peshie Warbut and Susie Schumer on the extreme right.

KV Archival Photo Bonanza 4

KV Archival Photo Bonanza 3

from Paula Sanders (Romm)

My mom Rosalyn Romm moved into KV in 1936 with her parents, sister Libby, brother Marty, foster brother and grandmother. None of them ever left. My mom died in her apt in 2003. She was a regular Friday night Mahjong player. The game was raided once in our apt by the cops who wound up staying for coffee and cake. Some people may remember my dad Sam. He was in a wheelchair from 1947 until he died in 1981. All day family and friends visited. Our door was never locked. My parents were Sam and Rosalyn Romm. We lived at AB2. My grandparents were Sam And Kate Michelson. My uncle Marty is the boy in the white suit. My aunt Libby lived in EAPH and died in 1999.

KV Archival Photo Bonanza 2

Above LEFT TO RIGHT: Leslie Cohen. Cookie Orvis, Linda Feigenbaum, Paula Romm & Norma Boodman.

KV Archival Photo Bonanza 1

A windfall courtesy of Paula Sanders (Romm)
from Norma Petillo

Her mom and her family were one of first tenants moving there in 1936. I believe her mom died there at age 85 a few years ago.

Not This Day In Knickerbcker Village History: Oct. 31, 1962, The Beverly Hillbillies, Episode 6

After a steady diet of this crapola it's no wonder that there was youth rebellion in the later 60's. This show aired from 9-9:30 on Channel 2 and was entitled Trick Or Treat. from wikipedia:

The Beverly Hillbillies is an American television series about a hillbilly family transplanted to Beverly Hills, California after finding oil on their land. A Filmways production, the series aired on CBS from September 26, 1962 – September 7, 1971 and comprises 274 episodes—106 in black-and-white (1962–1965) and 168 in color (1965–1971). The show starred Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett, Irene Ryan as Daisy May "Granny" Moses, Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett and Max Baer, Jr. as Jethro Bodine.
At the beginning of The Beverly Hillbillies series, the OK Oil Company discovers oil in a swamp in the Ozarks owned by family patriarch Jed Clampett. Jed moves with his family to the wealthy Los Angeles County city of Beverly Hills, California, where he attempts to live a rural lifestyle despite his wealth. This sequence of events was recapitulated in the title credits for each show and was described in the lyrics of the theme song, so that new viewers would easily understand who the Hillbillies were and why they were in Beverly Hills (although the credits and song portray Jed finding the oil while hunting as opposed to knowing the oil was there but being unaware of the value). Lasting nine seasons and accumulating 7 Emmy nominations, it remains in syndication on several cable stations including TV Land.
The Hillbillies themselves were Buddy Ebsen as the widowed patriarch Jed "J.D." Clampett; Irene Ryan as his mother-in-law, Daisy May "Granny" Moses; Donna Douglas as his daughter Elly May Clampett; and Max Baer Jr. as his cousin's son Jethro Bodine.
The supporting cast featured Raymond Bailey as Jed's greedy banker Milburn Drysdale; Harriet E. MacGibbon as Drysdale's snobbish wife Margaret Drysdale; and Nancy Kulp as Drysdale's secretary, "Miss" Jane Hathaway, who pined for the clueless Jethro.
Jed's cousin Pearl Bodine (played by Bea Benaderet) was Jethro's mother. She appeared in several episodes during the first season, as did Jethro's twin sister Jethrine, played by Baer in drag, using Linda Kaye Henning's voiceover.
Although not a major character, actress Sharon Tate had a recurring role during the early years of the series. Tate appeared in a dark wig as Janet Trego, an assistant to Miss Hathaway at the Commerce Bank. Two episodes before Janet's debut episode, Sharon had appeared (sans wig) as one of Elly May's classmates in "Elly Starts to School"
Veteran canine actor Stretch portrayed Jed's bloodhound Duke, and the many other animal actors on the series came to be known as "Elly May's critters".
The theme song "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" was written by producer and writer Paul Henning and originally performed by Bluegrass artists Flatt and Scruggs. The song was sung by Jerry Scoggins (backed by Flatt and Scruggs) over the opening and end credits of each episode. It was #44 on the music charts in 1962 and a #1 country hit.
The series generally featured no country music beyond the bluegrass banjo theme song, although country star Roy Clark and the team of Flatt and Scruggs occasionally played on the program. Pop singer Pat Boone appeared on one episode as himself, with the premise that he hailed from the same area of the country as the Clampetts.
Despite being panned by some critics, the show shot to the top of the Nielsen Ratings shortly after its premiere and stayed there for several seasons. During its first two seasons, it was the number one program in the U.S. During its second season, it earned some of the highest ratings ever recorded for a half-hour sitcom. The season 2 episode The Giant Jackrabbit also became the most watched telecast up to the time of its airing, and still remains the most watched half-hour episode of a sitcom as well It was ranked in the top ten most watched prime time programs for six of its nine seasons.
The series received two Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series as well as nominations for cast members Irene Ryan and Nancy Kulp.
Because of the show's high ratings, CBS asked creator Paul Henning to pen two more folksy comedies, spawning a mini-genre of rural sitcoms during the 1960s. Petticoat Junction featured an extended family, including three pretty young women of marrying age, running a small hotel in the isolated rural town of Hooterville. Green Acres flipped the Clampetts' fish-out-of-water concept by depicting two city sophisticates moving to Hooterville, which was populated by oddball country bumpkins.
* Bea Benaderet, who had played Jethro's mother during the first season of The Beverly Hillbillies, was the mother of the family on Petticoat Junction.
* Linda Kaye Henning, who provided the voiceover for the Beverly Hillbillies character Jethrine, portrayed Benaderet's daughter Betty Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction.
* Edgar Buchanan, who starred in all 222 episodes of Petticoat Junction and guest-starred in 17 episodes of Green Acres, also guested in 3 episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies, always as the character Uncle Joe Carson.
Nielsen ratings for the 1970-71 season indicate that the bottom had dropped out for the perennial Top 30 series but was still fairly popular when it was canceled in 1971 after 274 episodes. The CBS network, prompted by pressure from advertisers seeking a more sophisticated urban audience, decided to refocus its schedule on several "hip" new urban-themed shows, and to make room for them, all of CBS's rural-themed comedies were simultaneously canceled. This action came to be known as "the Rural Purge". Pat Buttram, who played Mr. Haney on Green Acres, famously remarked that, "It was the year CBS killed everything with a tree in it."
In addition to The Beverly Hillbillies, the series that were eliminated included Green Acres, Mayberry R.F.D. and Hee Haw, the latter of which was resurrected in first-run syndication, where it ran for another 21 years. Petticoat Junction had been canceled a year earlier due to declining ratings following the death of its star Bea Benaderet.

Abbott And Costello: The Better Horror Film Alternative 2

This clip (with better resolution) takes over where the other left off leading to the finale.
an interesting history of this picture from an informed film blogger
By the mid-40s, Universal’s Monsters were played out. It’s as if the studio was bereft of new ideas for the characters, or perhaps box office projections suggested that Frankenstein, Dracula or The Wolfman couldn’t carry a picture on their own any more. The menacing trio was still being revived, but only as a group. They came bundled together, three for the price of one, in “Monster Rally” films with template titles: House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula, in 1944 and ‘45.
It looked like the days of the great Universal Monsters had passed, and the once proud bogeymen would fade away without so much as a whimper.
Then Robert Arthur had an idea.
In late 1946, Arthur, the producer in charge of Abbott and Costello movies, was kicking ideas around and he came up with something about a mad doctor chasing the Boys, determined to stuff Lou Costello’s addled brains into the Frankenstein Monster’s cranium. Studio bosses suggested he throw Dracula and The Wolfman in, use the whole squad, and maybe it would amount to something.
A couple of script treatments were turned out and quickly discarded. One dreadful version had the Monsters defeated after being shrunk down to doll size. It was only when the project was handed over to Robert Lees and Frederic Rinaldo that it gelled.
The two writers loved the concept and attacked it with passion. They crafted a script, called The Brain of Frankenstein, that was unlike anything the Boys had done before. The story was solid and it raced to a genuine climax. It had strong supporting parts, including a female villain. The Monsters stayed in character, genuinely menacing, something to play off of, not play with. The script had new and original sight gags in it, good dialog and new jokes.
Lou hated it.
For all their talent, Bud and Lou were not innovators. The routines they mastered had been honed to perfection years earlier, in Vaudeville. The Boys had come to know what worked for them and they felt no need to experiment. Critics of the time complained about Abbott and Costello serving up “the same old corn” in picture after picture, but the public didn’t seem to mind at all.
It’s almost impossible, today, to grasp the magnitude of Abbott & Costello’s popularity. They had a huge constituency of fans, having been on radio continuously for over a decade. They played personal appearance gigs to packed houses. They made two pictures a year, but with older titles constantly re-issued, you could have 6 or 7 Abbott & Costello comedies in circulation every year. The fans just couldn’t get enough of them. The Boys were box-office gold.
Typically, an Abbott and Costello script started with a basic plot outline over which, through several drafts, gags and routines were added. Bud and Lou barely glanced at their scripts, relying on longtime friend and gagman supreme John Grant to look out for them, and fix or rewrite as needed. When the jokes got stale, the routines repetitious, the Boys could still find a way to wring an extra laugh out of them. Chubby, cheerful Lou Costello ad-libbed recklessly, and if all else failed, he’d fall back on hoots, howls and spectacular pratfalls to sell a gag. The lanky and morose Bud Abbott — the best straight man in the business — knew instinctively how much rope to give out and when to yank Lou back into the routine.
The new script was a challenge, and the Boys, at first, were uncomfortable with it. It came with all the jokes written down, all the gags and situations worked out. Only a couple of stock routines made it in, a “moving candle” gag, and a scene where Lou mistakes the real Wolfman for Bud was a variation on a bit the Boys were familiar with. It speaks to the script’s originality and cleverness that even those old stunts work in context and come off as fresh.
The Monster : Glenn Strange
Bud and Lou often complained, not without reason, of being saddled with uninspired supporting casts composed of clock-punching contract players. This time, they had no cause for worry.
Lon Chaney, Jr. reprised his signature role as the terminally anguished Larry Talbot. He’s a good guy, working with Bud and Lou to prevent Dracula from reviving the dangerous Frankenstein Monster, but he’s also a walking time bomb who can morph into The Wolfman and turn on the Boys at any moment. A nice surprise was seeing Bela Lugosi, in great form, don the Dracula cape again. The part had been essayed most recently by John Carradine, in top hat and fake mustache, while Lugosi had languished as a Poverty Row villain. Here, Lugosi was given a good, substantial role, and he handled himself with Continental aplomb, dignity intact, while the comics whirled around him. It was to be Bela’s last major film.
The cast of principals was rounded out with Jane Randolph as Lou’s sweetheart, Leonor Aubert as the evil and fatale Dr. Mornay, and the part of the Monster was assured, again, by Glenn Strange.
Strange had played the Monster in two previous outings but his screen time had been limited to being strapped on a slab until the final reel when, spurred by some mad scientist and his obligatory hunchbacked assistant, he rose, growled at the torch-carrying mob, and promptly walked into some quicksand, or a wall of fire. The End.
This time, the Monster was used throughout the picture, and he had the best, most fun scenes interacting with Bud and Lou.
Strange played the character as a stoic hulk, moving slowly and deliberately, hands out, like a blind automaton on remote control. His performance is rarely given the credit it deserves, but watch him closely in this film. This isn’t just a stuntman clomping around, it’s a real performance in pantomime. In a couple of scenes, incrementally sitting up at Dracula's command, or mechanically climbing the stairs in the gorgeous island dock set, Strange moves with such clockwork precision that it almost feels like the film has slowed down. His timing, always half a second late in reacting, is robot perfect.
Glenn Strange made a career as a character actor in Westerns. As The Monster, he was eclipsed by Karloff, Chaney and Lugosi who had all played the part in “serious” pictures. Strange was thought of as the fill-in Frankenstein, the one who got the part only after the part was discounted. But it was Glenn Strange who would give the Monster its pop culture profile. When the classic, flat-top makeup was applied to his wide, craggy face, it gave him a big, square, boxlike head, and this look became the Frankenstein trademark, better suited for toys and Halloween masks than Boris Karloff’s sensitive features.
Shooting on The Brain of Frankenstein began on February 5, 1948.
Cult Status
The Boys pulled their usual on-set antics, playing a marathon game of poker in their dressing room and refusing to come out for rehearsals. When they did made it to the stage, shooting would be regularly interrupted by the frenetic Bobby Barber, Lou's personal stooge, hired to create pandemonium and keep the company in good spirits. Universal crewmen reportedly loved working on Abbott and Costello pictures. Veteran director Charles Barton calmly steered the picture through all the chaos.
The only incident of note came when a stunt went wrong and Glenn Strange snapped his ankle. Lon Chaney, a good sport, offered to stand in as The Monster and that’s him throwing Leonor Aubert’s double through the window. Strange returned to the set a few days later, wearing a leg brace. Another incident, much happier, involved a scene where Lou backs into a chair and inadvertently sits in the Monster’s lap. His predicament dawns on him when he realizes that he has too many hands. Take after take, Glenn Strange, who was called upon to keep a straight, stone face, couldn’t help but break up. No amount of editing could salvage the scene and the two men had to be called back later on for retakes.
The film’s shooting title, The Brain of Frankenstein, sounded too much like a straight horror film. When it was released, in August ’48, it was called, simply, Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein. To Universal’s delight, preview audiences whooped as soon as the title appeared onscreen.
In retrospect, it was an early case of product branding. Comedians and monsters had mixed it up before, but these were not your humdrum haunted house ghosts or the escaped cheapsuit gorillas that had stalked everyone from the Ritz Brothers to the Bowery Boys. Abbott and Costello — household names to begin with — were tangling with Frankenstein! The Wolf Man! And Dracula! These were characters established over almost two decades worth of films. Their names had weight and significance.
The film was a runaway hit, the 3rd biggest box office attraction of 1948, and it gave Bud and Lou a whole new formula to exploit. Over the next few years, they would go on to “Meet” all the monsters they could scare up, from The Invisible Man to The Mummy.
Critics of the time were kind to the film, but it would take a few more years for it to be recognized as the comedy classic that it is. When horror films finally came under scholarly scrutiny, A&C Meet Frankenstein was generally regarded as an insult, the final ignominy for monsters whose potency had been slowly eroded through increasingly cheap sequels.
In an article for Sight and Sound (April-June 1952), Curtis Harrington — who had been a friend of James Whale — wrote that Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein was “the final death agony of James Whale’s originally marvelous creation”. Carlos Clarens, in his seminal Illustrated History of the Horror Film (1967), lumped the film along with the portmanteau House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula, stating that “unconscious parody finally gave way to deliberate spoof” and adding, “By then, Universal was flogging a dead horse”.
Boris Karloff was known to glower whenever the film was mentioned, though he had gamely accepted to pose for publicity pictures, standing in line to see the film in New York, and he had gone on to play in two pictures with the Boys, Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, and Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Lon Chaney, Jr., who’d had a ball making the film, came to believe its pernicious influence had killed off the old monsters.
But, of course, the monsters not only survived, their reputations grew. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is an intelligent and vastly entertaining film. It was beautifully done. It has wonderful sets and a magnificent score by Frank Skinner. And it is still funny today. In the end, it was as generous, respectful and deeply-felt an homage to the classic Monsters as, say, Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder’s Young Frankenstein was.
Universal’s Frankenstein, Dracula and The Wolfman did not fade away, they went out with a bang in a fabulous film, a true and glorious Last Hurrah. More importantly, Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein, with its reverent use of Universal’s classic monsters, forever cemented their reputation as dominant icons of popular culture.

Abbott And Costello: The Better Horror Film Alternative

I've never been a fan of horror movies. This, and I believe for most of my KV generation contemporaries, was a better Halloween/Horror alternative
from Wikipedia:

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (onscreen title: Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein) is a 1948 comedy/horror film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.
This is the first of several films where the comedy duo meets classic characters from Universal's film stable. In the film, they encounter Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolf Man. Subsequent films pair the duo with the Mummy, the Keystone Kops, and the Invisible Man. On a TV special in the early 1950s, the comedy duo did a sketch where they interacted with the latest original Universal Studios monster being promoted at the time, the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The film is considered the swan song for the "Big Three" Universal horror monsters — Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's monster — although it does not appear to fit within the loose continuity of the earlier films.
The film was re-released in 1956 along with Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff.
In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed this film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
In September 2007, Reader’s Digest selected the movie as one of the top 100 funniest films of all time.

Zacherley

A baby boomers choice for horror movies, etc. This clip is from a 1975 Mike Douglas Show.
Zacherley is still going strong at age 90.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. The book Goodnight, Whatever You Are by Richard Scrivani, chronicling the life and times of The Cool Ghoul, debuted at the Chiller Theatre Expo in Secaucus, New Jersey, in October 2006.
A picture of Zacherley alongside fellow horror host Dr. Gangrene appeared in the October 30, 2007 issue of USA Today in an article about Horror Host entitled Halloween horror hosts rise again on radio, TV, film written by David Colton.

KV Nursery School 1957

from Nancy:

Top photo:Sarah Wenig, Paul Levine and Ronnie Sosinsky
Bottom photo:Nancy Merrill(me), Lisa Raskin & Dorita Dolnansky in the back, Jesse?, Robin Kramer

KV Photo Collage: 1959-1961

From Nancy: Left to right

Nursery school graduation with my sister Patti outside 40 Monroe .
My 2nd grade birthday party. Lisa & Susan Sing, Neava Wong, Sarah Wenig, Barbara Hammel and me.
Mark & Abby Goldfield from FA6. Abby died about 20 years ago, does anyone know what happened to Mark? The Goldfields lived in FA6. Mr. Goldfield worked for the Government and "Ve" Goldfield worked for the Board of Ed. Mark was in Dawn Rothstein's class. He was the smartest kid in 177. For the 2nd grade science project he made a toaster (and it worked!!)

KV Birthday Party: 1962?

from Nancy:

Denise Rothstein up front with Barbara Hammel, Dana Younger, Phyllis Katz, Judy Schnieder(in back), Paul Kefer and Sarah Wenig.

PS 177: First Grade 1959-1960

from Nancy Merill:

Found my first grade picture from P. S. 177. Also in my class:
Ronnie Sosinsky, Bradley Joe, Sarah Wenig, Judy Schnieder, Jeffrey Nathanson, Paul Levine, Lisa Raskin, Susan Sing, Gary Wynshaw, Angela Hyman, Joel Bloch, Denise Rothstein, etc., etc. The teacher was Mrs. Daniels

Not This Day In Knickerbcker Village History: June 26, 1958

After

Before

from Sarah:

I'm pretty sure that these two photos are of the same incident. During or around 1958, two barges collided on the East River (Before) and one sunk (After). These were taken from the living room window of apt. FC8, 40 Monroe St.

There were previous posts about this back in June that included articles from the nytimes. Here's a link to the first article
Here's a link to the second article

Frankie, The KV Fruit Man

from Sarah:

I loved Frankie the Fruit Man and one day we ran into him at the beach.  My mother is in the middle of this threesome and Frank's wife - gorgeous - I remember her as being French.

Hamilton Madison House Girl Scouts: 1963

from Sarah:

In the Girl Scouts photo, we're in the Land & Sea Church on Market Street - Reverend Younger's church (father of Dana and Judy - husband of Dodi). Notice we're lighting a menorah. I'm in the middle. I recognize all the girls but can only put names to (l-r) Mindy Berkowitz, Dorita Dolansky (what dimples!) half of Merilee Lienweber on the end and Wendy Parker to Merilee's right What are the other girl's names?

Hamilton Madison House Brownies: 1960's

We're still trying to ascertain exactly who these young ladies are, but according to Nancy via Sarah:

Nancy says that the blond all the way to the right is Sandy Guralnick. She lived in 40 Monroe St and moved before any of us did. She had an older sister named Deborah. I think they moved to the Niagra Falls area.

Update from Tina:

2nd row, 2nd from the left...Norma Kramer's sister .......In the Hamilton Madison House Brownies Pic....!Susan lives in Maine. I thought I heard that Debra Guaralnick..lived somewhere on the West Coast.....Actress??

from Nancy:

I agree- that's Susan Kramer, Norma's younger sister.
In the very back I think it"s Rita Jones and in front of her Miriam Coombs?

Knickerbocker Village Nursery Graduates: 1959?

From Sarah Wenig:

The most visible kids are (l-r) Ronnie Sosinsky, me, Nancy Merrill and Robin Kramer.  This was taken in the nursery, the windows looked out onto one of the pits.

 

There's Got To Be Somethng Better Than This

There's gotta be something better than this,
There's gotta be something better to do.
And when I find me something better to do,
I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get out
I'm gonna get up, get out and do it!
There's gotta be some respectable trade,
There's gotta be something easy to learn.
And if I find me something I halfwit can learn,
I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get out
I'm gonna get up, get out and learn it!
All these jokers, how I hate them
With their groping, grabbing, clutching, clinching,
Strangling, handling, bumbling, pinching
There's gotta be some life cleaner than this,
There's gotta be some good reason to live.
And when I find me some kind of life I can live,
I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get out,
I'm gonna get up, get out and live it!

There's Got To Be Somethng Better Than This

In 1964 there was a mass exodus of many KV families to the wider spaces of Brighton Beach. A better housing value was available at the Amalgamated Warbasse Houses. It was however, a far lesser value in community. I was in that neighborhood today at motor vehicle office on West 8th Street today to replace a "lost" license plate. I took some pictures.

Sarah wrote recently about a cat she brought with her to Warbasse from Knickerbocker

I adopted one of those cats. In my family, each kid got one chance at a pet bigger than a salamander or a parakeet. I named him Trouble. I have letters that my mother wrote to me in camp under his name, giving me family news. When we moved to Brooklyn, he died as a result of a 13 story fall from out kitchen window. I believe it was a suicide - he didn't like Warbasse. Too Jewish. He is buried under the boardwalk @ West 5th st/Bay 9

There's gotta be something better than this,
There's gotta be something better to do.
And when I find me something better to do,
I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get out
I'm gonna get up, get out and do it!
There's gotta be some respectable trade,
There's gotta be something easy to learn.
And if I find me something I halfwit can learn,
I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get out
I'm gonna get up, get out and learn it!
There's gotta be some life cleaner than this,
There's gotta be some good reason to live.
And when I find me some kind of life I can live,
I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get out,
I'm gonna get up, get out and live it!

Nok Hockey In Coleman Oval Park, 1950's

from Sarah:

I think that's Stuie Schumer behind the Park's Dept woman and Susanne Pelly crouched with her back towards the camera.

from Susanne:

Sorry, I looked at Sarah's photo of nok-hokey and I really can't tell if it's me or not with my back to the camera.  The hair is certainly right, but it looks like I am wearing sandals, and I am not sure my parents ever let me wear them.  Lots of kids have Ashkenazi hair!  Did Lasky's (?) the shoe store ever sell them?  My parents made me wear horrible orthopedic shoes. 

KV Jewess On Six Legged Horse

Mystery KVers Of The Past

Anyone know who these handsome dudes are?

Sunday In The Park With KV

Photo courtesy of Sarah Wenig, I would guess it's around 1956-7. Notice the good humor man and the "wood" paneled station wagon. Can't make out what the store on the corner is called. Larry's Fabrics?

The Lady Is A Tramp: Sammy Davis Jr.

From a 1960 television show filmed at Heffner's mansion

I've wined and dined on Mulligan stew
And never wished for turkey
As I hitched and hiked and drifted, too,
From Maine to Albuquerque.
Alas, I missed the Beaux Arts Ball,
What is twice as sad,
I was never at a party
Where they honored Noel Ca' ad.
But her social circles spin too fast for me.
Hark, I thought I heard a pistol shot
My Hobohemia is the place I wanna be.

She gets too hungry for dinner at eight
She loves the theater, but refuses to arrive late
She will never bother with some cat that she hates
And that is why the lady is a tramp
Won't go to Coney, any beach is divine
She digs the ball games, but the bleacher's are fine
She reads Kilgallen, and I mean every line
That's why the lady is a tramp
She likes that free fresh jazz in her hair
Her life's without care
She's flat, that's that
For Lenny Bruce she whistles and stamps
That's why the lady is a tramp
She likes that free fresh wind in her hair
Life without care
She is broke, that is oke
Hates California, it's cold and is damp
That's why the lady is a tramp
Why the lady
That kooky, kooky lady
Why the lady is a tramp

The Lady Is A Tramp

A signature Rat Packish interpretation of this Rodgers and Hart song from the very underrated Buddy Greco circa 1962. Some say Darin stole finger popping from Greco. Over at pseudo-intellectalism there's a Sarah Palin version here and on a follow up post some original lyrics From wikipedia:

born Armando Greco, 14 August 1926, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American singer and pianist. Greco began playing piano at the age of four. His first professional work was playing with Benny Goodman's band. Most of Greco's work has been in the jazz and pop genres. He has had hits such as "Oh Look A-There, Ain't She Pretty", "The Lady is a Tramp", and "Around the World". He has recorded about 65 albums and 100 singles. He has had an active concert career playing in symphony halls, theatres, nightclubs, and Las Vegas showrooms (in the 1960s he made appearances with the Rat Pack). On screen, he had a memorable turn as the nightclub singer, Lucky, in the 1969 film, The Girl Who Knew Too Much. Greco has recorded albums for Columbia, Reprise and Pye his most popular albums were On Stage and Buddy's Back in Town both recorded on Columbia. His most successful single was "The Lady is a Tramp" His albums were regarded as being well crafted in similar vein to Sinatra. Greco recorded an album entitled Movin' On which included his version of the Marvin Gaye standard "What's Going On". Greco recorded sporadically after this album, but the live shows kept on coming and he has performed in most of the top nightclubs in the world. His last nationally charted record was "From Atlanta to Goodbye" on the Scepter label in 1969. Married four times, Greco continues to appear at his club in Cathedral City, California. In the summer of 2008, Buddy toured the UK with his wife Lezlie Anders. Together they performed dates with The BBC Big Band and played venues such as Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club in London. Buddy also made history as the first Las Vegas Headliner to star at a British Casino when he performed in cabaret on August 8th at The Circus Casino, Star City, Birmingham.

287 East Houston Street: Then And Now

I came across the "then" photo on the nypl digital site and I recognized the facade of the Academy Theater. It was next to a bagel store I would frequent when I worked in a school on Essex Street. Sure enough I found the rest of the story
from cinematreasres

This theatre was in operation when, in November of 1921, a porter was instructed by the building's manager to open a skylight to cool the auditorium. A boy mistook a ray of sunlight hitting the screen for a flame and shouted, "Fire", causing a hundred people to rush for the exits.Contributed by Damien Farley
A three-story theatre building existed on the site as early as 1910. My research seems to indicate that this location had ceased to be a theatre by at least 1936.
As mentioned in the text, a motion picture theatre was definitely operational in 1921. However, records also show that the landlord, Academy Holding Corporation, purchased 291 East Houston in 1927 with the intention of combining it with their two adjoining buildings (283-287 E. Houston). They were proposing construction of a 1200 seat movie theatre on the 75x100 ft. plot. posted by Damien Farley on Jan 17, 2005 at 4:18pm Sheesh... the placelooks boarded and condemned in the "then" photo! Take a look at the sign hanging between the theater and the building on the left. It appears to read "Any information regarding these three buildings ... " then lists the building #'s and lot size ("75x100") followed by - presumably - a name and phone number to call with inquiries. Judging by the information above provided by Lost Memory, I assume that two of these parcels were eventually sold and became the 1-story building and adjacent driveway we see in the "now" photo. At minimum, it appears the facade was reduced in height and redone in plain brick, assuming the original theater facade included a high parapet wall. But note that it looks like a tree is growing through the roof of the building in the "now" photo! There must be some kind of alley-way behind the wall on the right edge of the property line which tells me that at least this portion of the old theater was completely rebuilt.The notice over the center entrance on the THS photo reads;For information regarding these 3 buildings 283-287-291 E. Houston Street- Inquire in Sweater Shop (next door). There are the remains of torn posters over the front doors advertising the Pelestine Theatre and the Avenue A Theatre. posted by Ed Solero on Nov 13, 2005 at 7:06pm
On my recent June 2006 visit to New York I took a look at the current building located at 287 East Houston Street and can confirm it is the Academy Theatre (now with a modified facade) and is in use as tax offices. Yes there is now a rooftop garden on top of the old theatre auditorium!

The Schools Of C.B.J. Snyder

A wonderful article from the nytimes of 10/18 New York: A Builder of Dreams, in Brick and Mortar by Jim Dwyer The images from the slide show above come from the multimedia
linked to the article. The audio, Everything Old Is New Again, from David Kenney's radio show on WBAI The lyrics follow the article. BTW, KV's PS 177 was a Snyder school. It's too bad Snyder's schools aren't new again. They deserve to be.

The question was put to a class from a Brooklyn high school: Had they ever given a moment’s thought to their school building? The quick answers were no, no, no. Then: “Huge windows,” said Justin Statia. “I wondered why the hallways are so thin,” said Gaston Ovando. “It’s old,” said Hanifah Presley. “My granduncle went here.” The students attend the Academy for Young Writers, a small program housed in Junior High School 50 on South Third Street in Williamsburg. The building opened in 1915, so for these students — and for tens of thousands of others at schools across the city — a hand from the distant past shapes their daily pilgrimages. At the turn of the 20th century, one man, Charles B. J. Snyder, designed and supervised the construction of 400 public schools in New York. The one on South Third Street is among 270 Snyder buildings still in use, a roster that includes such majestic presences as Curtis High School in Staten Island, Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, Morris High School in the Bronx and the old DeWitt Clinton High School, now occupied by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in Manhattan.
Though Snyder’s vision has been part of the lives of tens of millions of schoolchildren, few people know of him or of his role in transforming New York. He died in 1945 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, his death unnoted in The New York Times. It took a newcomer to the city to discover a forgotten genius. Three years ago, Jean Arrington, her children grown, gave up a tenured position at a college in Raleigh, N.C., and moved to New York. She spent the summer of 2005 looking for a job in the public schools. “I was amazed by these school buildings,” Ms. Arrington said. “We didn’t have anything like this where I grew up, in Montgomery, Ala.” In libraries, she found little on the buildings, almost nothing on the architect. At the Municipal Archives, she read annual reports filed by Snyder during the 31 years he served as superintendent of school buildings. She visited every Snyder building. And she pieced together a narrative of epic accomplishment that began in 1891 with the firing of a school architect who had been charged with corruption. To replace him, the Board of Education turned to Snyder, a slight man of 5-foot-6 or 5-foot-7, a descendant of Dutch settlers in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He was 31 years old. For the next three decades, until his retirement in 1922, Snyder presided over the greatest expansion of schools in the nation’s history. It was not uncommon for him to open more schools in a single year than existed in most other American cities. His buildings were big enough to hold the waves of immigrants flooding into the city, to have indoor play areas for the kids and auditoriums for the community, and light and air, the values of an age made real in brick, mortar and steel. “New York has one of those rare men who open windows for the soul of their time,” the journalist Jacob Riis wrote of Snyder in his 1902 book “The Battle With the Slum.” “He found barracks, where he is leaving palaces to the people.” Under Snyder, 60 percent of the building exteriors were made up of windows, double what had been the standard; many of these were 10 feet high. If only for sheer mass, his buildings dominated the neighborhoods, but they were also distinctive for their elegance, incorporating elements of the Beaux-Arts, Flemish Renaissance, Italian palazzo and Collegiate Gothic styles, Ms. Arrington notes. “His story possessed me,” said Ms. Arrington, who is now at work — without a publisher or a contract — on a book about Snyder’s life and times. “Snyder insisted that all N.Y.C. public schools be built of fireproof materials, and he developed an interlocking type of stairwells, such that the buildings could be emptied within three minutes,” she writes in the book. “His schools included new features reformers were pushing for, such as auditoriums with projection rooms and organs, space for public art, laboratories, vocational training facilities, gymnasiums, swimming pools and roof playgrounds. The buildings were designed also to accommodate new after-school activities like recreation classes and evening lectures.” In May 1922, Snyder retired. He had not had a vacation since 1904. “I am tired and completely worn out,” he said, according to an article in The Times. He slipped from the public eye. In 1945, Snyder, 85, and one of his sons were asphyxiated in an accident involving a kerosene stove at a house in Babylon, on Long Island. He was buried in a family plot in Woodlawn, but without a stone. His great-granddaughter Cindy LaValle, 60, said the family was apparently short of money at the time. Over the years, she said, family lore about her great-grandfather has been limited to artifacts, like his silver or a clock. “I never heard what a great man he was,” she said. Through an article by Christopher Gray in The Times, Ms. Arrington connected with Snyder’s descendants. A few days ago, they arranged a bus to take them to Woodlawn Cemetery, to unveil a gravestone. Then they drove across the city, finding his legacy in every neighborhood.

by Peter Allen

When trumpets were mellow
And every gal only had one fellow
No need to remember when
'Cause everything old is new again
Dancin' at church, Long Island jazzy parties
Waiter bring us some more Baccardi
We'll order now what they ordered then
'Cause everything old is new agian
Get out your white suit, your tap shoes and tails
Let's go backwards when forward fails
And movie stars you thought were alone then
Now are framed beside your bed
Don't throw the pa-ast away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When everything old is new again
Get out your white suit, your tap shoes and tails
Put it on backwards when forward fails
Better leave Greta Garbo alone
Be a movie star on your own
And do-on't throw the past away
You might need it some other rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When everything old is new again
When everything old i-is new-ew a-again
I might fa-all in love wi-ith you again

O'Leary, O'Reilly, O'Hare And O'Hara There's No One As Irish As Barack Obama

Knowing this perhaps Alfred E. Smith and our friends from St. James would have endorsed Barack Obama
from the daily kos

There's No One As Irish As Barack O'Bama
Written by The Corrigan Brothers and Shay Black
Chorus:
O'Leary, O'Reilly, O'Hare and O'Hara
There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama
From the old Blarney Stone to the green Hills of Tara
There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama
You don't believe me, I hear you say
But Barack's as Irish as our own JFK
His granddaddy’s granddaddy came from Moneygall
A village in Offaly, well known to you all.
His mam’s daddy’s granddaddy was one Falmuth Kearney
He’s as Irish as any from the Lakes of Killarney
His mam’s from a long line of great Irish Mamma’s
There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama
Our Barack’s a hero, I’ve heard them say
Fenian to Kenyan, the American Way
He’s Cuchulainn, Liongo, not Vishnu or Brahma
But there’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama
A name is a name and there’s no doubt about it
Barack O’Bama’s name, you can shout it
Whether apostrophe or inverted comma
There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama.
Now you Hillary supporters don't you vote for McCain
And the VP needs brains, so forget about Palin
With Cheney and Bush, they are all ignorama
There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama
From Kerry and Cork to old Donegal
Let’s hear it for Barack, from old Moneygall
From the Lakes of Killarney to old Connemara
There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama
Last Chorus:
Tooral - U, tooral - S, tooral - A, toor a lama
There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama
Thanks for Listening.
Smidogg and The Starry Plough Family

Alfred E. Smith Slide Show

Many images from his statue in the park on Catherine Street.

Alfred E. Smith Park, located at the junction of Catherine Slip, Madison, and South Streets, was dedicated on June 1, 1950. The park features a memorial to Governor Smith, who was also known as "The Happy Warrior," "The King of Oliver Street," and "The First Citizen." Charles Keck designed the nine-foot bronze figure of the Governor and this bas-relief of children at play. The relief represents "The Sidewalks of New York," a song always played at Al Smith's campaign rallies. Paul Manship created the flagpole base decorated with animals native to New York before colonial settlement.

Music: The Bowery Medley from the Gas House Gang
Smith was in the news due to the publicity surrounding the Smith Foundation Dinner. Many of us KVers were taught to believe in the greatness of Smith, i.e. his support for the working class via legislation opposing sweatshops and unsafe working conditions, his fight against discrimination in his bid for the White House. However, I do know that in his later years he was not a strong supporter of Roosevelt and LaGuardia and the New Deal. He was also an isolationist in response to the rise of Fascism. So was he hero or not? Some excerpts from an email exchange between two NYC History buffs from a list serve

A: So who would you vote for in the 1928 election, Smith or Hoover?
B: Smith, of course
A: I think my choice would have been neither. Smith was a political Houdini. He had become an expeditious progressive. He was more attuned to political positions, not beliefs. This was a child of the 4th/7th wards and cousin of the 6th ward, Fulton Street and Tammany. Above all his loyalty was to Tammany. At that time Jews were not welcomed. Even today his Foundation's web-site doesn't mention Jews...
"Born on December 30, 1873, Alfred Emanuel Smith was destined to become a "man for the people." His childhood playground, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, taught him much about diversity inasmuch as its population combined the immigrant cultures of the Irish, Germans, French, Polish, Italians, and Spaniards - to name but a few."
John Rockefeller, Hoover, Tammany, Al Smith etc., etc. were of a zero-sum mindset. It was all about power and influence, who controlled it and how it was controlled. Exclusions were more prominent than inclusions and the betterment of all. Hoover and Smith represented the extremes of this power grab. No leadership. When leadership finally showed up, the extremes were eliminated. FDR and LaGuardia (nationally and locally) did that job. Gone was Hoover and Smith. That election was representing the past not the future. FDR was a "Blue Blood", from a "Blue State" that understood the politics of "Red, White & Blue". What a novel idea, the best of both worlds. Look at the crisis we are facing right now. Amazing how history repeats itself. Total lack of leadership. Main St. (Struggles that take place on the ground) are the struggles of Wall St. (Board rooms) and vice versa. The bailout bill should have gone down. It doesn't reflect the needs of majority of Americans.

Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner: Barack Obama

Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner: John McCain

Mickmas Day: 1952 World Series Game 7

from the baseball almanac

In an unusual, but indisputable move Casey Stengel started Eddie Lopat against Game 1 winner and Game 4 loser, Joe Black. The veteran, bothered by shoulder problems, had won only ten games for the Yanks in '52 (after going 21-9 in '51), but it mattered little as the Yankees dominated the seventh inning thanks to Mantle and Gene Woodling who both added homers for the 4-2 lead. Brooklyn almost took the lead after loading the bases when Furillo reached first on balls, Billy Cox singled and Pee Wee Reese walked as well. Anticipating a disaster, Bob Kuzava was summoned from the bullpen. The lefthander came up huge and got Snider to fly out to third bringing up Jackie Robinson. With the count at 3-2, Robinson snapped a textbook pop-up towards the mound. Kuzava seemed confused on the location and Joe Collins, the man in position to make the play, lost sight of the ball. All the while, Dodger runners were tearing up the baselines with two crossing the plate and another rounding third. Billy Martin, who was caught in the middle at second quickly sized up the situation and made a miracle catch inches from the ground.
The phenomenal grab not only ended the chances of a Dodger comeback, but also inevitably sealed the Series victory for the defending champions. Despite their best efforts, "the Bums from Brooklyn" lived up to their nickname, as Kuzava remained in control the rest of the way. The loss was especially devastating after winning Games 1, 3 and 5 and the 4-2 triumph enabled Stengel to match Joe McCarthy's mark of managing a club to four consecutive World Series titles.

Billy Martin talks about his catch

Mickmas Day

video clip from www.nsefilms.com,"Mickey Mantle In His Own Words"
Today is Mickmas Day, Mickey Mantle's birthday.
The Mick would be disappointed today that the Yanks are not in the series, especially with the old stadium closing. He feels Joe G. did a credible job, but disappointed in management's not going after Santana. I have to admit myself that I didn't see the worth in that move until I saw the kind of clutch player that Johan is, the kind that the Mick was and that Yogi and Whitey were and that Derek is (usually). Mick wouldn't be grinning happily over his individual accomplishments like Abreu did. I'm sure Abreu wil be gone and hopefully another switch hitter, Mark Teixeira, will wear pinstripes. I hope too that Mick is enjoying Nancy's company and vice versa.

The Dolnansky's Of Catherine Street And KV

The Dolnansky's were mentioned previously

Dorita and Bernard Dolansky whose parents owned a store near the Pizza place on Catherine St - they sold children's clothes.

I found some primary documents of theirs in the census. Evidently Harry was the Dolnansky who started the business since he was born in 1885 and had a store at 60 Catherine Street that pre-dated Knickerbocker Village's construction. It says on his WWI draft registration card that he lived at 3345 Catherine Street. That's got to be a mistake I assume. In 1942, when even seniors had to register for the draft, the 52 year old Harry was living at 40 Monroe Street. The store was still at 60 Catherine.

A Taste Of Honey: The Beatles

I know the music is out of synch.

A taste of honey... tasting much sweeter than wine.
I dream of your first kiss, and then,
I feel upon my lips again,
A taste of honey... tasting much sweeter than wine.
I will return, yes I will return,
I'll come back for the honey and you.
Yours was the kiss that awoke my heart,
There lingers still, 'though we're far apart,
That taste of honey... tasting much sweeter than wine.
I will return, yes I will return,
I'll come back (he'll come back) for the honey (for the honey) and you.

A Taste Of Honey : Harry James On The Ed Sullivan Show

from Kver Sarah

I saw the Four Seasons at Freedom Land. One day, my brother who was taking trumpet lessons took me along to see Louis Armstrong. My brother waited around at the stage door and finally Mr. Armstrong came out to see him. Little did we know then he was probably high as a kite. Anyway, when my brother told him he was studying the trumpet, Mr. Armstrong took him back stage to listen to him play. I had to wait outside. He wasn't gone too long (that may have been a reflection of his talent). Not too long after that Harry James played Freedom Land and again, my brother went to see him. However, with Harry James - a renowned s.o.b. - my brother didn't get so much as a how do you do.

A Taste Of Honey : Woody Herman 1963

from one of the greatest of Woody's Herds: Paul Fontaine, Gerry Lamy, Bill Chase, Dave Gale, Billy Hunt (t), Phil Wilson, Henry Southall, Bob Rudolph (tb), Woody Herman (as), Sal Nistico, Jackie Stevens, Bobby Jones (ts), Frank Hittner (bars), Nat Pierce (p), Chuck Andrus (b), Jake Hanna (d). June 1, 1963. Sax solo by Nistico, trumpet solo by Chase.

A Taste Of Honey: Herb Alpert 1966

from songfacts

Songwriters Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow wrote this as the theme to a play by Shelagh Delaney that was made into a movie in 1961. This instrumental version was recorded by piano player Martin Denny and won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Theme.
The play is about a young white woman who gets pregnant after a one night stand with a black sailor. Her best friend, who is a gay man, agrees to help raise the child.
Marlow added lyrics so Tony Bennett could sing it. Alpert's version is instrumental.
In 1966, Alpert received Grammys with his version for 3 different categories: Best Instrumental Arrangement; Best Instrumental Performance, Non-Jazz; and Record Of The Year. In addition, Larry Levine (the engineer for this song) received a Grammy with Alpert's version for Best Engineered Recording - Non-Classical.
The Beatles recorded this for their first UK album, Please Please Me. It was part of their concert repertoire in 1962 and 1963.
This has also been recorded by Lionel Hampton, Bobby Darin, The Hollies, Peggy Lee, The Temptations, Woody Herman and The Ventures.
In 1962, Alpert formed Carnival Records with Jerry Moss, which later became A&M (based on their initials) and was eventually sold to Seagram for $500 million in 1989.
Honey was used in many ancient Egyptian households as a sweetening agent. It was valued highly and was used to feed sacred animals and as a tribute or payment. Confectioners used honey as a sweetener and mixed it with various fruits, herbs, nuts and spices. The candy was then used as an offering to the Egyptian gods.
Whipped Cream & Other Delights has one of the most recognizable covers ever printed - The album was re-released in 2005 with re-mastered sound and extensive liner notes from Alpert.

A Taste Of Honey : KV Grand-Parenthood

Sandy Becker: Google Maps

In the 1930 census Sanford George Becker lived in this apartment house in Washington Heights. His grandfather Meyer Marx had his own butcher shop. His father George was a NYC Policeman. Interestingly, the actress Lee Grant, real name Lyova Haskell Rosenthal lived on the same block. She was 3 years old in 1930 and Sandy was 8.

Who's Almost Who In Knickerbocker Village History: Sandy Becker

from a 2 part interview from youtube user soupman
if Sandy is Nancy's cousin I guess he qualifies, from wikipedia:

George Sandford Becker (February 19, 1922 – April 9, 1996) went professionally by Sandy Becker , was a television announcer, actor and comedian best known for having hosted several popular children's programs in New York City. The best known of these was The Sandy Becker Morning Show, which ran from 1955 to 1968 on Channel 5 WABD-TV and WNEW-TV. Becker was born and raised in New York, and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He first reached public fame on radio as the title character of Young Doctor Malone, a role he was invited to take to television but declined to pursue his own television projects. (He played the good doctor on radio for a decade, however.) Soon, he started working for Channel 5 and became the host of a program featuring Bugs Bunny cartoons, The Looney Tunes Show on weeknights from 1955 to 1958. A second Friday night program called Bugs Bunny Theater ran from 1956 to 1957. In the middle of those activities, Becker found his true calling, spun in large part off his knack for entertaining his own three children with his vocal and comic versatility. This led him to his morning show beginning in 1955, and he added a noontime program Sandy Becker's Funhouse briefly in 1955. He hosted the syndicated Wonderama from 1955-56 and again from 1957-59.
Becker's propensity for doing comic voices brought him much work in animation; his best known work there was perhaps as Mr. Wizard on King Leonardo — "Drizzle, drazzle, drozzle, drone / Time for this one to come home" — who was always indulging and then rescuing Tudor Turtle (who wore a Tudor-style hat and sword, hence the play on his name) from his outlandish wishes. On his morning and (later) afternoon children's programs, Becker created such characters as double-talking disc jockey Hambone, addled but brilliant Big Professor (who claimed to know the answer to every question in the world), rumpled Hispanic kid's show host K. Lastima, incompetent mad-scientist Dr. Gesundheit, and — showing a remarkable knack for silent comedy — simple-minded Norton Nork, whose routines of earnest bumbling were joined only by musical accompaniment and a droll Becker narration that ended, invariably, with, "That's my boy, Norton Nork — you've done it again!" Another aspect of Sandy's humor was derived from his interaction with his (often ethnically stereotyped) hand puppets, which included Marvin Mouse, Googie, the German-accented Geeba Geeba, the English Sir Clive Clyde, Wowee the Indian, the space creature Sputnik, and the Irish Danny Moran. Sandy's show was so popular in the NY area that when he began using a version of the Hambone Theme music from an old 78 RPM record by Red Saunders which was recorded in 1952, the Okeh record company re-released the song on a 45 RPM record. Enough kids bought the record that it reached Survey position #22 on local rock radio station WMCA in March 1963.
Becker also created a puppet known as Henry Headline, who delivered lighter news to the children who tuned him in every day. He was quoted in an early 1960s interview as saying it was better to introduce children to news listening on a lighter note. "The impact of a major news story might be lost to them or it might even frighten them," he told the Long Island Press. "They'll learn about wars and international crises soon enough. I try to keep the news as light as possible. Occasionally I'll use an item that has historical value." In spite of that view — or perhaps because of it — Becker is warmly remembered for the manner in which he handled one of America's deepest tragedies on the air. On November 27, 1963, after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Becker went on the air and, quite movingly, attempted to explain to his young viewers what had happened. Sadly, most of Becker's programs were not preserved. Most went out live and were not kinescoped or videotaped, they live on only in the memories of those fortunate enough to have watched them. After he withdrew from on-camera hosting in 1968, Becker helped other children's shows create puppets and characters, and he became known as a mentor to new generations of children's hosts. "I never treated them as though they were in swaddling clothes," he said many years later of his young viewers. "Most kid shows regard young viewers as babies. I wanted to treat them as their parents might if they were on TV."

Wonderama 2, Plus KV Chatter

not a Wonderama clip, but from another of Sandy Becker's shows
From Sarah (not Palin)

I'll have you know that I won the spelling bee on Wonderama. Nancy can vouch for me. She was the runner up. Nancy and I were known for our fits of giggling that lasted inordinate amounts of time. We had one upon hearing the fanfare playing which is when we became aware we were the last ones standing. Sonny Fox really got pissed. They had to edit out many minutes of our laughing. Then Nancy started to not feel so well and she finally bungled a word that we both knew she knew. I won on 'orchestra' which happened to have been one of our spelling words that week. I was awarded an Emenee ukulele and dinner for my family at the Luau 400. The next time we were on Wonderama, a trainer lost control of his lion. The camera men ran like hell and so did all the kids, thru the back halls of the studio. Our parents were sitting upstairs in the glassed in observation room. When the coast was clear and we were reseated in the studio, the floor was covered with the sequins from the lion trainers costume.

From Nancy

I was really nervous and spelled picnic wrong. There was a girl that lived at 40 Monroe St, 2nd floor. She was scratched by the lion. Her parents sued. By the way, we were on Wonderama all the time. Sandy Becker was my cousin.

Wonderama

from youtube user irarona
Some KV related stories will follow

This except from Fox's "WONDERAMA" (on WNEW-TV) is probably from the summer of 1959, because "Bert & Harry Piel" (featuring the voices of Bob & Ray) were still selling Piel's beer in New York [Sonny obviously did not want the kids at home to know WHAT "Piel's" was]- I'm surprised they also appeared in local PSA's as well! I liked the "Lestoil" ad {sounds like Allen Swift there}. Gifford later teamed up with another animator named Paul Kim

-

1910 Ward 4 Gambling Raid

At 136 Bowery and 37 City Hall Place? I guess that's somewhere Park Row vicinity.

The Bookmaker

Michael Agovino talks about growing up in Coop City in the Bronx with a gambling addict father who lived beyond the family’s modest means. His new memoir is The Bookmaker. The audio from his 10/15 interview on Leonard Lopate's show on WNYC I wasn't able to embed the audio player that WNYC uses so I matched the it with the video from the Casino. Now where was it that Paul once told me that the KV bookie hung out on Monroe Street?

Jimmy Breslin And Election Day 1969

The first election I was eligible to vote in was in 1969. I voted for Norman Mailer for mayor. From Dissent Magazine along with the photo above

Norman Mailer ran in the Democratic primaries for mayor of New York City in 1969 with journalist Jimmy Breslin as his running mate (Breslin sought the nomination for President of the City Council). Their program called for New York City to secede from the state of New York. Political power was to devolve to the city’s neighborhoods. The Mailer-Breslin slogan was “The Other Guys are the Joke.” Dissent published many of his controversial articles, including “The White Negro” (Fall, 1957), which is reprinted below, and Mailer served on Dissent’s editorial board for more than three decades. The photograph above was taken by a 17-year-old campaign worker who had then never heard of Dissent, Mitchell Cohen, who now co-edits Dissent. Mailer died November 10th at the age of 84.

Over the years I enjoyed Breslin's columns, but I thought his books weren't too good. I did think Table Money, however, was excellent.
Years later I was in Barney Greengrass on the upper west side and I said hello to him. He ignored me. He was probably very much like the way he is portrayed in this story by a guest (and anonymous) contributor.

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
ONE DAY AFTER WORK AT THE JOURNAL AMERICAN, BRESLIN STAGGERED INTO MOOCHIES, ALREADY DRUNK. NOW AT THE TIME, BRESLIN'S WIFE WAS ITALIAN/AMERICAN, SO YOU WOULD THINK HE WOULD BE SENSITIVE TO ETHNIC SLURS. BUT NOT THAT FAT PIG. WORDS FLEW OUT OF BRESLIN'S MOUTH, THAT IF UTTERED IN CHERRY STREET PARK, OR ANYWHERE IN THE 4TH AND 6TH WARD, WOULD BE REASON TO START WORLD WAR III.
GUINEA. BASTARD. GREASEBALL. WOP. DAGO. THESE ARE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE KIND WORDS BRESLIN YELLED OUT LOUD, TO NO ONE IN PARTICULAR. JUST TO HEAR HIS OWN VOICE, I GUESS.
NOW BETWEEN SHOTS FLYING DOWN BRESLIN'S THROAT, AND INVECTIVE FLYING OUT OF HIS FILTHY MOUTH, BRESIN MADE MORE THAN A FEW PEOPLE ANGRY. THE TYPE OF PEOPLE, YOU WOULD NOT BE WISE MAKING ANGRY.
BRESLIN MUST HAVE FIGURED THAT BEING A MEMBER OF THE THIRD ESTATE ABSOLVED HIM FROM ANY POSSIBLE PUNISHMENT FOR HIS VULGAR SINS. AND BRESLIN WAS A BIG GUY, BOTH HORIZONTALLY AND VERTICALLY. BUT OBVIOUSLY NOT MENTALLY. THE VERTICAL PART COMES INTO PLAY LATER.
WELL, FINALLY A COUPLE OF GENTS HAD HAD ENOUGH OF BRESLIN'S MOUTH. THEY ROUGHED HIM UP A LITTLE, NOT TOO MUCH, THEN THREW HIM INTO THE EAST RIVER ACROSS THE STREET.
NOW IF BRESLIN HAD BEEN SOBER, WHILE HE WAS IN THE WATER, HE MIGHT HAVE SOLVED A FEW DOZEN MURDER CASES, NOT TO MENTION KNOCKING DOZENS OF CARS OFF THE STOLEN CAR RECORDS. (TELL THE TRUTH HERE. HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU KNOW DUMPED THEIR CARS IN THE EAST RIVER RATHER THAN REPLACE THE FAULTY ENGINE, OR TRANSMISSION, IN ORDER TO COLLECT THE INSURANCE?).
BUT BRESLIN WAS TOO INTENT ON NOT DROWNING. SO HE FLAILED AWAY AND YELLED FOR HELP, UNTIL SOME SOFT SOUL FISHED THE FAT BASTARD OUT OF THE EAST RIVER.THE VERY NEXT DAY, AND MY SAME RELIABLE SOURCES COME INTO PLAY, BRESLIN PERFORMED ACT II OF THE SAME PLAY. THE DRUNKEN, OBNOXIOUS BUM CAME INTO MOOCHIE'S AGAIN, AND AGAIN STARTED IN WITH HIS NAME CALLING.
ANOTHER TRIP TO THE EAST RIVER WAS THE RESULT.
SOME GUYS NEVER LEARN. SOON AFTER THIS, BRESLIN TOOK A LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM THE JOURNAL AMERICA. ACCORDING TO RELIABLE SOURCES, (THIS IS HOW I SAVE MY ASS PEOPLE) LOCKED HIMSELF IN HIS ROOM AT THE DOWNTOWN ATHLETIC CLUB AND WROTE "THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT."
THREE MEALS AND A BOTTLE OF BOOZE WAS SENT TO BRESLIN'S ROOM EVERY DAY TO STIMULATE HIS LITERARY JUICES, I ASSUME. THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF ANY OF THESE SAME BOTTLES BEING RETURNED OTHER THAN EMPTY.
BRESLIN'S BOOK MADE HIM A VERY RICH MAN, AS DID A FEW FOLLOW UP BOOKS, SOME OF WHICH I FIND ALMOST UNREADABLE. ONE EXCEPTION WAS HIS BIO ON DAMON RUNYON, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD.
BRESLIN QUIT DRINKING SOMETIME IN THE 70'S. THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, I RAN INTO BRESLIN A FEW TIMES WHEN HE WAS SOBER. UNFORTUNATELY, HE WAS STILL THE SAME OBNOXIOUS CLOWN, BUT AT LEAST HIS BREATH WAS LESS OFFENSIVE.
BARELY LESS OFFENSIVE

Who Is The Real Batman/Obama?

for all those KV baby boomer Batman fans. Personally, I wasn't one of them
from truthdig
as truthdig mentions, McCain's strategist's must have used this as inspiration
from wikipedia;

Batman is a 1960s American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network for two and a half seasons from January 12, 1966 to March 14, 1968. Despite its short run, the series had two weekly installments for most of its tenure, giving the show a total of 120 episodes ( the equivalent of roughly four regular seasons). It currently airs on the AmericanLife TV Network [1] and on BBC Four in the UK. The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot), a DC Comics supervillain, was introduced by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, making his debut in Detective Comics #58 (December 1941). The Penguin is depicted as a short, obese man and is one of Batman's greatest enemies. He is known for his love of birds and his specialized high-tech umbrellas. A mobster-type criminal, he fancies himself a "gentleman of crime"; his nightclub business provides a cover for more low-key criminal activity, which Batman tolerates as a source of criminal underworld information. Actor Burgess Meredith popularized the Penguin in the 1960s Batman television series, partially because of his signature squawking laughter.

Ezra Cohen Signs

from walter crutchfield 1991 The sign used to be at Allen and Broome.

image from 14 to 42 along with description It's a reference to the signs painted by the store at 307 Grand Street

These signs were painted by Bob Middleton approx. 1975. Bob still has the original layout for this job. The layout shows a telephone number beginning WA5, but the photo above has the number as 925-7800. Bob's memory is that "the Ezra Cohen phone number was changed after I painted it... [It] must have been painted by that sign shop after 1975 ???? Looks like Concord Outdoor work.

"

The Original Ezra Cohen

The name Ezra reminded me of Ezra Cohen on Grand Street. I thought he might be a fellow Greek Jew. Cohen is often a name with a Sephardic history.I researched and found that he was Sephardic, but of Egyptian-Turkish-Syrian ancestry. In 1918 Ezra is living at 31 Norfolk Street and working at the Oriental Jobber's Company at 55 Allen Street. By the 1940's he was evidently successful enough to make the exodus to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The image is of Ezra's WW2 draft registration card. btw Oriental is a term often use to describe Sephardic Jews.

Welcome Ezra, A New KV Alum Grandchild

image from 14 to 42
from Marv in Portland, Oregon:

Flash-Kuperstein boy child arrives at 5:09am PST weighs in at 9lbs,10oz,21 inches long. That's about what Jerry and I weighed together. His name is Ezra. He's gorgeous,no wrinkles, athletic torso and is ambidextrous I'm sure! I know he fended me off with his left arm, although it did wind up his own nose

from the nytimes of 1993

ORCHARD STREET will never be confused with a suburban shopping mall. Lining it are tenements laced with a spider's web of fire escapes. Levels and levels of coats are displayed above awesomely cluttered sidewalks. Throngs of people, all sworn never even to think of paying retail, paw suspiciously through mountains of merchandise, be it Italian silk sheets or three-for-$10 T-shirts.
In spirit, this marvelously raucous lane, which extends from Canal Street north to Houston, seems to have changed little since the turn of the century, when Yiddish was spoken everywhere and the Lower East Side was home to pushcarts, penny knife grinders and "glimmer men" who fitted eyeglass lenses by the process of elimination. But a second look suggests things may have changed fundamentally. Once almost all the property owners were Jewish; now a third are from other ethnic groups, principally Chinese, and the people who live above the stores these days tend to be of Asian or Hispanic descent. And for the first time, the traditionally Orthodox neighborhood has strung holiday lights, with a scrupulously correct mix of Jewish and Christian images. The lights represent one small component of an effort to fight back against economic forces that have combined to pull down one of America's most famous shopping areas. Some 400 local merchants and property owners have banded together in a business improvement district to advertise and promote the area, as well as to make community improvements. Their strategy is to burnish and market the historic character of this rambunctious bazaar -- to draw tourists and New Yorkers interested in reliving a bit of the city's more colorful history, while prowling sharklike for present-day bargains. "If we thrive, it's going to have a ripple effect on the entire area," said David Ceci, executive director of the group, the Lower East Side District Management Association. Two blows have particularly kicked the wind out of Orchard Street over the years. One is the gradual loss of the monopoly on Sunday shopping once enjoyed by a largely Jewish business district that closes on Saturdays; with blue laws now a two-decade old memory, Sunday shopping is ubiquitous. The other is the rise of discounting in all forms of retailing, meaning Orchard Street no longer has a special claim on bargain hunters. Throw in a long and bitter recession, major repairs on the East River bridges, persistent parking problems, drug selling and other crime, and an exodus of many loyal shoppers to the suburbs. The result is a prolonged business downturn. There is no body count on the number of businesses that have closed or moved, but the effect is starkly evident on Orchard south of Delancey, where the store vacancy rate is estimated by local realtors to be 15 percent. Fixtures that have moved or gone out of business in recent years include Ezra Cohen, one of the great linen stores; Eldridge Textile Company, which featured an enormous selection of bedspreads; Penchina Textile Company, Bernstein's kosher deli and the famous Grand dairy restaurant.

Attorney General's Jerome's Neighborhood

A visual, though 30 years post the actual date, of the scene described in two posts below about Jerome's neighborhood office on Rutger's Street near East Broadway. The large building at 10 Rutger's must be the structure that was just being constructed in 1902.

District Attorney William Travers Jerome

William Travers Jerome (1859 - 1934) was an American lawyer
Jerome was born in New York City in 1859. From 1894 to 1895, he worked in the Lexow Committee. In 1894, he managed the campaign of William L. Strong, who subsequently became mayor of New York City. The same year, he helped in the creation of a legislation that created the court of special sessions, where he himself was judge in the following year. Between 1901 and 1909, he served as district attorney of New York, where he lead a campaign against political corruption and crime, often leading raids personally, notably the one against the gambling house of Richard Canfield. He also acted as prosecutor in the trial against Harry Kendall Thaw for the murder of Stanford White. Jerome was also the the first cousin of Winston Churchill's mother Jenny

District Attorney Jerome Makes Himself At Home On The LES