Taking a brief break from writing about NYC, I went today to my neighborhood bar, the Friendly Lounge. Above is a photo of Don, Friendly Lounge's co-owner and daytime bartender, dancing in Philadelphia's Latin nightclub in 1959.
The MC is Allan Drake. He appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Dean Martin Comedy Hour, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and an episode of Sanford and Son. Drake's wife was killed by Mafia hitman, Tony Mirra.
Wikipedia, "Mirra worked for Bonanno capo Michael Zaffarano, and was involved in extortion, gambling and drug trafficking. During the 1970s, Mirra confessed to the 1959 assassination of Anthony Carfano and comedian Alan Drake's wife, Janice Hansen Drake. He stood at 6'3" and weighed 230 pounds. The New York Times correspondent Ralph Blumenthal described Mirra's appearance as "Zorba-like". Mirra never drank alcohol, only ginger ale."
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When George, the mailman, showed up today, Don said, "There he is! He's bringing me my sex doll!"
George to Don and me, "When is a man smartest, before sex, during sex or after sex?"
"During sex," I guessed.
"Why?"
"Because he's focused?"
"No, because he's plugged to a know-it-all!"
George has been on the same route for 15 years.
Regarding the photo above, Don said, "That's my ten minutes of fame. It's better than being caught walking out of a gay sauna at 2 in the morning."
"Which you did last night," I said.
"Yeah, which I did last night!"
Don's favorite presidents are Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt, and his favorite attorney general is Ramsey Clark.
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1 comment:
That's a great photo. We should all have brushes w/greatness such as this. I don't know what mine would be. I don't know that I have a favorite president either. Lincoln probably. He fought a war to keep the country together. That took some amazing fortitude. I can understand how some people hated him though. He was a bit dictatorial although I believe he had to be. Of course the white southerners hated him because they thought he was going to end their way of existence & he did. Blacks dug him, I'm sure, no-one likes to be a slave.
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