George Rector
Encyclopedia
George Rector was a restaurateur, raconteur and food authority who wrote several cookbooks in the 1920s and 1930s. He also appeared on radio on the Columbia Broadcasting System
in "Dine with George Rector". He played himself in at least one movie, "Every Day's a Holiday (1937 film)" with Mae West.
In the introduction to his 1939 book Home on the Range, Rector described himself as "a sort of food representative at large," as well as an "author of several books, of a series of Saturday Evening Post articles, and of a column published by twenty-two newspapers — been filmed — talked to the national radio audience."
Rector was born in Chicago, where his father ran Rector's Oyster House. He claimed his father took him out of Cornell University
where he was studying law, and sent him to Paris to learn how to make a sauce for filet of sole. Doubt has been cast on parts of this story.
Rector and his father ran several restaurants in New York State and Chicago. In Home on the Range, he wrote that he got his start in the business peeling potatoes and cleaning chickens in his father's kitchens.
At Rector's on Broadway in New York City, he and his father were known for serving celebrities of the 1910s. George Rector's New York Times obituary stated Rector's was "a leading resort of the theatrical, financial and social worlds of those days." The restaurant closed with the coming of prohibition.
Rector's Broadway location gained fame in a 1909 Broadway musical, "The Girl from Rector's". The girl was fictional.
George Rector also operated Frontier House
in Lewiston, New York, which is now on the Register of Historic Places.
Rector died at Doctors Hospital, in New York City November 26, 1947, at the age of 69. His widow Mabelle Rector died in their Stamford, Connecticut home less than two months later at the age of 56.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in "Dine with George Rector". He played himself in at least one movie, "Every Day's a Holiday (1937 film)" with Mae West.
In the introduction to his 1939 book Home on the Range, Rector described himself as "a sort of food representative at large," as well as an "author of several books, of a series of Saturday Evening Post articles, and of a column published by twenty-two newspapers — been filmed — talked to the national radio audience."
Rector was born in Chicago, where his father ran Rector's Oyster House. He claimed his father took him out of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
where he was studying law, and sent him to Paris to learn how to make a sauce for filet of sole. Doubt has been cast on parts of this story.
Rector and his father ran several restaurants in New York State and Chicago. In Home on the Range, he wrote that he got his start in the business peeling potatoes and cleaning chickens in his father's kitchens.
At Rector's on Broadway in New York City, he and his father were known for serving celebrities of the 1910s. George Rector's New York Times obituary stated Rector's was "a leading resort of the theatrical, financial and social worlds of those days." The restaurant closed with the coming of prohibition.
Rector's Broadway location gained fame in a 1909 Broadway musical, "The Girl from Rector's". The girl was fictional.
George Rector also operated Frontier House
Frontier House (Lewiston, New York)
Frontier House was home to several Niagara County businessmen and honored guests. It was considered to be a premiere hotel in its day. The house is recognized as a landmark and a structure on the list of National Register of Historic Places listings in Niagara County, New York since 1974...
in Lewiston, New York, which is now on the Register of Historic Places.
Rector died at Doctors Hospital, in New York City November 26, 1947, at the age of 69. His widow Mabelle Rector died in their Stamford, Connecticut home less than two months later at the age of 56.