Stork Club
Encyclopedia
The Stork Club was a nightclub
in New York City
from 1929 to 1965. From 1934 onwards, it was located at 3 East 53rd Street
, just east of Fifth Avenue
. The building was demolished in 1966 and the site is now the location of Paley Park
, a small vest-pocket park
.
(1900–1966), an ex-bootlegger
who came to New York from Enid, Oklahoma
.
From the end of Prohibition
in 1933 until the early 1960s, the club was the symbol of café society
. Movie stars, celebrities, the wealthy, showgirl
s, and aristocrats all mixed here. Other New York City clubs had the sophistication (El Morocco
) and drew the sporting crowd (Toots Shor's Restaurant
), but the Stork Club mixed power, money and glamour. Unlike its competitors, the Stork stayed open on Sunday nights and during the summer months.
The Stork Club first opened in 1929 at 132 West 58th Street, just down the block from Billingsley's apartment at 152 West 58th Street. Billingsley's hand-written recollections of the early days recount his working in his New York real estate office when two gamblers he knew from Oklahoma came to him, saying they wanted to open a restaurant. Billingsley went into partnership with them. This was the beginning of the Stork Club, but he could not remember how the club's name was chosen, saying, "Don't ask me how or why I picked the name, because I just don't remember."
One of the first Stork Club customers was writer Heywood Broun
, who was also a neighborhood resident. But Broun's first visit to the Stork was actually made by mistake; he believed it to be a funeral home. Billingsley wrote, "Broun walked in quietly, put his hat down on a table and went back in the rear room to pay his respect to the body but instead of a body he found a bar. He walked over to the bar, had several drinks, liked the place and came back very often, bringing his celebrity friends." Before long, Billingsley's Oklahoma partners sold their shares to a man named Thomas Healy.
Eventually Mr. Healy revealed that he was a "front" for three New York mobsters. While now aware of the situation and uncomfortable with it, Billingsley was kidnapped and held for ransom by Mad Dog Coll
, who was a rival of his mob partners. Before the ransom money could be collected by Coll, Billingsley's gangster partners put a bounty on his head; Coll was lured to a telephone booth where he was shot to death. The secret gangster partners reluctantly allowed Billingsley to buy them out for $30,000 after the incident.
Prohibition agents closed the club on December 22, 1931, and it moved to East 51st Street
for three years. In 1934, the Stork Club moved to 3 East 53rd Street, where it remained until it closed on October 4, 1965. When the Stork Club became a tenant in 1934, the building was known as the Physicians and Surgeons Building. Many of the medical tenants were unhappy about the night club moving in. Billingsley purchased the seven story building in February 1946 for $300,000 cash, evicting the doctors to expand the club. By 1936, the Stork was doing well enough to have a million dollar gross for the first time. From the physical layout of the club, as described by Ed Sullivan in a 1939 column, the Stork should have been doomed to failure, since it was strangely-shaped and far from roomy in places. Billingsley's hospitality with food, drink, and gifts overcame the structural deficits to keep his patrons returning time after time. When the East 53rd Street building came down to make way for Paley Park, one of the artifacts found in it was a still
. The New York Historical Society displayed that along with other Stork Club items and memorabilia in an exhibit in 2000. Today the ornamental bar of the Stork Club is to be found in Jim Brady's Bar in Maiden Lane.
Another New York nightclub owner named Tex Guinan (Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan) introduced Billingsley to her friend, the entertainment and gossip columnist Walter Winchell
in 1930. In Winchell's column in the New York Daily Mirror
, he once called the Stork Club "New York's New Yorkiest place on W. 58th". Winchell was a regular at the Stork Club; what he saw and heard there at his private Table 50 was the basis of his newspaper columns and radio broadcasts. Billingsley also kept professionals on his staff whose job was to listen to the chatter, determine fact from rumor, and then report the factual news to local columnists. The practice was seen as protective of the patrons by shielding them from unfounded reports, and also a continual source of publicity for the club. Billingsley's long-standing relationship with Ethel Merman
brought the theater crowd to the Stork. Merman had a waiter assigned to her whose job was just to light her cigarettes. A feature of the club was a solid 14 karat gold chain at its entrance; patrons were allowed entry through it by the doorman. The dining room featured live bands for dancing; Billingsley kept control of the action through a series of hand signals to his help.
, in his syndicated column "This New York". Notable guests through the years included:
Celebrities who were banned from the club included Milton Berle
, Elliott Roosevelt
, Humphrey Bogart
, and Jackie Gleason
.
The news of Grace Kelly's engagement to Prince Rainier of Monaco broke at the Stork. The couple was at the club on Tuesday, January 3, 1956, as the rumors flew. Veteran columnist Jack O'Brian passed Kelly a note, saying that reliable sources indicated she was about to become engaged to the Prince. Kelly replied she could not answer the question posed by O'Brian until Friday.
Those who were snubbed did not always depart quietly. When Jack Benny
invited long-time friend, writer and performer Goodman Ace
to lunch with him at the Stork, Ace arrived at the club first and received the "cold shoulder" because he was not recognized by the staff. When Benny arrived and asked for Ace, he was told that he "became tired of waiting and left". Soon Ace's mailbox was full of messages from the Stork, which he proceeded to answer. Their message about the club's wonderful air conditioning brought a response from Ace that after having received an icy reception there, he was well aware of the climate. Billingsley responded with a gift of some bow ties; Ace answered that he needed some socks to match so he might be turned down there again in style.
, the Cub Room ("the snub room"), was guarded by a captain called "Saint Peter" (for the saint who guards the gates of Heaven
). The most famous of them was John "Jack" Spooner; he was well-known to many celebrities from his previous duties at LaHiff's. Billingsley recruited him in 1934 after the death of Billy Lahiff and the subsequent closure of his club. Spooner began an autograph book for his daughter, Amelia, while working at LaHiff's. Billingsley encouraged him to bring "The Book" to the Stork Club, where stars continued to sign it. Some who were famous illustrators or cartoonists such as E. C. Segar
(Popeye), Chic Young
(Blondie), and Theodore Geisel ("Dr. Seuss
") would add personalized doodles or drawings for Spooner's young daughter. Billingsley's rule of thumb for his help, "If you know them...they don't belong in here," did not apply to Spooner. It was Spooner's knowing the patrons and socializing with them away from the job that helped make the Stork Club so successful with attracting celebrity clients. At Christmas, Spooner dressed as Santa Claus, posing for photos with old and young alike. Billingsley's original plan for the Cub Room was for it to be a private place for playing gin rummy with his friends. The room was added to the club during World War II.
Besides the Cub Room, the Main Dining Room, and the bar, the club contained a private room for parties, the "Blessed Event Room", a "Loner's Room", which was much like a men's club, and a private barber shop.
Owner Billingsley was well-known for his extravagant gifts presented to his favorite patrons, spending an average of $100,000 a year on them. They included compacts studded with diamonds and rubies, French perfumes, champagne and other liquors, and even automobiles. Many of the gifts were specially made for the Stork club, with the club's name and logo on them. Some of the best known examples were the gifts of Sortilege perfume by Le Galion. Billingsley convinced Arthur Godfrey
, Morton Downey
, and his own assistant, Steve Hannigan, to form an investment group with him to obtain the United States distributorship of the fragrance. It was also Billingsley's standard practice to send every regular club patron a case of champagne at Christmas.
Sunday night was "Balloon Night". As is common with New Year's celebrations, balloons were held on the ceiling by a net and the net would open at the stroke of midnight. As the balloons came down, the ladies would begin frantically trying to catch them. Each contained a number and a drawing would be held for the prizes, which ranged from charms for bracelets to automobiles; there were also at least three $100 bills folded and placed randomly in the balloons.
His generosity was not confined to those who were always at the club. Billingsley received the following letter in 1955: "I am grateful to you for your thoughtful kindness in sending me such a generous selection of attractive neckties. At the same time may I once again thank you for the cigars that you regularly send to the White House?" It was signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower
. During World War II, three bomber planes were christened with the name of the Stork Club. Billingsley commissioned Tiffany & Co.
to produce sterling silver Stork club logo Victory pins as gifts for their crew members. Patrons were not always on the receiving end; Billingsley's writings claimed that one of his waiters received a $20,000 tip. A bartender received a new Cadillac from a grateful patron, and a headwaiter received a $10,000 tip from tennis star Fred Perry
. The real purpose of the Stork Club was people watching other people, particularly non-celebrities watching celebrities. It was necessary for Billingsley to give the expensive gifts and to provide some to all of a celebrity's Stork Club services for free to bring the stars to the club and keep them coming back. The notables were what brought people from all over the country in all walks of life to visit the Stork Club.
made charges of racism against the Stork Club after she ordered a steak and was apparently still waiting for it an hour later. Actress Grace Kelly
, who was at the club at the time, rushed over to Baker, took her by the arm and stormed out with her entire party.
The controversy grew when Baker accused Walter Winchell of being in the Cub Room at the time and not coming to her aid. Winchell was at the club and had, he said, greeted Baker and one of her friends as the two went to use the Stork Club's pay phone. He said he was not aware of there being any problem, and left for a late screening of the film The Desert Fox
. The next morning, Winchell's rumored failure to assist Baker was big news, and he received countless telephone calls. Mrs. Rico, who was part of the Baker party with her husband, said that Baker's steak was waiting for her at the table after she returned from her phone call, but the entertainer chose to make a stormy exit from the Stork anyhow. News accounts show conflicting statements from the Ricos. Baker also filed suit against Winchell over the matter, but the suit was dismissed in 1955.
Along with that of Billingsley and the Stork Club, Walter Winchell's name was further tarnished by the incident. After leaving the Stork, the Baker party made contact with WMCA
's Barry Gray
, where the story was told as part of Gray's radio talk show. One of those who phoned Gray's program was television personality and columnist Ed Sullivan
, a professional rival of Winchell's whose "home base" was the El Morocco
nightclub. Sullivan's on-air remarks dealt mainly with Winchell's alleged part in the event, saying, "What Winchell has done is an insult to the United States and American newspaper men."
A New York police investigation of the matter followed the complaint made by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP). It found that the Stork Club did not discriminate against Josephine Baker. The NAACP went on to say that the results of the police investigation did not provide enough evidence for the organization to pursue the incident further in criminal court.
Because of Billingsley's long-standing friendship with Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) head J. Edgar Hoover, rumors persisted that the Stork Club was bugged. During his work on the Stork Club book, author and New York Times reporter Ralph Blumenthal was contacted by Jean-Claude Baker
, one of Josephine Baker's sons. Having read a Blumenthal-written story about Leonard Bernstein
's FBI file, he indicated that he had read his mother's FBI file and by comparing the file to the tapes, said he thought the Stork Club incident was overblown.
Many of his patrons no longer visited the night spot as a result of the union dispute, and many of Billingsley's friendships, including those of Walter Winchell and J. Edgar Hoover, were broken. He began firing staff without good cause. As the dispute dragged on, there was also no longer a live band in the dining room for music. In 1963, the club that had never needed to advertise offered a hamburger and French fries for $1.99 in the New York Times; when those in the know about the club saw it, they realized the Stork Club's days were coming to an end. In the last few months of its operation, at times there were only three customers for the entire evening.
When the Stork Club initially closed its doors, news stories indicated it was being shut because the building it occupied had been sold and a new location was being sought. The years of labor disputes had taken their toll on Billingsley financially. Trying to keep the Stork Club going took all of his assets and about $10 million from his three daughters' trust funds. While in the hospital recuperating from a serious illness in October 1965, Billingsley sold the building to Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), who turned the site into a park named after its founder's father. In a 1937 interview, Billingsley said, "I hope I'll be running a night club the last day I live." He fell just short of that mark. One year to the day after the closing of the Stork Club, Sherman Billingsley died of a heart attack at his Manhattan apartment, leaving a wife, Hazel, and three daughters, Jacqueline, Barbara, and Shermane.
hosted by Billingsley, who circulated among the tables interviewing guests at the club. Sponsored by Fatima
cigarette
s, the series ran from 1950 to 1955. The television show was directed by Yul Brynner
, who was a TV director before he was a star of stage and screen. The program began on CBS with the network having built a replica of the Cub Room on the Stork Club's sixth floor to serve as the set for the show. Billingsley was paid $12,000 each week as its host. The television show moved to ABC
by 1955; on the broadcast of May 8 of that year, Billingsley made some remarks about a fellow New York restaurateur's (Bernard "Toots" Shor
) financial solvency and honesty. Shor responded by suing for a million dollars. He collected just under $50,000 as a settlement in March 1959; the Stork Club television show ended in the same year the statements were made.
There was also a Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse presentation, Murder At The Stork Club, which was aired on NBC
January 15, 1950. Franchot Tone
and Billingsley had cameo roles in the television drama. The television show was an adaptation of Vera Caspary
's 1946 mystery novel, The Murder in the Stork Club, where the action took place in and around the famous nightclub, with Sherman Billingsley and other real-life characters appearing in the plot.
The Stork Club was also featured in several movies, including The Stork Club
(1945), Executive Suite
(1954), and My Favorite Year
(1982).
In All About Eve
(1950), the characters played by Bette Davis
, Gary Merrill
, Anne Baxter
and George Sanders
are shown in the Cub Room of the Stork Club.
The Alfred Hitchcock
film The Wrong Man
(1957) starred Henry Fonda
as real-life Stork Club bassist
Christopher Emanuel Balestrero ("Manny"), who was falsely accused of committing robberies around New York City. Scenes involving Balestrero playing the bass were actually shot at the club. The film's screenplay, written by Maxwell Anderson
, was based on a true story originally published in Life
magazine.
The Stork Club was featured in the second season episode of AMC's dramatic television series Mad Men
titled "The Golden Violin". The club provided the setting for a party attended by characters Don and Betty Draper in celebration of comedian Jimmy Barrett.
The Stork Club is mentioned in Captain America: The First Avenger
. The titular character and his love interest agree to meet there for a date in one week.
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from 1929 to 1965. From 1934 onwards, it was located at 3 East 53rd Street
53rd Street (Manhattan)
53rd Street is a midtown cross street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, that contains buildings such as the Citicorp Building. It is 1.83 miles long. The street runs westbound from Sutton Place across most of the island's width, ending at DeWitt Clinton Park at Eleventh Avenue...
, just east of Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...
. The building was demolished in 1966 and the site is now the location of Paley Park
Paley Park
Paley Park is a pocket park located at 3 East 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan on the former site of the Stork Club. Designed by the landscape architectural firm of Zion & Breen, it opened May 23, 1967 on the former site of the Stork Club...
, a small vest-pocket park
Pocket park
A pocket park, parkette or mini-park is a small park accessible to the general public. In some areas they are called miniparks or vest-pocket parks....
.
History
The Stork Club was owned and operated by Sherman BillingsleySherman Billingsley
Sherman Billingsley was an American nightclub owner and former bootlegger who was the founder and owner of New York's Stork Club....
(1900–1966), an ex-bootlegger
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
who came to New York from Enid, Oklahoma
Enid, Oklahoma
Enid is a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. In 2010, the population was 49,379, making it the ninth largest city in Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, and is named after Enid, a...
.
From the end of Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
in 1933 until the early 1960s, the club was the symbol of café society
Café Society
Café society was the collective description for the so-called "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafes and restaurants in New York, Paris, and London beginning in the late 19th century...
. Movie stars, celebrities, the wealthy, showgirl
Showgirl
A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
s, and aristocrats all mixed here. Other New York City clubs had the sophistication (El Morocco
El Morocco
El Morocco was a 20th century Manhattan nightclub frequented by the rich and famous in the 1930s and 1950s. It was famous for its blue zebra-stripe motif and its official photographer, Jerome Zerbe.-History:In 1931, John Perona , an Italian...
) and drew the sporting crowd (Toots Shor's Restaurant
Toots Shor's Restaurant
Toots Shor's Restaurant was a restaurant and lounge owned and operated by Bernard "Toots" Shor at 51 West 51st Street in Manhattan during the 1940s and 1950s. Its oversized circular bar was a New York landmark....
), but the Stork Club mixed power, money and glamour. Unlike its competitors, the Stork stayed open on Sunday nights and during the summer months.
The Stork Club first opened in 1929 at 132 West 58th Street, just down the block from Billingsley's apartment at 152 West 58th Street. Billingsley's hand-written recollections of the early days recount his working in his New York real estate office when two gamblers he knew from Oklahoma came to him, saying they wanted to open a restaurant. Billingsley went into partnership with them. This was the beginning of the Stork Club, but he could not remember how the club's name was chosen, saying, "Don't ask me how or why I picked the name, because I just don't remember."
One of the first Stork Club customers was writer Heywood Broun
Heywood Broun
Heywood Campbell Broun, Jr. was an American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, now known as The Newspaper Guild. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he is best remembered for his writing on social issues and...
, who was also a neighborhood resident. But Broun's first visit to the Stork was actually made by mistake; he believed it to be a funeral home. Billingsley wrote, "Broun walked in quietly, put his hat down on a table and went back in the rear room to pay his respect to the body but instead of a body he found a bar. He walked over to the bar, had several drinks, liked the place and came back very often, bringing his celebrity friends." Before long, Billingsley's Oklahoma partners sold their shares to a man named Thomas Healy.
Eventually Mr. Healy revealed that he was a "front" for three New York mobsters. While now aware of the situation and uncomfortable with it, Billingsley was kidnapped and held for ransom by Mad Dog Coll
Mad Dog Coll
Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll was an Irish mob hitman in 1920s New York City. Coll gained notoriety for the accidental killing of a young child during a mob kidnap attempt.-Early years:...
, who was a rival of his mob partners. Before the ransom money could be collected by Coll, Billingsley's gangster partners put a bounty on his head; Coll was lured to a telephone booth where he was shot to death. The secret gangster partners reluctantly allowed Billingsley to buy them out for $30,000 after the incident.
Prohibition agents closed the club on December 22, 1931, and it moved to East 51st Street
51st Street (Manhattan)
51st Street is a long one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.-East 51st Street:*The route officially begins at Beekman Place which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive...
for three years. In 1934, the Stork Club moved to 3 East 53rd Street, where it remained until it closed on October 4, 1965. When the Stork Club became a tenant in 1934, the building was known as the Physicians and Surgeons Building. Many of the medical tenants were unhappy about the night club moving in. Billingsley purchased the seven story building in February 1946 for $300,000 cash, evicting the doctors to expand the club. By 1936, the Stork was doing well enough to have a million dollar gross for the first time. From the physical layout of the club, as described by Ed Sullivan in a 1939 column, the Stork should have been doomed to failure, since it was strangely-shaped and far from roomy in places. Billingsley's hospitality with food, drink, and gifts overcame the structural deficits to keep his patrons returning time after time. When the East 53rd Street building came down to make way for Paley Park, one of the artifacts found in it was a still
Still
A still is a permanent apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor...
. The New York Historical Society displayed that along with other Stork Club items and memorabilia in an exhibit in 2000. Today the ornamental bar of the Stork Club is to be found in Jim Brady's Bar in Maiden Lane.
Another New York nightclub owner named Tex Guinan (Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan) introduced Billingsley to her friend, the entertainment and gossip columnist Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell was an American newspaper and radio gossip commentator.-Professional career:Born Walter Weinschel in New York City, he left school in the sixth grade and started performing in a vaudeville troupe known as Gus Edwards' "Newsboys Sextet."His career in journalism was begun by posting...
in 1930. In Winchell's column in the New York Daily Mirror
New York Daily Mirror
The New York Daily Mirror was an American morning tabloid newspaper first published on June 24, 1924, in New York City by the William Randolph Hearst organization as a contrast to their mainstream broadsheets, the Evening Journal and New York American, later consolidated into the New York Journal...
, he once called the Stork Club "New York's New Yorkiest place on W. 58th". Winchell was a regular at the Stork Club; what he saw and heard there at his private Table 50 was the basis of his newspaper columns and radio broadcasts. Billingsley also kept professionals on his staff whose job was to listen to the chatter, determine fact from rumor, and then report the factual news to local columnists. The practice was seen as protective of the patrons by shielding them from unfounded reports, and also a continual source of publicity for the club. Billingsley's long-standing relationship with Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
brought the theater crowd to the Stork. Merman had a waiter assigned to her whose job was just to light her cigarettes. A feature of the club was a solid 14 karat gold chain at its entrance; patrons were allowed entry through it by the doorman. The dining room featured live bands for dancing; Billingsley kept control of the action through a series of hand signals to his help.
Celebrities
The activities of the "boldface" celebrities at the Stork Club were chronicled by the "orchidaceous oracle of cafe society", Lucius BeebeLucius Beebe
Lucius Morris Beebe was an American author, gourmand, photographer, railroad historian, journalist, and syndicated columnist.-Early life and education:...
, in his syndicated column "This New York". Notable guests through the years included:
- Lucille BallLucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
- Tallulah BankheadTallulah BankheadTallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
- Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
- Frank CostelloFrank CostelloFrank Costello was an Italian New York City gangster who rose to the top of America's underworld, controlled a vast gambling empire across the United States and enjoyed political influence.Nicknamed the "Prime Minister of the Underworld", he became one of the most powerful and influential Mafia...
- Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
- the DukeEdward VIII of the United KingdomEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
and Duchess of Windsor (once given the cold shoulder there by Winchell) - Brenda FrazierBrenda FrazierNot to be confused with actor Brendan FraserBrenda Diana Duff Frazier was an American debutante popular during the Depression era...
- Dorothy FrooksDorothy FrooksDorothy Frooks was an American author, publisher, military figure and actress. An intriguing figure for most of her long life, Frooks was active in public affairs and in the military....
- Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
- the Harrimans
- Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
- Judy HollidayJudy HollidayJudy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
- J. Edgar HooverJ. Edgar HooverJohn Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
- Grace KellyGrace KellyGrace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
- the KennedysKennedy familyIn the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
- Dorothy KilgallenDorothy KilgallenDorothy Mae Kilgallen was an American journalist and television game show panelist. She started her career early as a reporter for the Hearst Corporation's New York Evening Journal after spending only two semesters at The College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, New York...
- Dorothy LamourDorothy LamourDorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
(who was turned down as a club singer by Billingsley early in her career) - Robert M. McBrideRobert M. McBrideRobert Medill McBride was the publisher of James Branch Cabell and the later books of Frank Buck .-Early years:...
- Marilyn MonroeMarilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
- the Nordstrom SistersNordstrom SistersThe Nordstrom Sisters were an American cabaret act which performed internationally from 1931 to 1976.Dagmar Nordstrom the younger of the two sisters was a composer, arranger and the pianist of the duo...
- Erik RhodesErik Rhodes (actor)Erik Rhodes was an American film and Broadway singer and actor. He is best remembered today for appearing in two classic Hollywood musical films with popular dancing team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, The Gay Divorcee and Top Hat .-Biography:Born Ernest Sharpe at El Reno, Indian Territory,...
- the RooseveltsRoosevelt familyIn heraldry, canting arms are a visual or pictorial play on a surname, and were and still are a popular practice. It would be common to find roses, then, in arms of many Roosevelt families, even unrelated ones...
- Ramón Rivero (Diplo)Ramón Rivero (Diplo)Ramón Rivero — known as Diplo — was a comedian, actor, composer and a pioneer in Puerto Rico's television and cinema industries...
- J. D. SalingerJ. D. SalingerJerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980....
- Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
- Elizabeth TaylorElizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
- Gene TierneyGene TierneyGene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
- Gloria VanderbiltGloria VanderbiltGloria Laura Vanderbilt is an American artist, author, actress, heiress, and socialite most noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans...
Celebrities who were banned from the club included Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
, Elliott Roosevelt
Elliott Roosevelt
Elliott Roosevelt was a United States Army Air Forces officer and an author. Roosevelt was a son of U.S. President Franklin D...
, Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, and Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
.
The news of Grace Kelly's engagement to Prince Rainier of Monaco broke at the Stork. The couple was at the club on Tuesday, January 3, 1956, as the rumors flew. Veteran columnist Jack O'Brian passed Kelly a note, saying that reliable sources indicated she was about to become engaged to the Prince. Kelly replied she could not answer the question posed by O'Brian until Friday.
Those who were snubbed did not always depart quietly. When Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
invited long-time friend, writer and performer Goodman Ace
Goodman Ace
Goodman Ace , born Goodman Aiskowitz, was an American humourist, working as a radio writer and comedian, a television writer, and a magazine columnist....
to lunch with him at the Stork, Ace arrived at the club first and received the "cold shoulder" because he was not recognized by the staff. When Benny arrived and asked for Ace, he was told that he "became tired of waiting and left". Soon Ace's mailbox was full of messages from the Stork, which he proceeded to answer. Their message about the club's wonderful air conditioning brought a response from Ace that after having received an icy reception there, he was well aware of the climate. Billingsley responded with a gift of some bow ties; Ace answered that he needed some socks to match so he might be turned down there again in style.
The Cub Room and Stork Club gifts
The sanctum sanctorumSanctum sanctorum
The Latin phrase sanctum sanctorum is a Latin translation of the biblical term: "Holy of Holies" which generally refers in Latin texts to the Holiest place of the Tabernacle of Ancient Israel and later the Temples in Jerusalem, but also has some derivative use in application to imitations of the...
, the Cub Room ("the snub room"), was guarded by a captain called "Saint Peter" (for the saint who guards the gates of Heaven
Pearly gates
The pearly gates is an informal name for the gateway to Heaven according to some Christian denominations. It is inspired by the description of the New Jerusalem in Book of...
). The most famous of them was John "Jack" Spooner; he was well-known to many celebrities from his previous duties at LaHiff's. Billingsley recruited him in 1934 after the death of Billy Lahiff and the subsequent closure of his club. Spooner began an autograph book for his daughter, Amelia, while working at LaHiff's. Billingsley encouraged him to bring "The Book" to the Stork Club, where stars continued to sign it. Some who were famous illustrators or cartoonists such as E. C. Segar
E. C. Segar
Elzie Crisler Segar was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of Popeye, a character who first appeared in 1929 in his comic strip Thimble Theatre. Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest it was "SEE-gar". He commonly signed his work simply Segar or E...
(Popeye), Chic Young
Chic Young
Murat Bernard Young , better known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist who created the popular, long-running comic strip Blondie. His 1919 William McKinley High School Yearbook cites his nickname as Chicken, source of his familiar pen name and signature...
(Blondie), and Theodore Geisel ("Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
") would add personalized doodles or drawings for Spooner's young daughter. Billingsley's rule of thumb for his help, "If you know them...they don't belong in here," did not apply to Spooner. It was Spooner's knowing the patrons and socializing with them away from the job that helped make the Stork Club so successful with attracting celebrity clients. At Christmas, Spooner dressed as Santa Claus, posing for photos with old and young alike. Billingsley's original plan for the Cub Room was for it to be a private place for playing gin rummy with his friends. The room was added to the club during World War II.
Besides the Cub Room, the Main Dining Room, and the bar, the club contained a private room for parties, the "Blessed Event Room", a "Loner's Room", which was much like a men's club, and a private barber shop.
Owner Billingsley was well-known for his extravagant gifts presented to his favorite patrons, spending an average of $100,000 a year on them. They included compacts studded with diamonds and rubies, French perfumes, champagne and other liquors, and even automobiles. Many of the gifts were specially made for the Stork club, with the club's name and logo on them. Some of the best known examples were the gifts of Sortilege perfume by Le Galion. Billingsley convinced Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
, Morton Downey
Morton Downey
Morton Downey was a singer popular in the United States, enjoying his greatest success in the 1930s and 1940s. Downey was nicknamed "The Irish Nightingale".-Early years:...
, and his own assistant, Steve Hannigan, to form an investment group with him to obtain the United States distributorship of the fragrance. It was also Billingsley's standard practice to send every regular club patron a case of champagne at Christmas.
Sunday night was "Balloon Night". As is common with New Year's celebrations, balloons were held on the ceiling by a net and the net would open at the stroke of midnight. As the balloons came down, the ladies would begin frantically trying to catch them. Each contained a number and a drawing would be held for the prizes, which ranged from charms for bracelets to automobiles; there were also at least three $100 bills folded and placed randomly in the balloons.
His generosity was not confined to those who were always at the club. Billingsley received the following letter in 1955: "I am grateful to you for your thoughtful kindness in sending me such a generous selection of attractive neckties. At the same time may I once again thank you for the cigars that you regularly send to the White House?" It was signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. During World War II, three bomber planes were christened with the name of the Stork Club. Billingsley commissioned Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
to produce sterling silver Stork club logo Victory pins as gifts for their crew members. Patrons were not always on the receiving end; Billingsley's writings claimed that one of his waiters received a $20,000 tip. A bartender received a new Cadillac from a grateful patron, and a headwaiter received a $10,000 tip from tennis star Fred Perry
Fred Perry
Frederick John Perry was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row...
. The real purpose of the Stork Club was people watching other people, particularly non-celebrities watching celebrities. It was necessary for Billingsley to give the expensive gifts and to provide some to all of a celebrity's Stork Club services for free to bring the stars to the club and keep them coming back. The notables were what brought people from all over the country in all walks of life to visit the Stork Club.
Controversies
In 1951, Josephine BakerJosephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
made charges of racism against the Stork Club after she ordered a steak and was apparently still waiting for it an hour later. Actress Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
, who was at the club at the time, rushed over to Baker, took her by the arm and stormed out with her entire party.
The controversy grew when Baker accused Walter Winchell of being in the Cub Room at the time and not coming to her aid. Winchell was at the club and had, he said, greeted Baker and one of her friends as the two went to use the Stork Club's pay phone. He said he was not aware of there being any problem, and left for a late screening of the film The Desert Fox
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel is a 1951 biographical film about Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in the later stages of World War II. It stars James Mason in the title role, was directed by Henry Hathaway, and was based on the book Rommel by Brigadier Desmond Young, who served in the Indian Army in...
. The next morning, Winchell's rumored failure to assist Baker was big news, and he received countless telephone calls. Mrs. Rico, who was part of the Baker party with her husband, said that Baker's steak was waiting for her at the table after she returned from her phone call, but the entertainer chose to make a stormy exit from the Stork anyhow. News accounts show conflicting statements from the Ricos. Baker also filed suit against Winchell over the matter, but the suit was dismissed in 1955.
Along with that of Billingsley and the Stork Club, Walter Winchell's name was further tarnished by the incident. After leaving the Stork, the Baker party made contact with WMCA
WMCA
WMCA, 570 AM, is a radio station in New York City, most known for its "Good Guys" Top 40 era in the 1960s. It is currently owned by Salem Communications and plays a Christian radio format...
's Barry Gray
Barry Gray (radio)
Barry Gray was an influential American radio personality, often labeled as "The father of Talk Radio"....
, where the story was told as part of Gray's radio talk show. One of those who phoned Gray's program was television personality and columnist Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
, a professional rival of Winchell's whose "home base" was the El Morocco
El Morocco
El Morocco was a 20th century Manhattan nightclub frequented by the rich and famous in the 1930s and 1950s. It was famous for its blue zebra-stripe motif and its official photographer, Jerome Zerbe.-History:In 1931, John Perona , an Italian...
nightclub. Sullivan's on-air remarks dealt mainly with Winchell's alleged part in the event, saying, "What Winchell has done is an insult to the United States and American newspaper men."
A New York police investigation of the matter followed the complaint made by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP). It found that the Stork Club did not discriminate against Josephine Baker. The NAACP went on to say that the results of the police investigation did not provide enough evidence for the organization to pursue the incident further in criminal court.
Because of Billingsley's long-standing friendship with Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) head J. Edgar Hoover, rumors persisted that the Stork Club was bugged. During his work on the Stork Club book, author and New York Times reporter Ralph Blumenthal was contacted by Jean-Claude Baker
Jean-Claude Baker
Jean-Claude Baker, born Jean-Claude Julien Léon Tronville in Dijon, France, is an American restaurateur. He met the American-born French entertainer Josephine Baker when he was working as a bellhop in Paris, at the age of fourteen, in 1958. He then became the last of twelve children adopted into...
, one of Josephine Baker's sons. Having read a Blumenthal-written story about Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's FBI file, he indicated that he had read his mother's FBI file and by comparing the file to the tapes, said he thought the Stork Club incident was overblown.
Union issues write the final chapter
Hard times began for the Stork Club in 1956, when it lost money for the first time. In 1957, unions tried once again to organize the club's employees. Their major effort ten years before had been unsuccessful; at that time, Sherman Billingsley was accused of attempting to influence his employees to stay out of the union with lavish staff parties and financial gifts. By 1957, all other similar New York clubs except the Stork Club were now unionized. This met with resistance from Billingsley and many dependable employees left the Stork Club over his refusal to allow them to be represented by a union. Picket lines were set up and marched in front of the club daily for years, including the club's last day of business. The club received many threats connected to his refusal to accept unions for his workers; some of the threats involved Billingsley's family. In 1957, he was arrested for displaying a gun when some painters who were working at the Austrian Consulate next to the family's home sat on his stoop for lunch. Billingsley admitted to acting rashly because of the threats. Three months before his arrest, his secretary was assaulted as she was entering the building where she lived; her assailants made references to the union issues at the Stork Club.Many of his patrons no longer visited the night spot as a result of the union dispute, and many of Billingsley's friendships, including those of Walter Winchell and J. Edgar Hoover, were broken. He began firing staff without good cause. As the dispute dragged on, there was also no longer a live band in the dining room for music. In 1963, the club that had never needed to advertise offered a hamburger and French fries for $1.99 in the New York Times; when those in the know about the club saw it, they realized the Stork Club's days were coming to an end. In the last few months of its operation, at times there were only three customers for the entire evening.
When the Stork Club initially closed its doors, news stories indicated it was being shut because the building it occupied had been sold and a new location was being sought. The years of labor disputes had taken their toll on Billingsley financially. Trying to keep the Stork Club going took all of his assets and about $10 million from his three daughters' trust funds. While in the hospital recuperating from a serious illness in October 1965, Billingsley sold the building to Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), who turned the site into a park named after its founder's father. In a 1937 interview, Billingsley said, "I hope I'll be running a night club the last day I live." He fell just short of that mark. One year to the day after the closing of the Stork Club, Sherman Billingsley died of a heart attack at his Manhattan apartment, leaving a wife, Hazel, and three daughters, Jacqueline, Barbara, and Shermane.
Television and movies
The Stork Club was a television seriesTelevision program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
hosted by Billingsley, who circulated among the tables interviewing guests at the club. Sponsored by Fatima
Fatima (cigarette)
Fatima Cigarettes was a brand of cigarette produced in the United States by the Liggett & Myers tobacco company. The brand dates to the 19th century, and was marketed as an exotic blend of Turkish tobaccos. The name Fatima, a common Turkish or Arabic woman's name, helped bolster the Turkish image...
cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
s, the series ran from 1950 to 1955. The television show was directed by Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
, who was a TV director before he was a star of stage and screen. The program began on CBS with the network having built a replica of the Cub Room on the Stork Club's sixth floor to serve as the set for the show. Billingsley was paid $12,000 each week as its host. The television show moved to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
by 1955; on the broadcast of May 8 of that year, Billingsley made some remarks about a fellow New York restaurateur's (Bernard "Toots" Shor
Toots Shor
Bernard "Toots" Shor was, during the 1940s and 1950s, the proprietor of a legendary restaurant, Toots Shor's Restaurant, in Manhattan...
) financial solvency and honesty. Shor responded by suing for a million dollars. He collected just under $50,000 as a settlement in March 1959; the Stork Club television show ended in the same year the statements were made.
There was also a Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse presentation, Murder At The Stork Club, which was aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
January 15, 1950. Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
and Billingsley had cameo roles in the television drama. The television show was an adaptation of Vera Caspary
Vera Caspary
Vera Caspary was an American writer of novels, plays, screenplays, and short stories. Her best-known novel Laura was made into a highly successful movie. Though she claimed she was not a "real" mystery writer, her novels effectively merged women's quest for identity and love with murder plots...
's 1946 mystery novel, The Murder in the Stork Club, where the action took place in and around the famous nightclub, with Sherman Billingsley and other real-life characters appearing in the plot.
The Stork Club was also featured in several movies, including The Stork Club
The Stork Club (1945 film)
- Plot summary :Judy Peabody saves an old man from drowning. He turns out to be Jerry Bates, "J.B." to his lawyer Curtis, "Pop" to Judy, who mistakenly believes the wealthy old-timer to be poor....
(1945), Executive Suite
Executive Suite
Executive Suite is a 1954 MGM drama film depicting the transfer of power in a corporation in trouble. The film stars William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, and Walter Pidgeon. It was directed by Robert Wise and produced by John Houseman from a screenplay by Ernest Lehman based on the...
(1954), and My Favorite Year
My Favorite Year
My Favorite Year is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin which tells the story of a young comedy writer. It stars Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna, Lou Jacobi, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, Selma Diamond, Cameron Mitchell, and Gloria Stuart. O'Toole was...
(1982).
In All About Eve
All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
(1950), the characters played by Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Gary Merrill
Gary Merrill
Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
, Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons , The Razor's Edge , All About Eve and The Ten Commandments .-Early life:...
and George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
are shown in the Cub Room of the Stork Club.
The Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
film The Wrong Man
The Wrong Man
The Wrong Man is a 1956 film by Alfred Hitchcock which stars Henry Fonda and Vera Miles. The film is based on a true story of an innocent man charged for a crime he did not commit...
(1957) starred Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
as real-life Stork Club bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Christopher Emanuel Balestrero ("Manny"), who was falsely accused of committing robberies around New York City. Scenes involving Balestrero playing the bass were actually shot at the club. The film's screenplay, written by Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
, was based on a true story originally published in Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine.
The Stork Club was featured in the second season episode of AMC's dramatic television series Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
titled "The Golden Violin". The club provided the setting for a party attended by characters Don and Betty Draper in celebration of comedian Jimmy Barrett.
The Stork Club is mentioned in Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
. The titular character and his love interest agree to meet there for a date in one week.
Further reading
- Blumenthal, Ralph. Stork Club: America's Most Famous Nightspot and the Lost World of Café Society. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. ISBN 0-316-10531-7
- Allen, Mearl L. Welcome to the Stork Club (a memoir by the maitre d' of the club during its final years). San Diego: A. S. Barnes & Company, 1980.
- Beebe, Lucius. The Stork Club Bar Book. New York: Rinehart & Company, 1946.
- The Stork Club Cookbook. New York: The Stork Club, Inc., 1949 (later reprinted in paperback).
- Caspary, Vera. The Murder in the Stork Club (novel). New York: Walter J. Black, 1946.