Bernard "Toots" Shor was, during the 1940s and 1950s, the proprietor of a legendary restaurant, 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....

, in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

. He was known as a saloonkeeper, friend, and confidante to some of New York's biggest celebrities during that era.

Shor was born in Philadelphia to Orthodox Jewish parents — his father of Austrian descent from Germany and his mother from Russia. He and his two older sisters were raised in a home above the family candy store in South Philadelphia

South Philadelphia

South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...

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