Wife Hit Him Over The Head With A Gas Lighter

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Why You Might File For Divorce In 1914

Early 20th Century Gas Lighter -OUCH. photo http://wordcraft.net/flashlight.html

Early 20th Century Gas Lighter -OUCH. photo: http://wordcraft.net
/flashlight.html

One hundred years ago if you got married, it was a commitment for  life. Very few people got divorced. If you did file for divorce, there had to be a good reason. If your spouse hit you in the head with a metal gas lighter that might be enough to justify splitting up.

Salesman and professional musician Sidney Kamna of 1139 Forrest Avenue in the Bronx was very specific about why he wanted a separation from his wife of 15 years, Wilhelmina. In fact, the head whacking was just one of ten good reasons to get out of the marriage  according to Sidney.

Appearing on January 6, 1914 in New York State Supreme Court before future Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Benjamin Cardozo, Sidney explained his unhappy circumstances.

All was well in the marriage until Christmas day 1910 when his wife’s sister received a genuine sealskin coat from her husband.

Wilhelmina was bitterly disappointed that Sidney had not gotten her a similar present. From that moment on Wilhelmina began treating Sidney badly for the next three years until he filed for divorce.

The bad treatment was quantified in court as a ten point list:

1. She scolded him because her sister-in-laws husband gave a fur coat to his wife.

2. She bent a gas lighter over his head.

3. She threatened to kill herself and her daughter, ten tears old. Continue reading →

Jerry Coleman Baseball Legend Dies At 89

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Ballplayer, Broadcaster, World War II and Korean War Combat Hero, Jerry Coleman Passes Away

Jerry Coleman Phil Rizutto 1949

Vaudeville Tactics

New York: Jerry Coleman, second baseman for the Yanks does a nip-up like a vaudevillian to get the ball down to first after putting out Bobby Dillinger of the Browns in the first inning of the game at Yankee Stadium on August 6. The throw was not fast enough to get to first before George Elder who had grounded out to Bobby Brown at third. Yankees won, 9-8. That’s Phil Rizzuto, Yankees shortstop lurking in the background. Credit: (ACME) 8-6-49

Jerry Coleman died at Scripps Hospital in San Diego, CA January 5, 2014 of complications from head injuries he suffered in a fall last month.

In his major league baseball career he hit only 16 home runs and batted just .263, but the slick fielding Jerry Coleman was a beloved baseball legend by fans on both coasts.

Coleman played his entire career for the New York Yankees from 1949 -1957. He appeared in six World Series, was the MVP of the 1950 World Series and appeared in one All Star game.

After his playing career ended Coleman worked in the Yankees front office. In 1960 he became an announcer, first with CBS television on the Game of the Week, then in 1963 he rejoined the Yankees and stayed with their broadcast team for the next seven years. Continue reading →

Young Man Swims In Lake Michigan On January 4, 1924

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90 Years Ago Today: Victor Barothy Goes Swimming In Lake Michigan January 4, 1924

Victor Barothy swims Lake Michigan on a dare January 5 1924

I’ve seen the polar bear clubs with swimmers who plunge into the Atlantic Ocean on New Year’s Day every year.

But this looks insane. Those large icicles and mounds of snow that loom in the background. Just looking at this photograph gives me the chills.

Unfortunately I cannot find an accompanying story that ran with this news photograph. The caption simply says that “Victor Barothy prepares to swim in Lake Michigan on a dare.” January 4, 1924.

Checking the social security death index, Victor Barothy was born January 4, 1907, so the dare he accepted would have been in celebration of his 17th birthday, even though in the photograph he looks a bit older than 17. With his father and his brother he ran the Barothy Lodge in Walhalla, MI. Victor passed away in Walhalla at the age of 65 in May, 1972.

How long Victor Barothy’s swim lasted in the icy waters of Lake Michigan is unknown.

The Worst Vegas Lounge Act & Rock Cover Song Rendition- EVER

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Jon Thor Covering (Butchering) Sweet’s Hard Rock Classic “Action”

What is the worst cover song rendition of a rock song by any person or band  of all time?

Of course that is subjective and debatable, but this may be it.

Don’t be tempted to name any William Shatner cover as the worst. Shatner has a method to his madness.

If you can, stay with this five minute video, it will be worth it for its jaw dropping kitschiness.

Everything is perfect.  The camera shots of the admiring(?) 1970s female audience members. The inexplicable presence in the background on stage of the Watermelon Mountain jug band smiling and standing there doing nothing. The live Vegas orchestration and rearrangement of what was once a great rock song. And the best part, the over the top histrionics of the main act.

So with that summary, on national television, with Merv Griffin doing the introduction, from 1976, here is Jon Thor straight from the Aladdin Hotel’s Red, Hot and Blue Show doing his “Muscle Rock” rendition of Sweet’s Action.

For those who do not know what the original version of Action sounds like, because any resemblance of Jon Thor’s version to a real rock song is purely coincidental, here is Sweet’s original version recorded in 1975.

If you are wondering whatever happened Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #28 – Norma Talmadge

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Norma Talmadge

portraits Norma Talmadge on set

Norma Talmadge, was one of the biggest stars of the silent film era. She was born on May 26, 1894 in Jersey City, NJ, and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Norma had two sisters, Constance Talmadge, also a major star, who was in 83 films and Natalie Talmadge who appeared in nine films.

Norma appeared in over 200 silent pictures, most of which are now considered lost films. In 1916, Norma married film producer Joseph Schenck who became head of United Artists and would go on to become the chairman of 20th Century Fox.

As with many of the silent stars, Norma’s career ended with the advent of sound. By 1928 her career had already stalled to one film per year. There was talk in 1928 of reissuing her favorite film Smilin’ Through (1922), but Norma was staunch in her refusal to re-release it. Norma said, “I thought it was a lovely picture and the fans liked it. Why reissue it? I would rather people only had the peasant memory of it.” This attitude was similar to the screen’s biggest star Mary Pickford, who had said she would never allow any of her films to be released again.

Norma made two sound films, New York Nights (1929) and Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930). The Du Barry film was widely panned by critics and public alike. Norma then waited for the right script for her next movie. She said she was “favoring playing a comic role.” She never appeared in another film.

Instead, Norma Talmadge travelled the world and invested wisely in real estate, becoming very wealthy.

Legend has it that Norma Talmadge has the distinction of being the first to leave her handprints, footprints and signature at the would famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The apocryphal story Continue reading →

The Lincoln Tunnel Opens And “Mr. First” Is There – December 22, 1937

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Omero C. Catan, Known As “Mr. First” Waits To Be First Through The New Lincoln Tunnel

Omero C Catan Lincoln Tunnel 1st through 12 21 1937

When he was 13-years-old in 1928, Omero C. Catan heard a story from a family friend who was one of the first people to cross the Brooklyn Bridge when it opened in 1883. It was then that Omero decided that being first would be something fun to do as a hobby.

Soon after Catan went down to Lakehurst, NJ from his home in Greenwich, CT to become the first American to tour the famous airship, Graf Zeppelin.

The Miami New Times 1995 profile of Omero and his brother Michael reported, “after that initial success, there was no stopping him.”

Catan paid the first toll on the George Washington Bridge linking New York and New Jersey (October 25, 1931). He was the first to buy a token on the Eighth Avenue subway (September 10, 1932). He was the first paying customer to skate on the Rockefeller Plaza ice rink (December 25, 1936).  After he proposed marriage to stenographer Jeanne Tobolka, he was to receive the first wedding license of 1939. He was the first to put a coin in a New York City parking meter (Sept. 19, 1951). He was the first to drive over the Tappan Zee Bridge (December 15, 1955).

In all Catan was “first” 537 times, acquiring the sobriquet “Mr. First”.

At 4 a.m. on December 22, 1937 the lights turned green and Omero Catan and George Horn started driving through the new Lincoln Tunnel from opposite sides.

According to the New York Times, Catan whose car had been parked Continue reading →

Old New York In Postcards #8 – Dreamland Coney Island Part 2

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Coney Island’s Dreamland Amusement Park 1904-1911 – Part 2

Coney Island Dreamland general view

Coney Island- Dreamland midway on a crowded day

Continuing from part one of our postcard journey through Dreamland Amusement Park at Coney Island, we examine the other features of the park.

Coney Island Dreamland The Ballroom InteriorConey Island Dreamland Bathing Beach

At the turn of the century, dancing was possibly the most popular amusement at Coney Island, even more so than bathing at the beach. The Dreamland ballroom reflected this popularity by being the largest ballroom ever built in the United States. Continue reading →

Old New York In Postcards #7 – Dreamland Coney Island Part 1

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Coney Island’s Dreamland Amusement Park 1904-1911

Coney Island Dreamland at night

Dreamland Map from Jeffrey Stanton's site http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/index.html

Dreamland Map from Jeffrey Stanton’s site
http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/

Dreamland was built on a 15-acre parcel at Surf Avenue and West 8th Street and opened on May 14, 1904. It cost over $3.5 million to build. The park could accommodate over 250,000 people. Ex-State Senator William H. Reynolds was the man behind Dreamland. The original name of the park was to be the Hippodrome, as Reynolds originally wanted chariot races around a lagoon. On the architect’s plans the name was changed to Wonderland, but the name that stuck was Dreamland. With its bright lights and a dizzying array of exhibits and amusements Dreamland was an apropos name.

On the right is a map of how Dreamland was laid out.

Coney Island Dreamland opening ad 1904 05 08 NY Sun

The week before Dreamland opened, this ad in the May 8, 1904 New York Evening Sun heralded the pleasures that awaited visitors.

Coney Island Dreamland Tower Night 2 Coney Island Dreamland Tower Night 1Coney Island Dreamland Tower side view

The defining feature of Dreamland was the White Tower built by architects Kirby, Petit and Green and modeled after the Giralda Tower in Seville. It was 370 feet high and had over 100,000 electric lights. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #34 – World’s Fair 1939 Before Its Opening

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An Aerial View Of The 1939 World’s Fair Before It Opened – January 25, 1939

1939 World Fair Aerial

The Trylon (shown with scaffolding) and Perisphere feature prominently from this fantastic aerial view over Flushing Meadows in Queens, three months before the 1939 New York World’s Fair opened on April 30, 1939.

The World’s Fair was expected to cost $40 million to build and generate revenue of over $1 billion. It ended up costing over $150 million to build and ended in bankruptcy 18 months after it opened.

Though the Fair lost money, for anyone who attended, it was a marvelous and memorable experience. The World’s Fair pavilions and buildings held exhibits which demonstrated the possibilities of a utopian society where the future was filled with promise, hope and amazing technological innovations as the world emerged from the Great Depression.

Four months after the World’s Fair opened, Germany invaded Poland and World War II began.

The caption for this Acme news photograph reads:

The Theme Center

This is how the Theme Center looked recently from a visiting American Airliner. Dominating the scene, as they will the Fair, are the Perisphere and Trylon. Removed scaffolding reveals they are well past the half-way mark. Although the various buildings shown seem widely divergent in architectural form, all conform with the latest theories of functional design.   (Credit Line Acme Photographs – January, 25, 1939)

Classic Hollywood #27 – Elsie Ferguson

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Elsie Ferguson Broadway And Silent Film Star

Elsie Ferguson 11 11 1918

Saying Elsie Ferguson (1883-1961) was “just” a star of the stage and screen is like saying Mickey Mantle was “just” a switch-hitting outfielder.

Elsie was one of the most beautiful and biggest stars on Broadway. “She is the shadow of beauty rather than beauty itself. She does not glow, she haunts,” a journalist said in 1914.

Elsie started her acting career in 1902 at the age of 16, and within just seven years, she made her way from the chorus to leading lady, starring in Channing Pollock’s 1909 comedy Such A Little Queen. In December 1916, an unnamed leading Broadway producer said, “There can be no doubt as to Elsie Ferguson’s supremacy on the stage.” He added that the actress had beauty, ability and versatility. Continue reading →