You previously
wrote a book about folk music called Folk Music: More Than a Song
and The Folk Music Encyclopaedia.
What compelled you to write this book about the Copacabana?
My inspiration for writing the book evolved from my enjoyment of music
from the 1950s and '60s eras of my youth and my appreciation of music from
earlier years, in particular, the classic standards of the great American
songbook. Also I was driven by my interest in the halcyon days of
the glamorous nightclub era - the heyday of nightlife in New York - when
Americans were more exuberant, hopeful, and innocent. The book provides
a window on an interesting, bygone era in American entertainment history,
when night clubs were the primary source of nightlife, top-notch entertainment,
excellent food, and spontaneous thrills, unlike anything that exists today.
I was curious as to why the Copacabana epitomized the madcap fun, glamour,
and sophistication of those high-living days to become a celebrity hangout,
for example. I was intrigued by the phenomenon of the Copacabana's
reputation as the pinnacle of show business success. How did it evolve
as the showcase for past, present, and future stars like a show business
who's who? How was the Copa instrumental as a springboard to fame
for many of the talented, beautiful Copa Girls, like June Allyson, Lucille
Bremer, Janice Rule, Joanne Dru, Janis Paige, Julie Wilson, and numerous
others? My hope was to write a book that would take us back to this
unique era of fabulous, unforgettable nights - the music, the laughter,
and all the little things that added sparkle to living during that time,
even if we were never there.
.
The Copa's East 60th Street
Entrance
I
never realized how prestigious it was to be a Copa dancer. It looks
like you got a lot of your information from some of those alumnae.
How did you locate them? Initially I cast a very wide net.
I explored a broad range of resources, from newspaper, magazine, and photography
archives, collections, and services, to libraries, web sites, fan clubs,
and other internet sources. Many of these resources provided leads to track
down former Copa Girls and performers. I also worked closely with
the Society of Singers, which led me to former Copa production singer,
Terri Stevens, who was then SOS Chapter East president. A number
of years ago she had been very involved with the now-defunct Copa Girls
Alumni Association, so she was able to open the door to numerous contacts.
Through Terri I met several women who had been in the chorus line.
One person led me to another, and so on. The first-hand information
and personal photographs provided by these individuals really contribute
an intimacy, authenticity, and humanity, which comprise the heart of this
pictorial history.
.
Terri Stevens
How many people
could the club hold? When the doors opened for business
in 1940 the Copa brought the intimate revue east of Fifth Avenue, providing
a swanky setting where a capacity of four hundred patrons could see first-class
entertainment, eat a full-course dinner, enjoy good music, a full evening
of dancing, and drink in the beauty of the Broadway-doubling Samba Sirens
(Copa Girls) and their considerable allure. By the end of the second
year, the seating capacity was increased to five hundred and fifty.
Then in the fall of 1942, by building out the terraces, the club was able
to squeeze in six hundred and seventy at the tables, plus another fifty
or so at the bar. That was the biggest nightclub capacity on the
East Side, and, in fact, one of the biggest in all of New York City.
The removal of four large columns, or posts, in the summer of 1955 not
only greatly improved visibility by creating a clear floor span but also
increased seating capacity to about eight hundred. Along with the
posts went the jokes, like the one by Morey Amsterdam, "The first time
I played the Copa was before they took down the poles, and my opening line
was, 'This joint's got more posts than the American Legion.'"
.
Dancers and Diners at the
Copa
Who
was the Copa's most popular performer? That's a tough question
because the Copa's history spanned a number of decades, and, as such, different
performers came into prominence at different times throughout those years.
In 1942 Joe E. Lewis became the first talking comic as well as the first
big-name star to play the Copa. He remained the club's number one
draw for many, many years. Nowadays people do not even know who he
was, but, in his time, before the advent of television, he was the biggest
name in nightclub entertainment. Frank Sinatra was another phenomenon,
of course. His appearances regularly set records and his opening nights
were always a huge, star-studded sensation. Individual checks averaged
considerably higher during his runs at the club. Then Johnnie Ray
came along. Johnnie Ray's opening night at the Copa in April 1952
was an even bigger sensation than Frank Sinatra. The first show was
a flop because there had been no publicity; but for some reason, the second
show was overbooked. There were two lines out on Sixtieth Street,
one to Fifth Avenue and one to Madison Avenue. Nobody knew where
all these people came from, especially since there had been no paid publicity
for his appearance. Never in the history of the Copa had that many
major stars been in the audience - Sinatra with Ava Gardner, Noel Coward,
Yul Brenner, Como, Cole, and on and on. The newspapers were called,
and, within minutes, they all were there, cameras going. There were
stories all over the papers the next day. Every night for Johnnie
Ray's entire run, there were lines, for every show. Also, Dean Martin
and Jerry Lewis, the hands-down biggest comedy sensation of their day,
were enormously successful and enjoyed SRO performances year after year
at the Copa. They got their first big break there in April 1948 and
had their emotional, final stand there in July 1956. Their farewell
show was a night that made show business history. Then there was
Sammy Davis Junior, who achieved his dream in the spring of 1954, when
the Will Mastin Trio featuring Sammy Davis Junior made their New York café
debut as headliners at the Copacabana. The Copa never had more patrons
nor took in as much money in its twenty-four-year history, as it did a
decade later, in May 1964, with the legendary Sammy Davis Junior as headliner.
The two-week stand of Louis Prima and Keely Smith in May 1959 was another
memorable event. Not only did the Copa resume a three-show nightly
schedule, which was normally reserved for weekends when the club was jumping,
but on Saturday, May sixteenth, there was an unprecedented four shows.
The Prima-Smith run resulted in a record-breaking take of an estimated
quarter of a million dollars, setting a new Copa benchmark.
.
Louis Prima and Keely Smith
.
Who's your favorite
Copa performer? That's even tougher. If I had to name names,
I would have to put Sammy Davis Junior on this list. To me, he is
the consummate all-around talent - he did it all, sang, danced, played
different instruments, you name it - all in his own inimitable way - and,
he was a great human being, too. Ex-Copa Girl Michele Hart was in
the line in May 1964 when Sammy was headlining and she tells a lovely story
about him. "On Sammy's opening night, he knocked at the girls' dressing
room door and yelled, 'Is everybody decent?' and came in to say, hello.
On the second night, the same thing happened, but this time he was more
relaxed. He noticed the aged record player that one of the girls
had brought in. There was no radio reception in the basement dressing
room, so the records entertained the girls who remained in the dressing
room between shows. 'Is that your stereo?' Sammy asked. 'I'm
gonna do something about that.' And he walked out. He
was back a few minutes later, telling us to make sure that someone would
be there between shows as something would be delivered. In between
shows, the Colony Record Store sent over someone with a terrific stereo
system and a dozen records, only one of which was by Sammy. They
set up everything, and Sammy was back before the late show to be sure that
the speakers were positioned correctly!" Another favorite, for me,
is Peggy Lee. I adore her understated elegance, low-key musical arrangements,
simple phrasing, and mellow, often whispered lyrics, and I never cease
to admire her magic and power to create intimacy in any size space. She
was phenomenal, not only as a vocalist, who could be so cool, and so hot,
as she runs through the temperature range with "Fever," for instance, but
as a songwriter, stylist, and engaging personality. And I would have
to include the incredible talent and sweet, silvery voice of Ella Fitzgerald
among my favorites, too.
.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Can you tell us
something about the original owner Monte Proser? Nightclub
impresario Monte Proser was the quiet, dynamic force - the entrepreneurial
spirit and creative spark - behind the original concept and operation of
the Copacabana. This imaginative man, dubbed by Frank Sinatra as
"the Genius," created, built, and ran the world's great American nightclub
in its heyday, before he was muscled out by the Copa's moneyed organized
crime interests. From his early adventures as a press agent, he segued
into a number of Broadway and other ventures, from a string of Beachcomber
nightclubs - predecessors of the Copacabana - a Madison Square Garden Dance
Carnival, producer of Broadway and TV show producer, and owner-operator
of La Vie en Rose, to entertainment director of the Thunderbird Hotel in
Las Vegas. One day while screening candidates for a new line of Copa
Girls, he was smitten by one, the stunningly attractive Jane Ball.
The story goes that he glanced up from his racing form, looked at the dancers,
pointed to the three most beautiful, and said, "OK, you're hired.
You're hired. And you, I am going to marry." He and Jane
Ball were married in 1946 and had five sons.
.
Monte Proser
How
about the succeeding owner, Jules Podell? Actually Jules Podell
was there from the beginning. He was the often violent, profane co-operator,
mob representative, and Monte Proser's bitter rival for control of the
club. While the Copacabana was still under construction, Mafia kingpin
Frank Costello introduced himself to Monte Proser as his new partner,
making it clear to the Broadway impresario that he had no choice in the
matter. A week later Costello brought in the ex-op of Broadway's
unsavory Kit Kat Club, Jules Podell, to oversee his financial interests
in "Monte Proser's Copacabana." It was agreed that Proser would run
the front operation, the floor and entertainment, and Podell would control
the kitchen and wait staff. Podell became known
as the boss man of the Copa.
He was a tyrant, who was belligerent and ruthless. He was famous
for screaming, spewing obscenities, and slapping waiters. When he
was disgruntled, he would bang his huge pinky ring on the table, bang,
bang, bang, and everyone would come running, "Yes, Boss? Yes, Boss?
What is it, Boss?" In the tug-of-war for control, Monte Proser finally
lost out when manager Jack Entratter backed Podell, instead of him.
With the Copacabana's originator forced out, Podell continued to run the
club for many years, while Jack Entratter was offered a sweet deal to run
the Copa Room of the Sands Hotel in the new mob outpost, Las Vegas.
.
Jules Podell
"Three
steps up and one flight down." What was above the Copa?
The Copacabana was situated in the basement of the 13-story building occupied
by the Hotel Fourteen, located at 14 East 60th Street. The club's
address was designated as 10 East 60th Street and had its own, separate
entrance. Three steps led up to the vestibule of the club, from which
customers could turn to the right and enter the Copa lounge or turn left
and descend a stairway down to the main room of the club. In the
heyday of the Copacabana, the stars often would use rooms in the "14,"
.instead
of the small, backstage, star's dressing room, to rest, dress, and entertain
before, between, and after the shows. There was an entrance from
the "14" into the Copa kitchen, which opened into the short backstage hallway
and led to the main room of the club. There was a funny story about
comedian Phil Silvers, who was in the Hotel Fourteen, next door, when Martin
and Lewis were playing the Copa. He would come down in his pajamas
and tell Martin and Lewis, in the middle of their act, that they were making
too much noise. Of course, he got a scream!
.
"Three Steps Up, One Flight
Down"
Is
there anything I can "scoop" from you about the Copacabana that didn't
make it into your book? The tight format of Arcadia's Images
of America series, i.e. limited number of images, brief captions, etc.,
precluded a ton of information from making it into the book. There
are some wonderful stories that could not be incorporated into a condensed
pictorial history such as The Copacabana. It seems that everyone
has a story, for instance, about Julie Podell, the demanding
Copa owner known for his often-imitated, dems-and-doze, growly voice, which
everyone loves to imitate. One story about the Four Tops is a favorite.
It seems that Podell had booked the hugely popular Motown group for the
1971 prom season to bridge the spring adult trade with the younger June
crowd, appealing to both age levels. On opening night, Podell learned
that the group wasn't sure about making their appearance. Apparently
the guys were having an argument among themselves. Two wanted to
go on - and, two didn't. Podell was livid. "I paid for four
Tops," he screamed. "I don't want no two Tops! EITHER I GET
FOUR TOPS OR THERE'LL BE NO TOPS!" He got four. Or another
story, that typifies the awesome perennial presence of stars in the audience.
As Errol Dante, the Copa's last production singer, tells the story, there
was one special night in the fall of 1969, when he started at the Copa.
He had just finished one of the production numbers. In the audience
there was a frail, small woman, who came up to him as he was walking offstage.
She grabbed his hand. "You have a wonderful voice," she said.
Errol kept walking. Copa producer Doug Coudy came up to him, and
asked, "Do you know who that was?" "No." "Judy Garland."
.
The Four Tops
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