Charlene Cordes Choate 
                12/04/09 
                     .. 

I saw Tony Bennett when I graduated from New Utrecht High School in 1957.  Tony put on a great, great show.  He was in fine voice.  What a night!  

Nick Riggio 
09/21/09 
. 
Go Jets! 

CLICK HERE for more from Nick on Tony Bennett at the Copa.   
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Subject:  Doug Coudy 
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Reading this site was very interesting.  My grandfather was a gentleman by the name of Upton Seward Coudy. His brother was Douglas Coudy. 
My mother spoke many times about Douglas and what he had achieved in his lifetime. I just wanted to thank you for creating a blast from my parents past . . . 
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Have a great week, 
Peter Lawrence 
9/03/09 
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Reading Kristin's book has sure brought back some memories of when I danced at the Copa (fall of '62). Tony Bennett and Wayne Newton sent us flowers and champagne in the dressing room; we had dinner between shows with Lorne Greene and his "boys" from Bonanza. (Westerns and horses are still my passion.)  It was fun to be treated as something of a "celeb" around town and compare the number of mentions we got in Walter Winchell's column with each other. 
.. 
I've often wondered what's happened to the other Copa Girls in my line. After working in the Bahamas and some shows in New York, I finished college, then went on to work as a probation officer, later as an electronics engineer then, finally, I went into nursing. 
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Just in case other Copa Girls would like to get in touch, I started up a FaceBook group, Copa Girls Alumni, at  
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http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106818588935. 
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I don't have any photos from that time - was never much of a collector. Maybe someone will have a photo of our group. 
.. 
Patti Woodbury Kuvik 
(Back then, Winchell called me "pretty Patty Hartley") 
.08/02/09 


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Former Copa Girl . . . 
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I had the good fortune to dance at the Copa in1958 and 1959.  It was a glorious time to be in NYC.  The Copa was then at 60th and Fifth.  In the spring I would walk from my apartment at 340 East 74th to work and it was magical.  For a 20-year-old from Toms River, New Jersey it was a fairy tale.  I was doing mostly showroom and runway modeling at the time. 
... 
At the time, I was modeling Rose Marie Reed bathing suits during their busiest week.  They hired a girl to help me.  She was an out-of-work-actress and was going to a Copa audition in a few days.  She was also a dancer and singer.  Me, I was just a model with aspirations to become a serious actress.  When her audition day came, she asked me to go along to hold her belongings while she auditioned.  I didn’t want to, but she convinced me. She changed into her audition tights and dance shoes and we made our way to the line in front of the famous Copa Cabana.  Wow!  What a crowd of gorgeous girls.   
. .. 
The doors opened and we tiptoed into the darkened club along with about 200 other girls. (The newspapers said 500).  To me it seemed like thousands.  I guess there were a lot of girls out of work that year.  The Copa was terraced with the dance floor and bandstand in the center and the terraced areas on three sides.  We all sat down around the dance floor.  Two persons were sitting way up in the darkened, highest terrace.  We couldn’t see their faces.  A voice told us to sit and be quiet and told us that no one could be inside without auditioning.   I panicked.  I wasn’t there to audition.  I tried to get up and go but was told to sit down (rather brusquely).  I did as I was told.  We were told what would be happening, and someone came down to show us how it was going to work. We would first go up in groups, and he gave each group of 10 a number.  I was shaking; I thought I would just decline when it was my turn and slink back into the shadows.  What could they do to me except throw me out?  Besides, I wasn’t in audition clothing. 
. .. 
The groups went up one at a time.  Each one was asked to step forward in each group.  As they stepped forward, pirouetted and stepped back, they were asked what dance background they had.  The raspy voice would then tell each one he didn’t like to leave, and one by one the unhappy girls were escorted out. No one was asked to dance yet.  My friend was confused.  Why weren’t they asking them to dance?  I was relieved because I knew when I would answer, “no dance experience”, I would be told to leave. I was to learn later that after all the “dancers” were picked, that they were looking for fresh faces, not particularly dancers.  They especially did not want Broadway Gypsies—gals who had worked shows on Broadway for quite a while.  None chosen were “gypsies.” 
. .. 
My turn came and I reluctantly walked out in my plain black dress and pumps.  I was told to walk to the back of the stage and back.  Then the raspy voice asked me to lift my dress up above my knees.  The softer voice asked about my dance experience and I answered boldly, “none whatsoever.”  I waited for the thank you but no thanks answer.  But none came. 
. .. 
They told me to sit back down.  Why?  My friend was next. She walked out and did a bit of a twirl when asked to walk back and forth. She answered that she’d had a great deal of experience dancing, both professional and nonprofessional.  She was asked to leave!  I was stunned.  As they escorted her out, I realized I was left there alone and knowing not one person in that place.  They picked about 12 or 14 of us out of that crowd.  It went quite quickly, actually.   
. .. 
We then met the tall, slim, white-haired man who strode down the steps to the stage.  Doug Cowdy introduced himself as the choreographer for the Copa. He told us that he would teach us the routines and then 8 of us would be chosen for the line.  My knees were knocking and I thought, “I don’t think I could stand, let alone learn a routine.”  He asked us to come in the next afternoon for the dance lesson and to be sure to bring in comfortable clothes and tennis shoes or ballet flats shoes.  At this point, I could have not shown up the following day, but at 20 I was so tickled that I was chosen, I wanted to see how far I could go.  What the heck, I didn’t have another job scheduled for that week. 
. .. 
In a few days, we were all kicking and spinning and also floundering around the Copa dance floor.  I was surprised I could follow Mr. Cowdy.  He was, however, brutal.  He frightened the dance steps out of us.  Besides dancing, we were all told how we would be wearing our hair and makeup.  We would be sent to a costume fitter (the name I can’t recall), Larry Matthews Salon for hair and makeup and lastly to Beck Shoes for fitting of satin pumps with 3 ½ inch heels.  Red and pink.  The week ended and the eight were chosen.  I just couldn’t believe it.  How did that happen?  My costume was fitted and my hair done in a French twist.  Voila! A Copa girl was born.   
... 
Opening night was panic city for most of us.  A couple of girls were more than confident . . . or at least didn’t admit to being frightened out of their skin.  Reporters came and interviewed a couple of the girls, including the special singer, Zemie North, who would sing while we danced.   
... 
I danced for six months when I contracted pneumonia in the middle of the spring show.  I was out for ten days and Cowdy made the decision to replace me because “no one could be that sick.”  I came back to work and saw my costume draped over my chair in the dressing room and knew immediately that he was training another girl.  I had one more week to dance in my fairy tale dream.  And I did.  It was a great experience.  I met Phil Ford and Mimi Hines, who were hilarious and ever so friendly to us; Johnny Mathis, who was very shy and quiet; the fabulous Sammy Davis, Jr., who was wonderful to the line.  He and his entourage took us to breakfast and gave us a gift of a music box inside a furry kitten; the incredible Tony Bennett was quiet, polite and sweet.  His staff forget to bring him his tea before the show as we stood in the wings, so I ran into the kitchen and yelled, “Where is Mr. Bennett’s tea?”  In a second, it was in my hand and I was running it back to him. 
My family ran restaurants all my life, so I was clearly at ease yelling at kitchen staff. 
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I would love to get in contact with three of my favorite Copa buddies:  Jewel Ann Peterson, Elaine Smith, Candace Hillagoss,  I can’t recall the names of all the other girls but I do recall a Gerry Crotty and the swing girl, Lisa, who was having a torrid romance with Ricardo Montalbaun at the time. 
.. 
I kept modeling for a few months but fell in love with a talented musician and married him.  We had three daughters, traveled the US, but ended up in Columbus, Ohio. I’ve been here for 46 years, 
... 
I hope one or more of the 1958, 1959 Copa cuties will be reading this. 
... 
June Kassel 
jkassel@insight.rr.com 
04/20/09 

CLICK HERE to read more about June Kassel's experiences as an unlikely Copa girl. 
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My father, Count Charles de Ferry de Fontnouvelle, who was 
French Consul General in New York for nine years, sometimes stayed (in the  1950's) in what was  then called "Hotel Fourteen" at 14 East 60th  Street.  (Our home was in  Locust Valley on the North Shore of Long  Island.)  
  
I sometimes stayed in the hotel with my parents and visited the Copa, which was next door. There was no place more entertaining than  
the Copacabana.  It was like being in the middle of a 1950's 
Hollywood musical extravaganza.  You most likely know that Jimmy Durante often performed at the Copa and also stayed at the "Hotel Fourteen". . . I remember well that he always loved to call my father "Governor" in that very distinctive voice of his. 
  
I do wish that the Copacabana could be recreated just as it was in those 
days, but you have discovered and documented the essence of  
that  time. 

Anne-Renee Fontnouvelle 
09/28/08 

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I just finished your book "Copacabana" and am intrigued by the history of this unforgettable club.  Unfortunately, I never had an opportunity to go there, but I did "pay my respects" to it by passing the location on East 60th Street in the late 1990's.  One thing confuses me about the two addresses in your book, 14 and 10 East. 60th.  Was 14 East 60th (site of Villa Vallee) incorporated into the nightclub at 10 East 60th?  I am so grateful for your book and have seen the interview on the internet of you and some former Copa Girls.  I am mesmerized by the book cover photo of beautiful performing ladies and their body language.  Do you know the names of any of these dancers, and are any of them still living?   Thank you for writing about this glorious past.  

Margo Tzikas    
05/28/08 

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I searched out Kristin's book and website while doing final research for my George Raft biography. What a nostalgic thrill it was for me to step back into an exciting period of New York entertainment history. The Copa was the center of excitement in Manhattan during the 1940s. An environment that perfectly reflected the era. It featured the top entertainers of the day, as well as providing a showcase for those now-famous names just starting out in the business. Legendary talent that sadly will never pass our way again. But what a glorious tribute in time Kristin has provided. Amazingly researched. Next best thing to being there.  
  
Stone Wallace 
author, George Raft: The Man Who Would Be Bogart 
04/20/08 

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Picked up  a copy of your well researched book. Great reading with many rare photos of the legendary Copacabana nightclub. Was only there once many years ago as a kid, when I saw Martin & Lewis perform. Knew some of the names associated with the Copacabana, but it's great the way they have been fleshed out in a historical narrative in your pages. Recaptures that era and that time vividly. So much of The Copacabana history and the performers who worked there have now entered into legend. This website is a great tie-in to the book. 
  
Congratulations! 
  
R. J. Davidson 
04/14/08 

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The Copa was part of so many phases of my life, proms, celebrations and the best and biggest stars and entertainers on the East Coast.  What magical musical moments!  Thanks Kris for keeping these treasured memories always available to reminisce 
or share with someone who did not have the  
pleasure of experiencing the Copa firsthand. 
  
Charles Wallert 
President  
Society of Singers - Chapter East 
02/28/08 

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Kris,   
  
I was delighted to find your website.  I promised myself that upon retirement I would put together all the photo albums and miscellaneous collections.  Well, here I am, delighted to find you.  Regrettably, I have not put effort into connecting with some of the gals.  My time at the Copa was in the early sixties, switching back and forth to the Latin Quarter once, then back as a substitute on the Copa line.  If Doug Coudy is alive, he must be in his nineties, or surely in heaven for his patience with us. 
  
I would appreciate your sharing any names, e-mail addresses; as previously stated, I have not been connected.  Left New York in January 1964, making it back a few times with one visit to the Copa for the early dinner show and a photo in the upstairs lounge.  Please forward my e-mail address to any interested gals, and feel free to ask me any questions. 
  
Best wishes, 
 A.J. (Amy Jubrey, a.k.a. Amy Neu) 
02/05/08