New York in the 70s- Page 5

[newintown]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 9:37am

Charivari!! Thank you - I used to treasure my socks from Charivari (they were all I could afford there at the time).

Funny how the Upper West Side was the center of the world for so many of us in the 70s, followed by the Village and Mid-town East. That's certainly changed in spades. No one lived in Chelsea back then except old Irish ladies, and the East Village was authentically Bohemian (I think I miss authentic Bohemia most of all...).

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 9:38am

There was a huge Automat on the West side of Bway between 46th and 47th, and of course Nedicks and Orange Julius.
In Shubert Alley where Juniors now is was a restaurant called Ma Bells,you could have a phone brought to your table and make a phone call.
Sometimes we would hang out at Ted Hooks Backstage, next to the Hirschfeld where the strip club now is. Many big stars went there for after show supper,each table had a small lamp that had shades with a stars name on it. When that star came in of course the shade w/ their name on it was put on their table lamp.
I saw Barbara Cook at the now gone Ballroom. The National Theatre was a huge movie theatre located where ABC Studios are now in Times Square. Nathans was at the corner of Bway and 43rd.
Every neighborhood was self contained, everything you needed was where you were. I remember I had a costume fitting below 14th St and got lost because I wasnt familiar with the area down there. And it was hell when I rehearsed a show on W4th. Brooks Van Horne was the costume house of choice, I forget where they were located.
And there was a rehearsal studio- King Studios- way way west on 43rd or 44th, bet 10th and 11th?. We always prayed that there were no auditions there because it was a pain to get to. No Johns Pizza, no Carmines, no Juniors. You could actually walk in the theatre district, on the sidewalk even!
All the big hotels had nightclubs/showrooms, where all the big names played. The Persian Room at the Waldorf, the Royal Box at the Americana,and I forget the name of the showroom at the Plaza. There was also Club Ibis,in the East 50s, they always had a floor show that employed many dancers.
The new Paramount Theatre was in the Paramount Bldg -now Trump International- in Columbus Circle. The theatre itself was underground, with a circular marquee/entrance on street level. And we took class from Melissa Hayden at the studios across the street. Those studios can be seen from the street in The Turning Point. Chuck Kelly was also a dance teacher of choice. More as I remember.

Updated On: 7/2/11 at 09:38 AM

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 11:42am

more memories, sorry they just keep coming back to me bit by bit.
My apt in the W70s, 1 bedroom in a brownstone, $180.00, the lady in the brownstone next door paid $56.00 for her studio.
Ruperts and La Cantina on Columbus Ave. The old ABC Studios on Columbus as well

The Ansonia also had rehearsal studios. I was auditioning for Michael Kidd one day when a fire broke out in the bldg. We evacuated, gathered on the street, and was told that the audition was moved to one of the studios in the theatre district. So en masse, dancers in dance clothes got on the subway or into cabs to continue with the audition.
When I was even younger I caught a matinee of The Gingerbread Lady starring Maureen Stapleton at the Plymouth.
For some reason I decided to try and get her to autograph my Playbill after the show. So I went to the stagedoor and knocked. The doorman opened and I explained to him what I wanted. He let me in, got on the intercom and called Ms Stapleton. There were about 3 other people waiting. She came down, with a cigarette (you could smoke backstage then) a smock on and tin foil in her hair. She was getting it colored in between shows. She signed our Playbills and asked us questions. As this was just before the Academy Awards, (of which she was nominated for Airport) I asked if she was going to California for the ceremony. She said no, she had a show to do that night so she would not be attending.
The whole thing probably lasted 10-15 min but I have always remembered it and her. Especially when I am backstage at what is now the Schoenfeld. James Coco and Betsy Von Furstenberg also signed my Playbill that day, and I still have it.
Updated On: 7/1/11 at 11:42 AM

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 11:57am

I thought "Needle Park" was Madison Square Park on 23rd and Madison. Maybe they just referred to any drug addict infested park, needle.

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 12:10pm

you could be correct but the actual "Needle Park" of infamy is the one on W 72, bounded by Broadway and Amsterdam, aka Verdi Square. That is the park that is in and inspired the film The Panic in Needle Park. And yes I know that Wikipedia also refers to Bryant Park as "Needle Park". So Pammy, as I said you are probably correct with your statemant.

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 12:10pm

you could be correct but the actual "Needle Park" of infamy is the one on W 72, bounded by Broadway and Amsterdam, aka Verdi Square. That is the park that is in and inspired the film The Panic in Needle Park. And yes I know that Wikipedia also refers to Bryant Park as "Needle Park". So Pammy, as I said you are probably correct with your statemant.

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 12:10pm

you could be correct but the actual "Needle Park" of infamy is the one on W 72, bounded by Broadway and Amsterdam, aka Verdi Square. That is the park that is in and inspired the film The Panic in Needle Park. And yes I know that Wikipedia also refers to Bryant Park as "Needle Park". So Pammy, as I said you are probably correct with your statemant.

[Jane2]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 1:10pm

Folks, GOOGLE is your friend! We can all be correct!

I had only heard of needle park as referring to Bryant Park but it seems under dispute.

Updated On: 7/1/11 at 01:10 PM

[newintown]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 1:16pm

I remember both, but more people in my circle used it for the 72nd Street triangle (because we spent more time in that area).

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 2:00pm

Fran Leibowitz in the wonderful doc PUBLIC SPEAKING says hilarious things about Times Square, namely that no true New Yorker is caught dead there and running into someone you know in Times Square is awkward. "Oh, I'm just here...doing research."

[newintown]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 2:08pm

Well, Fran "I-Make-Dorothy-Parker-Look-Like-Proust" Leibowitz did run with a very specific crowd...

I was just thinking about her recently; talk about unexplored promise. She turned out two slim books of hilarious short humor pieces (all, I believe, reprinted from magazines) and nothing else?

Among other questions, what does she live on? Cigarettes are hideously expensive these days.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 3:05pm

spike3, you are a great recent addition to this Board. Your memories of the 1970's make for wonderful nostalgic reading. I remember all the places you mention in the Times Square/Theatre District. I lived in NYC for 33 years, from 1963 to 1996 and saw the big changes that are still taking place. I am not surprised that you were able to go backstage to visit with Maureen Stapleton. I am now reading her autobiography, A HELL OF A LIFE and have read that she loved it when people came back stage to see her. The book is a howl!

Incidentally, I always considered Needle Park to be the one at 72nd & Broadway. And the Persian Room was at the Plaza, not the Waldorf. I also remember seeing 2001-A SPACE ODYSSEY in the Cinerama format on Broadway in the mid 1960's. Cinerama was an amazing wide screen format, unlike any other. Ah, memories...

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 3:30pm

thank you Gypsy9.Was it the Edwardian Room at the Waldorf? I should have known that the Persian Room was at the Plaza, I have a live recording of Eartha Kitt there. Yes, 2001-A Space Odyssey was in Cinerama, at the Capitol Theatre on Broadway across from the Winter Garden. In the late 60s, they closed that and re-opened the Warner on 47 and Bway as 3 theatres, The Penthouse, Orleans, and Cinerama, very fancy for its time, not like today. And although I was young at the time, (a kid actually) I remember Jack Dempseys, and Lindys.And on the street Colony Records, and the Brill Bldg, where in 1978 I had to go to record tracks for a cast album.
Then there was the Pen and Pencil restaurant, The Cattleman (East and West), Joes Pier 52,and above the Winter Garden Hawaii Kai,a Polynesian Restaurant with a floor show. When I was little my parents took me there, and Momma Leones, the original location- where you had to have a jacket and tie to be in the dining room. If you didnt have one, they had extras in the coatroom to lend you.
And just like in Sweet Charity, there were still some Dance Halls along Broadway, I remember 8x10s displayed outside of the dancers you could choose from.And the porn shops on 42nd St where the magazines were displayed in the windows-with cut out black paper taped over the good parts. All very exciting to the 12yr old I was when I first discovered them. I even remember walking right inside one of them and not being thrown out!I learned alot that day.
But by the late 70s, early 80s, alot of these places mentioned above were already gone or starting to go, and things were starting to get a bit scarier.
Updated On: 7/1/11 at 03:30 PM

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 4:50pm

I remember the dance halls along 7th Avenue in the W. 40's and even went into one with a couple of pals on one occasion. You purchased tickets and would give your ticket to the girl of your choice, just like in SWEET CHARITY. But there were no Gwen Verdons in attendance, alas. When I saw that musical for the first time I was, to put it bluntly, drunk. Instead of sitting in my seat to watch the show, I walked around and discovered on the lower level a tunnel which led to the orchestra pit and I considered going into the tunnel and coming out in the pit so that I could see the orchestra up close!! Thank God I did not follow up my first instinct. I had to return to the Palace at a later date to really see the show.

[Jim3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 5:53pm

I moved to NYC from Ohio in 73. It was so different. Fun, cheap, and a live and let live way of life. Do your own thing. No one cared what you did or who you did it with. We drank, smoked everywhere, and had sex when it seemed needed, and no one gave you the evil eye. We looked down on the California way of living. We were different and still physically, but more importantly, emotionally healthy. We were part of New York City. Then the Republicans came in and changed it all and allowed it only for the rich and for those who were marketable. I still love York, but I feel sorry those who are young, talented, poor, and adventurous who can't experience the NYC of the 70's. (Of course I was much younger then, and that explains a lot.)


reply to



Updated On: 7/1/11 at 05:53 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 6:45pm

Ted Hook's Backstage!

Anyone remember Craig, the outrageous maitre d' at Charlie's, which became Sam's? (Or did it start as Sam's and then become Charlie's?)

Anyone remember Barrymore's? (The restaurant, not the theater.)

[Jim3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 6:52pm

I definitely preferred Barrymore's over Joe Allen's. Their burger, though, is delicious.
Updated On: 7/1/11 at 06:52 PM

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 7:05pm

PalJoey, yes I remember Craig,greeting everyone as they entered,no matter famous or not. It was Charlies first then Sams. When it became Sams, Charlies moved round the corner on 8th, I dont think it lasted very long in the new location. We would go to Barrymores sometimes, and if the big round table in the back was open we usually got that to sit and eat and drink, usually just drink, the night away. Then into a cab for a trip home to the UWS.

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 7:28pm

In the 70s cable TV was still in its infancy, but here in NYC we had Manhattan Cable. And if you were home on either Fri or Sat eves, you could watch The Robin Byrd show on Channel J.And after her show was a program called Interludes after Midnight, which was a nude talk show. Or rather 3 not too attractive or fit people sitting naked and talking.
Then there was Ugly George, had his own show. His gimmick was he wandered the streets , usually 8th or 9th Ave, and he found girls who would go into a building or alley with him, lift up their tops and show him their breasts while he filmed. He was the writer, producer, cameraman and star of this show.
As a matter of fact he is still around today, ( dont think on TV though) and you may notice him walking in the W 40s and on 8th and 9th Ave. Hes the guy w/ the big video camera on his shoulder, usually dressed in shorts and a tank top. We had such classy cable programs in the 70s.
Updated On: 7/1/11 at 07:28 PM

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 7:29pm

In the 70s cable TV was still in its infancy, but here in NYC we had Manhattan Cable. And if you were home on either Fri or Sat eves, you could watch The Robin Byrd show on Channel J.And after her show was a program called Interludes after Midnight, which was a nude talk show. Or rather 3 not too attractive or fit people sitting naked and talking.
Then there was Ugly George, had his own show. His gimmick was he wandered the streets , usually 8th or 9th Ave, and he found girls who would go into a building or alley with him, lift up their tops and show him their breasts while he filmed. He was the writer, producer, camerman and star of this show.
As a matter of fact he is still around today, ( dont think on TV though) and you may notice him walking in the W 40s and on 8th and 9th Ave. Hes the guy w/ the big video camera on his shoulder, usually dressed in shorts and a tank top. We had such classy cable programs in the 70s.

[spike3]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 7:31pm

sorry for the double post, pls forgive.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 7/2/11 at 1:21pm

Like spike3 memories from the past are slowly coming back to me. What started for me in the 1960's continued on into the 1970's. A close friend and I would attend the theatre every night during the Christmas break from college in the early 1960's, sitting in the balcony for $3.50! Afterwards we would always go to the bar at Sardi's where the wonderful bartender Ray would always greet us warmly and remember what we drank. We got to know the doorman, too and it turned out that I had worked as a camp counselor with his nephew. This same friend and I continued going to the theatre together through the 1970's and afterwards always went to Sardi's where Ray continued to remember us and what we drank. It was a great tradiition.I'm told that Ray continued on at Sardi's past the year 2000. What a loyal employee. It wasn't until 2009 that I finally ate there. The wall characitures of famous stars cannot compare wih the superior Hirschfeld drawings that appeared in the Sunday New York Times for decades.

Updated On: 7/2/11 at 01:21 PM

[tommyboy]

Posted: 7/2/11 at 4:37pm

I remember the elderly blind man who came out with his German shepard every night as the showss were letting out. Business concerns would bring me into the city several times a year. I always took pity on the guy handed him a twenty every time I saw him. I always identified myself and told him I was giving a twenty so that he put away. I would always fold the bill in thirds so he would know it was me.

[tommyboy]

Posted: 7/2/11 at 4:37pm

I remember the elderly blind man who came out with his German shepard every night as the showss were letting out. Business concerns would bring me into the city several times a year. I always took pity on the guy handed him a twenty every time I saw him. I always identified myself and told him I was giving a twenty so that he put away. I would always fold the bill in thirds so he would know it was me.

[rlrl]

Posted: 7/5/11 at 12:40am

Someone mentioned in one of the earlier posts that Eighth Avenue up to 50th street was nothing but hookers, pimps. Curious about the northern end of Eighth Avenue say around 47th up to 50th before Worldwide Plaza opened in 1989.

Were there as many prostitutes by the firehouse (Engine Company 54) at 48th street, by the Blarney Stone at 48th street, by the old Hollywood Twin at 47th, and by the old parking lot that became Worldwide Plaza? Was the prostitution and drug trading as bad as it was by 42nd and 8th or was it any safer? I do remember a lot of porn even as high as 49th/50th on 8th, I remember the area was very run down but was 8th between 47th and 50th overall as bad as 8th and 42nd?