TOOTS DVD
No safe cracking needed to bring you this tasty flick from the vault. My pick this month is a recent release that will take you back to post war New York City. The Big Apple of the 40’s and 50’s. A prosperous and fashionable time when men double fisted cocktails and the health minded smoked filtered cigarettes.
TOOTS, the new documentary just released on DVD is a fascinating account of the legendary self-proclaimed “saloon keeper” Toots Shor and the bar that bore his name. It chronicles his incredible rise from the mean streets of Philadelphia (compounded by a tragic childhood) to the top of the heap in the greatest city in the world. It’s honestly told by those who rubbed elbows and egos with the world’s greatest singers, actors, athletes and journalists’ of their time.
I heard about Toots when I was a kid. It’s where Jackie Gleason use to go after a tough day on the HONEYMOONERS set. It was the post game hangout for Frank Gifford and the New York Giants. The second clubhouse for DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle and most of the New York Yankees. Toots was THE place in a city that was THE place to be.
Toots wasn’t a snobby place. No velvet ropes kept out the regular guy looking to hang at the same bar as Babe Ruth and Frank Sinatra. As long as you had a few bucks and didn’t bother anyone you could order a beer and glance at the gods of the city. The only bottle service you could get was a whack on the head for being a “crumb bum.” and asking for an autograph.
In its prime Toots Shor served the city’s numerous journalists, especially the sportswriters. With newspapers at their peak combined with the infancy of television, it made for a potent combination of personalities that made Toots Shor sing with excitement. It wasn’t the food or the generous drinks that made it hum, it was the proprietor and his larger than life personality that charmed Presidents, shortstops and copyboys and kept them drinking till closing.
The film was directed by Shors’ granddaughter Kristi Jacobson. She serves her Grandfather and us by not pulling any punches and laying it out straight up. And what a cast! Jackie Gleason, Gay Talese, Nicholas Pileggi, Mike Wallace, Edward R. Murrow, Pete Hamill and the aforementioned Frank Gifford who seemed to be the closest of all to the poor Jewish kid from Philly who took his mother’s advice and fought his way, his way .
In a town where people lived their dream, Toots was the place where they celebrated the daily achievement of that dream. It’s simply shot with no bells and whistles and a sober tale is told with a nostalgic gleam. So pull up a stool, turn off the phone, pour three fingers of single malt and gawk all you want. TOOTS is a gas. Toots is available on DVD.
Allan Havey
