The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-01-31
In New York
By George Ross

ny Oe0fko Hess
 New York, Jan, 3i--Mention Mihsky and you call out the name of the King of Burlesque. Who else has made ap off-color joke or na- ture in the raw pay out profits at the rate of about eao0,000 per yearS From the lowest of comedy, the strip dance and the hot number, the Brothers Minsky will be able to 70. tire one day in the near future, Aa potential millionaires. And, ironical. ly enough, they owe their suceess as nekked lady exhibitors to . slump in the dry goods business.
 That was many years ago when the Minsky Drothren's father, Louis, who peddled yard goods At wholesale on the lower east side, was developing . parcel of land in tho sluniS of New York, in part. norship with Q promising lawyer, Max D. Hteuer. DownNon Houston street in tho heart of tho Ghetto, they set up . building with tiny theatar on tho top floor. This was 1913, when vaudeville was the rage, and up in that lofty plav- house, the two real estate opeFa- tors opened R variety show with Mary pickford, Clara Kimball Young, Van and gchenck, James Kirw0od and Fannie Brice among the littl0 known entertainers. Their enterprise did oven worse than the dry goods business.
 And 70 they turned to showing tho East Side new silent pictures. Such aA Intolerance" "Dirth of . Nation" War Brides" "The Christian" "civilisatlon" and "0abiria,' They were doing ell right with this experiment until . competitor came downtown. That's when Papa Minskys shrewdest son, Billy, who is now dead, step. pod in. Billy was the snowman Of the Minaky family end when he saw tho family'A fortune dipping, decided that what the Hast Side needed was . little hot-cha. And so from the frowsy booking agents uptown, he hired . couple os put- ty.nosed comics, i7 chorus girls with hardly any clothes and struck up the band. And this, friends, is how popular burlesque wAs born.
 On 0 Broadway!
 The legends about the National Winter 0ardon--which is what Billy Minsky called his elevated elysium--are legion. New York's 400, they tell me, deserted the fashionable placos and flockad to the lower East Side to see the cuties froIlcing on the runway and t0 hear the ConedIans' porno- graphic batter. Wide.eyed pau- pers of the Brooklyn Bridge belt awesomely watched Ilolls-iseyces and lsotta.yraschinis roll ID to the door, and George Jean Nae than, Prank Crowninshleld, Eari Carroll aAd Flo Ziegfeld were fre- quent visitors. The late Otto
 ahn, art and opera patron, eaine for look.in once and remained the entire evening. Burlesque be- came the towns smart entertain inent.
 So smart and profitable did the strip dance and blackout become for the Minsky clan that the faITi- ily soon opened ksanch playhousea, finally invading even Broadway
 3y this tifne. nilly's two brothers. Herbert Kay and Merton, were growing ID and getting college de- greea and more and more drawn toward the burlesque magnet. Papa Minsky was nowhere about any- more.
 Bld for "Afse'
 Success went like Chlanti wine to their heads. When the Metropolitan Opera House la- bored in financial difficulties and the rifaor ran that the place was for lease, Billy Mlnsky dashed over and put in his bid. Fie wish- ed. he told the agents on the premises. to install "opera bsiF- iesquos," with c crew of strip girls and rlhald funny mon, and lt was his notion that the Dia- mond iiorseshoe would make an 1, loilent Fins for the chorus girls. ft ls ruIiaoFed that V'e mo. lnent the OpaFa House board heard of Billy Minalky'a offer, ail signs reading .Wog Rent" wero ' scrubbed off tho walls.
 Then, in June, lesa. ally passed away. leaving the destinien of the Minsky monk y business to Brother Herbert. A. n., IL. ~ and Brother Morton. D. Q. 6. coi- |ege bred, they nevertheless kept tilair good aanao about the aoaMn pGlne|nals af buFie1Qae. rho nelaud pglneIb|o Of huFiesQno. briefly. N N.at ia x disastrous eyes @ become hlNhhToW.