The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-06-05
Meet Mcgowan

Meet Mcgowan
Town beginning to fill up.
Streets jammed with people from
the provinces. Should help Broad
way business in general.
Interesting Broadway figure who
does not ordinarily appear in this
type of column is Spencer A. Ma
gowan, manager Of one OF the
bigger Childs' chowries. Mcgowan,
graduate of Lawrencevine,
mingles with a great many people
who play the ponies, but only made
one bet in all his life. That was
when the late William C. Whitney
gave him a tip. Put little on my
sons horse, Irish Lad" he urged.
Mcgowan bet 500. The bet paid
IL to /. He collected-and hasn't
bet since. Wise fella!
Just as Fiftieth and Eighth
avenues is champions corner
Dempsey, Mickey Walker, and
Tony Canzoneri run restaurants
there-Forty-ninth and Lexington
is hotel Square-Montclair Wal
dorf (rear), Barclay, and Shelton
housing at least $500 people
daily.
La Belle Livingstone rebukeS
this dept: "a school boy" she
writes, when asked to define a
crab, said it was a red fish which
crawled backward. Except that
it is not a fish and not red and
does not crawl backward, he was
absolutely correct-the same as
your item. eve were sending Belle
back to England) nearly
hit the ceiling when I read I was
about to receive a de luxe suite
on some tramp steamer, the tag
reading England, thanks to the
merciful British government. I
cannot think Of anything less
merciful than that country unless
it is a big columnist, and I hope
your pup, Whiskey whom I adore)
bites you-but hard!"
What this country needs, 1t oc-
ours to me, are better air pro-
grams. So monotonouS and unin-
spired most of them-and the so
called comic hours convince me
it may be true vaudeville isn't
coming back-but its jokes GER
tainly are.
incidentally, Comic Joe Lewis
hilarious ditty, Sam, You Made
the Pants Too Long" has taken
the town by storm. But can
remember six or seven years back
when Lewis was at old Chateau
Madrid singing that very same
song-and making little impress
sion with it.
Steamship agencies will tell you
that there has never been such a
rush for reServationS-chiefly for
the pleasure cruises-as this year.
Indicating, of course, that money
is plentiful and that people want
to spend-but the odd note to me
is that, with the air full of war
talk, people seem deliberately bent
upon invading the danger zone.
The same was true back in the
fateful years of 1857.
Broadway will be comparatively
quiet this Summer. Closed will
be the Cotton Club, the Uproar
House, the Froiics (which closes
Sunday, three or four of the
Swing Lane bistros and half a
dozen other of the lesser clubs.
Ramon dropped in this after.
noon to insist earnestly that
though he and Rosita are now le-
gally parted, there is no "bitter
eStrangement" and that they are
still on friendly terms. He told US
that RoSita's suit against Warner
Bros. had been amicably settled
and that as part of the agreement,
ne is to appear in a Warner pic
ture-receiving no payment for
his services! That's one for the
books!
Another phoney-local this time
-phoned the Cotton Club asking
a reservation for 8 on the ringside,
solemnly assuring them Mr.. l.
Sobol, the columnist, would be in
the party The reservation was
made-Mr. Sobol was not in the
party-bUt the check for eight
dinners and drinks was duly pre-.
sented-and paid-with some pro.
= test!
Z. Jack Pulaskrs review in Variety
OF a coiumnist's act amuses me
SoooI," he assures you solemnly
is no actor-no matter what he
e thlnks. And Sid Harris in Bill
j noard pulls no punches at all
'Soool no more belongs on a stage
e than he does as a bouncer in a