The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-03-31

business.
Two years ago. he would have
laughed had anybody told him
that he would ever need u friend
He was Bill Tate and His Band,
the sweetest aggregation of swing
players in the country. Two years
ago, he was playing at Eden Gar
dens, finishing up a three-year run
there. 1t did not seem possible and
1t wouldn't have been had not he,
himself, and his band built up
Eden Gardens from a gyp night
club to swanky rendezvous.
But that was two years ago and
this was today. And today, Eden
Gardens was still packing them in.
It was still Broadway'S hottest
hot spot. But he, Bill Tate, WASH t
so hot. He didn't have a band any
more. And he didn't have hardly
a dollar. Bill liked to drink, anG
when he was drinking he never let
anything like business interfere.
Yes, he needed a friend with
money.
HELPED MANY
All the friends he had helped
though seemed to have diSap
peared, and there were a lot of
them. There was Monte Dalebro,
the gambler. He'd staked Monte
when Monte was flat after losing
sixty grand to Nick the Greek on
one turn of card.
He had used his connections
downtown to save George Brill
from a bootleg liquor rap that
would have cost him his license
for Club 10.
He had pulled Lefingwell Celise
out OF pretty dirty blackmail spot
by telling Belle L'Andreux to lay
of for his sake. He had gone
down in his own pocket and dug
up fifteen grand and given it to
LYNNE Finkel after LYNNE had
borrowed" it from the Ladies'
CloakS and Suits ASsocia ton
Bill got up from his chair in
MS room in a flea-bag just east of
Broadway in the late Forties. He
got up and he poured a nice slug
OF brandy into a glass and drank
1t down. He said Hail" and he
put the cork back into the bottle
and went and sat down again be.
cause, right away, he was feeling
rosy. and pleasanter thoughts were
coming into his head.
They were about the kids" the
girls he had started at the Eden
Gardens while he was bringing IT
up to the spot it occupied today.
There was quite a number of
KIDS he had started up the ladder
TO success while he was the old
maestro at Eden Gardens. There
were Maize Leacock and Marge
Traybold.
Those two were doing all right
on Broadway at this very moment,
They were doing a dancing spe.
clalty together in "The Magic Ian,
tern" the new musical hit show
And there was Emily Gerard
Q darn good dramatic artist,
But the tops Of them all was
airline Vale. In four years Airline
had climbed out of the Gardens
to the top in Hollywood. She was
the star in "Jennifer," the big
super-super special that had had
a regular Hollywood premiere
when it opened on Broadway.
He had gotten an awful kick
standing in the thick Of it, out of
seeing those cops putting their big
carcasseS between Airline and the
mob.
Five years ago, Airline wasn';
anybody. She was just Aileen
Rafferty,, an ambitious little kid
from Tenth Avenue. All she had
was a beautiful pair Of legs, q
pretty face and the determination
to be an actress.
The first time he saw her. all
that he saw were the pretty face
and legs, and he passed them
absent-mindedly as things that
would look good in one Of his en-
sembles. But the second time he
saw her she was standing at the
bar in the practice room, stretch
ing her legs. She was in practice
clothes and he got a good look al
the rest Of her body and it was
even better than her legs or hel
face. He watched her, smiling
until she felt his eyes on her. She
let go Of the bar and turned anc
stared at him.
WELL" she said, ARE you
sneaking look you don't have tt
pay for?"
AMBITIOUS KID
That made him sore. When h,
made pass at a girl, he did i
the right way. He let her know
he was making the pass. HI
bought her flowers and candy anc
o compact or two. And he let il