The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-04-12

-yI - V V Q V AAAAA UOlzsz& -1z1@ Dan'l Boone, the trailblazer, has Donna Boone to keep his memory alive. Miss Washington, by the irony of fate. is on WPA-a vaudeville .ctress with the Federal Theater Project. Miss Boone sings ir front of a band.
 The Federal Theater, inciden- tally, recently had on it's rolls Ann Rutledge, descendant of Abraham Lincoln's sweetheart.
 Faith Bacon, the stripeuse at the Riviera night club, claims de- cent from Sir Francis Bacon. She wears the Bacon laurels with dignity-virtually the only thing she does wear when she dances. In the same show is Marilyn Brandenburg, who claims descent from the Kings of Sweden
 There is a dancer named Gyp- sey Grant in town. Her ancestor, she says, is U. s. Grant. Tallulah Bankhead, of course, is the daugh- ter of Speaker Bankhead of the House of Representatives. Nancy Garner, a singer, is the niece or Cactus Jack, the Vice President. At the Diamond Horseshoe one Of the shapeliest chorines is Ellen Patti, whose greataunt Adellna was famous singer.
 Sh-h-h, Speak Easy!
 Speakeasies still flourish in New York. Although that Era of Wonderful Nonsense Gas Vest brook Pegler happily dubbed it) long ago ended, places remain where the rule is to whisper softly.
 On East and West Side and in the Village, there are pubs with camouflage facades, grille gates, and secret door slides. Why? For bidden fruits are always sweeter and Legality has proven dull for the easily-sated New Workers.
 There also is the item of the li- cense fee, which some of these speaks avoid by the mere device of not paying one. For the most part, however, they are legally o. K, and retain the Prohibition atmosphere to tantalize the cus- toners.
 MoOcher Appeaser
 Generous promoters of all brands ply scribes with free passes, hoping to gain goodwill and even a modicum of publicity. But the climax came the other day with a pass received in the mail from the doughnut makers. It said, ".On presentation of this pass at any of our shops, you will be entitled to dunk t2) do- nuts in a CD cup of coffee"
 How to dispose of this unique gratuity came to mind in wholly natural manner. A panhandler stepped up on Times Square with the usual plea for dime for a cupacawfee. I didn't pass him up, but presented him with the pass on the dunking privileges.
 urge my colleagues to do the same. With enough dunking free-ducats thus distributed, the coffee-moochers could be placated and panhandling curtailed. It Might Be True
 Which reminds me of Ethel Merman's account of meeting beggarly Broadwayite the other day.
 How about sparing a dollar and half so I can go and get some coffee?" the moocher sug- gested to Ethel on the street.
 Dollar and half," she ex- claimed, flor a cup of coffee! What do you take me for, any way?"
 "Well, Man." he explained, tits this way. It gets pretty tire some asking people for a nickel or a dime for cup of coffee all day long, so I thought I'd get a dollar and a half and buy n.y. self a percolator!"
 
 Hart of Broadway
 Nanny Hart is known at ever cigar counter from the Astor ho- tel to t.Ae Waldorf. He is a cheery, elderly man, the father of playwright Moss Hart.
 The senior Hart's slips in lan- guage are as locally noted as are those of Sam Goldwyn. Once, he heard his famous son assuring Noel Coward that he had just secured verbal contract. Good, Moss" he said, and then added, anxiously, but make sure it's in writing"
 Nanny likes to write tunes, but Sam Harris, Max Gordon, and Vinton Freedley have not fallen over themselves in hurry to pur- chase them. MT. Hart thinks they have no imagination.
 He spends his time back-stage at shows which his other son, Bernard, serves as stage manager. Mamie will lift a pulley or move a set with the other boys to main- tain his lettering franchise. He keeps telling all the chorus girls employed, in Broadway musicals to give it up and get married.