Evening star., 1960-02-27
Out-But Not Down

1t is characteristic Of Jimmy Lake,
Ninth streets ebullient and voluble
Mayor" that, while he may be down,
he is not out. Or, more correctly, he is
out but not down-out on the street,
that is. We would have better world if
more folks, when adversely strikes, would
adopt the philosophical outlook of the
80-year-old impreSario of the runway
and the prize ring
A deputy marshal, writ in his hand,
counted Jimmy out, after 26 years at the
same old stand and some 40 years on his
favorite street. Sadly Mayor" Lake
watched his belongingS-chairS, tables,
beer coolers and other appurtenances-
tossed out of his colorful restaurant
night club, just as many an obStreperous
patron had been elected in years past.
Jimmys place" is to be torn down,
along with the adjoining theater, once
known to burleSque fans all over the
country as "the Gayety" but latterly a
'legit" house bearing the name of Sam S.
Schubert
But Jimmy Lake is not mad at any
body, although he feels that his legal
rights to remain in the building a bit
longer, at least, were kicked around by
"the law" IT am victim of circum-
stances" he told The Star. "It's an
unkind trick of fate. I have rented a
place down the street but I'm not sure
can open there. When the real estate
man offered me 81 900 to help pay the
moving expenses, told him as intelli-
gently as could to see my lawyer. That
made him peeved-real peeved So he
told me to get my periShables out of
there at once, or else. You know the
rest. don't own two sandwiches right
now"
Yet there was time when Jimmy
Lake was well-to-do ("They used to call
me a millionaire" he ref1ected) Those
were the days when nearly anybody
down on his luck could get handout
from Jimmy-not only of food but of
money. eff everybody gave buck or
ten bucks or more to in those good years
would repay me today" he said, I'D
collect lot more than $100,000") But
Jimmy has not heard from any of them
lately. Nor has he heard from any of the
bonus marcherS of the hectic thirtieS,
the raggle-taggle veterans to whom he
gave lodging overnight in the Gayety
after the strip-teasers had left and the
spotlightS had been shut off. In fact, he
has not heard from them since he raised
$1,000 at ball park benefit to help pay
the fares home of hundreds of the
stranded marchers. He did get their
thanks at the time, however, not only
for the money but for the cigarettes he
donated-some Of which, he belatedly
confesses, were salvaged from the sand
filled containers in the Gayety lobby,
cleaned up and their burned ends
shipped off, (The butt-salvaging ma
neuver he explains, was an emergency
measure to meet desperate plea for
cigarettes from the restless camps of the
marchers.)
Jimmy Lake cannot put these
incidents of the past out of his mind,
as he ponders upon his own ill luck now
He would be the last person in the world,
however, to ask any favors for himself
I've stood on my own feet all these
years." he says, "and I intend to do so
now, in spite of everything. I hope to
open another place on Ninth street
before long and I'll carry on from there"
Those who know Jimmy have no doubt
that he will do just that-and that he
will be as ready in the future to help his
less fortunate friends-and strangers
as he has been during his long reign
in Ninth streets bright light district.