Mae West: Sardi's

It was not long after the new Sardi's opened on 5 March 1927 that MAE WEST arrived.
• • Sardi's is a restaurant in New York City's theater district at 234 West 44th Street (west of Broadway). Known for its "Wall of Fame" — — numerous wall-mounted, often distorted and unflattering caricatures of show-business celebrities — — Sardi's threw open the doors to its current location on 5 March 1927.
• • Vincent Sardi, Sr. [23 December 1885 — 19 November 1969] opened his first Times Square eatery with his wife Eugenia ("Jenny"), The Little Restaurant, at 146 West 44th Street in 1921. Five years later, when that building was slated for demolition, Mr. and Mrs. Sardi accepted an offer from theater moguls, the Shubert brothers, to relocate to a new building the brothers were erecting.
• • When business slowed after the move, Vincent Sardi searched for a gimmick to attract customers and attention. Recalling the movie-star caricatures that decorated the walls of Joe Zelli’s, a Parisian restaurant and jazz club, Sardi decided to recreate that effect in his establishment. He hired a Russian refugee named Alex Gard [1900-1948] to do drawings of Broadway box-office sensations.
• • Her show "Diamond Lil" [1928 — 1929] at the Royale Theatre made her the new darling of the Great White Way and Alex Gard had to have her head. His friend Sidney Skolsky introduced them. Though we do have an early draft of the sketch, it is too unflattering to duplicate. In his malicious portrait, Alex Gard cast Mae West not unlike an early version of Miss Piggy. And that's all, folks, on this topic.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
NYC
Mae West.

Mae West: Vincent Sardi

You can find Mae West at Sardi’s, a restaurant located in New York City's theater district [234 West 44th Street]. Known for the hundreds of caricatures of show-business celebrities that adorn its walls, Sardi’s opened at its current location on 5 March 1927.
• • After Mae's blockbuster Broadway hit "Diamond Lil" [1928 — 1929], the Brooklyn bombshell was installed on the wall of fame.
• • Established by Vincent Sardi, Sr. [23 December 1885 — 19 November 1969] and his wife, Sardi's was eventually operated by their son Vincent Sardi, Jr., nicknamed "Cino." Cino managed the theatre hang-out for half a century; he died on 4 January 2007 at the age of 91.
• • In 1979, Vincent Sardi, Jr. donated a collection of 227 caricatures from the restaurant to the Billy Rose Theatre Collection of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
• • The humorous (and often unflattering) caricatures, originally drawn by artist Alex Gard [1900-1948], along with frequent mentions of the restaurant in newspaper columns by Walter Winchell and Ward Morehouse added to Sardi’s growing popularity.
• • Vincent Sardi Sr., founder of Sardi's restaurant, is buried in the Mount Hebron Cemetery [Flushing, New York]. In remembrance of his death in November 1969, let us toast in style.
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• • • • Mae West Cocktail • • • •
Yolk of 1 egg
1 tsp. Powdered Sugar
1 ounce Brandy
Shake well and strain into a medium sized glass. Top with a dash of cayenne pepper.
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• • • • Sardi's Delight Cocktail • • • •
1/4 ounce Passionfruit Syrup
1/8 ounce Lime Juice
Dash of Grenadine & Absinthe
1 shot glass of Gin
Shake well.
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• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
NYC
Mae West.