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105-478: James Francis Durante ( / d ə ˈ r æ n t i / də- RAN -tee , Italian: [duˈrante] ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent , comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and prominent nose helped make him one of the United States' most familiar and popular personalities of

210-636: A Latino pronunciation of "Lower East Side". Politically, the neighborhood is in New York's 7th and 12th congressional districts. It is in the New York State Assembly 's 65th district and 74th district; the New York State Senate 's 26th district; and New York City Council 's 1st and 2nd districts. As was true of all of Manhattan Island, the area now known as the Lower East Side

315-451: A Richard Tauber film musical, Land Without Music (released in the United States as Forbidden Music ). Upon his return to Hollywood, there were no movie jobs for him. Columbia Pictures offered him a major role in its college musical Start Cheering , filmed in 1937, and he received excellent critical notices, re-establishing him in movies. From then on, he almost always appeared in strong supporting roles. Durante went on to appear in

420-493: A Technicolor cartoon, The Hot Choc-late Soldiers , created by Walt Disney with music by Nacio Herb Brown , and lyrics by Arthur Freed . The studio regarded Hollywood Party as such an embarrassment that no director claimed screen credit, and the technical credits were crowded onto a single panel and only disclosed after the end title. The film was a box office disaster, posting a loss of $ 500,000 in Depression dollars. It

525-406: A "lion provider". After it all gets out of hand, Schnarzan awakens to find he is just plain old Durante, who had a strange dream. Laurel and Hardy arrive late in the picture. Schnarzan's screen rival Baron Munchausen has given them a bad check for the lions they provided, and they are seeking reimbursement. Instead, they get into an egg-smashing contest with the fiery Lupe Velez. During production

630-458: A Job to accompany it. He performed at both the inaugural gala for President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and a year later at the famous Madison Square Garden rally for the Democratic party that featured Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to JFK . Durante continued his film appearances through the popular 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and a number of television appearances through

735-582: A big star and they were left behind, he kept them on his payroll for the rest of their lives. Durante's love for children continued through the Fraternal Order of Eagles , who among many causes raise money for disabled and abused children. At Durante's first appearance at the Eagles International Convention in 1961, Judge Bob Hansen inquired about his fee for performing. Durante replied, "Do not even mention money judge or I'll have to mention

840-473: A caricature of Adolf Hitler chasing Durante with a meat cleaver. Three examples from the 1940s include A Gruesome Twosome , which features a cat based on Durante, and Baby Bottleneck , which in unedited versions opens with a Durante-like stork. He also appears as a walrus in the 1945 United States Armed Forces World War II -era training film In the Aleutians – Isles of Enchantment . Book Revue shows

945-689: A champion horsewoman and then a horse trainer and horseriding instructor. Margie died on June 7, 2009, at the age of 89. On August 15, 1958, for his charitable acts, Durante was awarded a three-foot-high brass loving cup by the Al Bahr Shriners Temple in San Diego, California. The inscription reads: "JIMMY DURANTE THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS COMEDIAN. A loving cup to you Jimmy, it's larger than your nose, but smaller than your heart. Happiness always, Al Bahr Temple, August 15, 1958." Jimmy Durante started out his career with Clayton and Jackson and when he became

1050-489: A few Jewish scribes and variety stores. Some kosher delis and bakeries, as well as a few " kosher style " delis, including the famous Katz's Deli , are located in the neighborhood. Second Avenue in the Lower East Side was home to many Yiddish theatre productions in the Yiddish Theater District during the early part of the 20th century, and Second Avenue came to be known as “Yiddish Broadway”, even though most of

1155-579: A figure that'll make ya sorry ya brought it up." "What can we do then?" asked Hansen. "Help da kids," was Durante's reply. Durante performed for many years at Eagles conventions free of charge, even refusing travel money. The Fraternal Order of Eagles changed the name of their children's fund to the Jimmy Durante Children's Fund in his honor, and in his memory have raised over $ 23 million to help children. A reporter once remarked of Durante after an interview: "You could warm your hands on this one." One of

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1260-577: A major record hit with his own novelty composition, " Inka Dinka Doo ", with lyrics by Ben Ryan . It became his theme song for the rest of his life. A year later, Durante starred on Broadway in the Billy Rose stage musical Jumbo . Durante also appeared on Broadway in Show Girl (1929), Strike Me Pink (1934) and Red, Hot and Blue (1936). During the early 1930s, Durante alternated between Hollywood and Broadway. Outstanding among his early motion pictures

1365-458: A number of buildings historically associated with the Jewish immigrant community. Notable sites include: Synagogues include: Little Fuzhou ( Chinese : 小福州 ; pinyin : Xiǎo Fúzhōu ; Foochow Romanized : Siēu-hók-ciŭ ), or Fuzhou Town ( Chinese : 福州埠 ; pinyin : Fúzhōu Bù ; Foochow Romanized : Hók-ciŭ-pú ) is a neighborhood within the eastern sliver of Chinatown , in

1470-421: A reunion of Clayton, Jackson, and Durante on his April 21, 1948 broadcast. Durante first appeared on television showing up at the end of 1944 on John Reed King's audience participation show on the local New York CBS television station WCBW (now WCBS-TV ). His brief, unannounced, appearance on The Missus Goes a-Shopping seg apparently surprised most of the staff as well as the audience. Arrangements were made in

1575-567: A series of expensive rewrites and revisions, with numerous directors taking a hand in the filming, only the comedians remained, with Polly Moran , George Givot , and Ted Healy and his (Three) Stooges augmenting the cast. Laurel and Hardy were borrowed from producer Hal Roach to appear in the final section of the film. The revue format was abandoned, and the film became a farcical comedy with music. It has been asserted that Allan Dwan , Edmund Goulding , Russell Mack , Charles Reisner , Roy Rowland and Sam Wood directed various scenes, with

1680-440: A song to deliver a joke, with band or orchestra chord punctuation after each line, became a Durante trademark. In 1920 the group was renamed Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band. By the mid-1920s, Durante had become a vaudeville star and radio personality in a trio named Clayton, Jackson and Durante. When the trio played Broadway's famed Palace Theater during the week of June 4, 1928, Betty Felsen 's production of Ballet Caprice headlined

1785-534: A stroke that left him reliant on a wheelchair. He made a public appearance in 1974 when MGM held a reunion of its former stars, in connection with its new That's Entertainment! film. Durante died as a result of pneumonia in Santa Monica, California, on January 29, 1980, 12 days before he would have turned 87. He received Catholic funeral rites four days later, with fellow entertainers Desi Arnaz , Ernest Borgnine , Marty Allen , and Jack Carter in attendance, and

1890-631: A teenager she had been crowned Queen of the New Jersey State Fair. She attended New York University before being hired by the legendary Copacabana in New York City. She and Durante met there 16 years before their marriage, when he performed there and she was a hatcheck girl. She was 41 and he was 67 when they married. With help from their attorney, Mary G. Rogan, the couple were able to adopt a baby, Cecilia Alicia (nicknamed CeCe and now known as CeCe Durante-Bloum), on Christmas Day, 1961. CeCe became

1995-701: Is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City . It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it was understood to encompass a much larger area, from Broadway to the East River and from East 14th Street to Fulton and Franklin Streets. Traditionally an immigrant, working class neighborhood, it began rapid gentrification in

2100-520: Is almost identical to neighboring buildings. In September 2013, it was announced that the Essex Crossing redevelopment project was to be built in the area, centered around the intersection of Essex and Delancey Streets, but mostly utilizing land south of Delancey Street. The census tabulation area for the Lower East Side is bounded to the north by 14th Street and to the west by Avenue B , Norfolk Street, Essex Street , and Pike Street . According to

2205-575: Is hypnotized to imitate Jimmy Durante singing " Lullaby of Broadway ". One of Durante's common catchphrases "I got a million of 'em!" was used as Bugs' final line in Stage Door Cartoon . A Durante-like voice was also used for Marvel Comics superhero the Thing in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Fred and Barney Meet the Thing . The voice and appearance of Crispy, the mascot for Crispy Critters cereal,

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2310-545: Is now lined with upscale boutiques. Similarly, trendy restaurants, including Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant , are found on a stretch of tree-lined Clinton Street that New York Magazine described as the "hippest restaurant row" on the Lower East Side. In November 2007, the Blue Condominium , a 32-unit, 16-story luxury condominium tower, was completed at 105 Norfolk Street just north of Delancey Street. The pixellated, faceted blue design starkly contrasts with

2415-602: Is now obscured by shoreline landfill. It was near the east end of the present pedestrian bridge over the FDR Drive near Cherry Street . The name is preserved in Corlears Hook Park at the intersection of Jackson and Cherry Streets along the East River Drive. The bulk of immigrants who came to New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries came to the Lower East Side, moving into crowded tenements there. By

2520-477: Is now the East Village , earlier populations of Poles and Ukrainians have moved on and been largely supplanted by newer immigrants. The immigration of numerous Japanese people over the last fifteen years or so has led to the proliferation of Japanese restaurants and specialty food markets. There is also a notable population of Bangladeshis and other immigrants from Muslim countries, many of whom are congregants of

2625-653: The 124 Ridge Street Gallery among others. In December 2007, the New Museum relocated to a brand-new, critically acclaimed building on Bowery at Prince. A growing number of galleries are opening in the Bowery neighborhood to be in close proximity to the museum. The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space , which opened in 2012, exhibits photography featuring the neighborhood in addition to chronicling its history of activism. Social service agencies like Henry Street Settlement and Educational Alliance have visual and performing arts programs,

2730-620: The 2010 United States Census , the population of Lower East Side was 72,957, an increase of 699 (1.0%) from the 72,258 counted in 2000 . Covering an area of 535.91 acres (216.88 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 136.1 inhabitants per acre (87,100/sq mi; 33,600/km ). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 22.6% (16,453) White , 10.9% (7,931) African American , 0.2% (142) Native American , 24.9% (18,166) Asian , 0.0% (13) Pacific Islander , 0.3% (191) from other races , and 1.6% (1,191) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 39.6% (28,870) of

2835-603: The Beat poets and writers were drawn to the neighborhood – especially the parts which later became the East Village – by the inexpensive housing and cheap food. The German population decreased in the early twentieth century as a result of the General Slocum disaster and due to anti-German sentiment prompted by World War I . After World War II , the Lower East Side became New York City's first racially integrated neighborhood with

2940-619: The Beekman family of New York; his son Gerardus Beekman was christened at the plantation on August 17, 1653. On February 25, 1643, as part of Kieft's War , volunteers from the New Amsterdam colony killed forty Wiechquaesgecks at their encampment in the Massacre at Corlears Hook , in retaliation for ongoing conflicts between the colonists and the natives of the area, including the natives' unwillingness to pay tribute and their refusal to turn over

3045-537: The First Roumanian-American congregation (the Rivington Street Synagogue), partially collapsed in 2006 and was subsequently demolished. In addition, there is a major Hare Krishna temple and several Buddhist houses of worship. Chinese residents have also been moving into Lower East Side, and since the late 20th century, they have comprised a large immigrant group in the area. The part of

3150-503: The Gene Autry musical western Melody Ranch (1940), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942, playing Banjo, a character based on Harpo Marx ), Ziegfeld Follies (1945), Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962, based on the 1935 musical), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). On September 10, 1933, Durante appeared on Eddie Cantor 's NBC radio show, The Chase and Sanborn Hour , continuing until November 12 of that year. When Cantor left

3255-477: The Two Bridges and Lower East Side areas of Manhattan. Starting in the 1980s and by the 1990s, the neighborhood became a prime destination for immigrants from Fuzhou, Fujian , China. Manhattan's Little Fuzhou is centered on East Broadway . However, since the 2000s, Chinatown, Brooklyn became New York City's new primary destination for Fuzhou immigrants, resulting in a second Little Fuzhou that has far surpassed

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3360-618: The middle-class , as well as immigrants from countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia, Bangladesh , China, the Dominican Republic , India, Japan , Korea, the Philippines , and Poland. In the early 2000s, the gentrification of the East Village spread to the Lower East Side proper, making it one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Manhattan. Orchard Street , despite its "Bargain District" moniker,

3465-400: The 1840s, large numbers of German immigrants settled in the area, and a large part of it became known as " Little Germany " or "Kleindeutschland". This was followed by groups of Italians and Eastern European Jews, as well as Greeks, Hungarians, Poles, Romanians, Russians, Slovaks and Ukrainians, each of whom settled in relatively homogeneous enclaves. By 1920, the Jewish neighborhood was one of

3570-467: The 1920s through the 1970s. He often referred to his nose as the schnozzola ( Italianization of the American Yiddish slang word schnoz , meaning "big nose"), and the word became his nickname. Durante was born on the Lower East Side of New York City. He was the youngest of four children born to Rosa (née Lentino) and Bartolomeo Durante, both immigrants from Salerno , Campania , Italy. Bartolomeo

3675-525: The Dutch colony of New Amsterdam was located primarily below the current Fulton Street , while north of it were a number of small plantations and large farms called " bouwerij " ("bowery", equivalent to " boerderij " in present-day Dutch). Around these farms were a number of enclaves of free or "half-free" Africans, which served as a buffer between the Dutch and the Native Americans. One of the largest of these

3780-452: The East Village name, and the term was adopted by the popular media by the mid-1960s. As the East Village developed a culture separate from the rest of the Lower East Side, the two areas came to be seen as two separate neighborhoods rather than the former being part of the latter. By the 1980s, the Lower East Side had begun to stabilize after its period of decline , and once again began to attract students, artists, and adventurous members of

3885-554: The Feeling" in 1988's My Stepmother Is an Alien . His performance of " Young at Heart " was featured in City Slickers (1991), and his versions of "As Time Goes By" and "Make Someone Happy" played over the opening and closing credits of Sleepless in Seattle (1993). Michael J. Fox performed an impression of Durante singing "Inka Dinka Doo" in 1994's Greedy . His rendition of " Smile "

3990-514: The Lennon Sisters . The series lasted for one season on ABC (1969–1970). Durante's first wife was Jean "Jeanne" Olson, whom he married on June 19, 1921. She was born in Ohio on August 31, 1896. She was 46 years old when she died on Valentine's Day in 1943, after a lingering heart ailment of about two years, although different newspaper accounts of her death suggest she was 45 or perhaps 52. As her death

4095-405: The Lower East Side is especially remembered as a place of Jewish beginnings for Ashkenazi American Jewish culture. Vestiges of the area's Jewish heritage exist in shops on Hester and Essex Streets , and on Grand Street near Allen Street. An Orthodox Jewish community is based in the area, operating yeshiva day schools and a mikvah . A few Judaica shops can be found along Essex Street, as are

4200-474: The Lower East Side, the East Village and Chinatown . Community District 3 had 171,103 inhabitants as of NYC Health 's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 82.2 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are adults: a plurality (35%) are between the ages of 25–44, while 25% are between 45–64, and 16% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents

4305-551: The Revolution was separated from the densely populated city by rugged hills of glacial till: "this region lay beyond the city proper, from which it was separated by high, uncultivated, and rough hills", observers recalled in 1843. As early as 1816, Corlears Hook was notorious for streetwalkers , "a resort for the lewd and abandoned of both sexes", and in 1821 its "streets abounding every night with preconcerted groups of thieves and prostitutes" were noted by The Christian Herald . In

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4410-468: The accused killer of a colonist. The projection into the East River that retained Corlaer's name was an important landmark for navigators for 300 years. On older maps and documents, it is usually spelled Corlaers Hook, but since the early 19th century, the spelling has been anglicized to Corlears . The rough unplanned settlement that developed at Corlaer's Hook under the British occupation of New York during

4515-401: The album of pop standards September Song . The album became a best-seller and provided Durante's re-introduction to yet another generation, almost three decades later. Jimmy Durante's Way of Life album featured his interpretation of the song " As Time Goes By ", which accompanied the opening credits of the romantic comedy hit Sleepless in Seattle , while his version of " Make Someone Happy "

4620-525: The area within today's Eldridge, Essex, Hester and Broome Streets—was eliminated when the loyalist Delancey family's property was confiscated after the American Revolution . The city Commissioners of Forfeiture eliminated the aristocratic planned square for a grid, effacing Delancey's vision of a New York laid out like the West End of London . The point of land on the East River now called Corlears Hook

4725-460: The bill. Lou Clayton and Eddie Jackson , Durante's closest friends, often reunited with Durante in subsequent years. Jackson and Durante appeared in the Cole Porter musical The New Yorkers , which opened on Broadway on December 8, 1930. Earlier the same year, the team appeared in the film Roadhouse Nights , ostensibly based on Dashiell Hammett 's novel Red Harvest . By 1934, Durante had

4830-501: The book and the contribution that Hyman wanted Durante to make to it. Durante wrote, "Before I can say gaziggadeegasackeegazobbath, we're at his luxurious office." After reading the material Hyman had compiled for the book, Durante commented on it: "COLOSSAL, GIGANTIC, MAGNANIMOUS, and last but not first, AURORA BOREALIS. [Capitalization Durante's] Four little words that make a sentence—and a sentence that will eventually get me six months." Durante retired from performing in 1972, following

4935-412: The cartoon Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy . The duo was one of the nation's favorites for the rest of the decade. Their Armed Forces Radio Network Command Performance with Frank Sinatra remains a favorite of radio-show collectors today. Moore left the duo in mid-1947, and the program returned October 1, 1947 as The Jimmy Durante Show . Durante continued the show for three more years and featured

5040-460: The church. In 1968 he recorded 10 spiritual and inspirational songs for the album Songs for Sunday ; it was expanded to 20 selections for a CD release under the same title in 1996. Durante was an active member of the Democratic Party . In 1933, he appeared in an advertisement shown in theaters supporting Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal programs and wrote a musical score titled Give a Man

5145-461: The city ( Bowery ) survives in the names Delancey Street and Orchard Street . On the modern map of Manhattan, the Delancey farm is represented in the grid of streets from Division Street north to Houston Street. In response to the pressures of a growing city, Delancey began to survey streets in the southern part of the "West Farm" in the 1760s. A spacious projected Delancey Square —intended to cover

5250-418: The course of the 19th century, they came to be called hookers . In the 1832 summer of New York City's cholera epidemic, a two-story wooden workshop in the neighborhood was commandeered to serve as a makeshift cholera hospital; between July 18 and September 15, when the hospital was closed as the epidemic wound down, 281 patients were admitted, both black and white, of whom 93 died. In 1833, Corlear's Hook

5355-432: The early 1950s, Durante teamed with sidekick Sonny King , a collaboration that would continue until Durante's death. Several times in the 1960s, Durante served as host of ABC's variety hour The Hollywood Palace , which was taped live (and consequently included ad-libs by the seasoned vaudevillian). His last regular television series paired him with The Lennon Sisters and was titled, appropriately, Jimmy Durante Presents

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5460-600: The early 1970s. He narrated the Rankin-Bass animated Christmas special Frosty the Snowman (1969). The television work also included a series of commercial spots for Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereals in the mid-1960s, which introduced Durante to millions of children. One of his last appearances was in a television commercial for the 1973 Volkswagen Beetle , where he proclaimed that the new, roomier Beetle had "plenty of breathin' room... for de old schnozzola!" In 1963, Durante recorded

5565-424: The first was ABC No Rio . Begun by a group of Colab no wave artists (some living on Ludlow Street ), ABC No Rio opened an outsider gallery space that invited community participation and encouraged the widespread production of art. Taking an activist approach to art that grew out of The Real Estate Show (the take over of an abandoned building by artists to open an outsider gallery only to have it chained closed by

5670-428: The former at Abrons Arts Center , a home for contemporary interdisciplinary arts. The neighborhood is also home to several graffiti artists, such as Chico and Jean-Michel Basquiat . As the neighborhood has gentrified and become safer at night, it has transformed into a popular late-night destination. Orchard, Ludlow and Essex between Rivington Street and Stanton Street have become especially packed at night, and

5775-485: The influx of African Americans and Puerto Ricans . Areas where Spanish speaking was predominant began to be called Loisaida . By the 1960s, the influence of the Jewish and Eastern European groups declined as many of these residents had left the area, while other ethnic groups had coalesced into separate neighborhoods, such as Little Italy . The Lower East Side then experienced a period of "persistent poverty, crime, drugs, and abandoned housing". A substantial portion of

5880-537: The junior dachshund with a Durante-like "Augie, my son, my son", and with frequent citations of, "That's my boy who said that!" Many Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies cartoons had characters based on Durante, using lines like "Umbriago" , "Everybody wants to get into the act" , "I'm mortified!" , "I'm disgustipated" , "Those are the conditions that prevail" , "I got a million of them!" and "Ha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha" from his films, songs and radio acts. One Harman-Ising short from 1933, Bosko's Picture Show , featured

5985-529: The largest of these ethnic groupings, with 400,000 people, pushcart vendors and storefronts prominent on Orchard and Grand Streets, and numerous Yiddish theatres along Second Avenue between Houston and 14th Streets. Living conditions in these "slum" areas were far from ideal, although some improvement came from a change in the zoning laws, which required "new law" tenements to be built with air shafts between them so that fresh air and some light could reach each apartment. Still, reform movements, such as

6090-412: The late afternoon for him to pop into camera range, which he did with the reported agility of a tele vet. Billboard magazine reviewed the appearance: "Without script, rehearsal or make-up he went on and gave a top performance, proving that a star of Durante's caliber shines in any entertainment medium. Aware of camera angle importance, Schnozzle played his profile for all its irregularity. His ad libbing

6195-538: The mid-2000s, prompting the National Trust for Historic Preservation to place the neighborhood on their list of America's Most Endangered Places in 2008. The Lower East Side is part of Manhattan Community District 3 , and its primary ZIP Code is 10002. It is patrolled by the 7th Precinct of the New York City Police Department . The Lower East Side is roughly bounded by East 14th Street on

6300-486: The most elaborate dance number. The movie had many sequences cut or reshot after several references proved too esoteric for foreign audiences. A sequence that had featured Thelma Todd (impersonating Mae West ), Lupe Vélez , Jimmy Durante , and ZaSu Pitts playing bridge was deleted after it was lost on British viewers not yet familiar with the game. Additional episodes that featured actors Herman Bing , Johnny Weissmuller , Jackie Cooper , and Max Baer were cut from

6405-427: The movie was known as The Hollywood Revue of 1933 and Star Spangled Banquet . It was originally intended as an all-star attraction, like the studio's successful The Hollywood Revue of 1929 produced by Harry Rapf . Rapf's 1933 revue would star Jean Harlow , Joan Crawford , Marie Dressler , and Lee Tracy , supported by studio comedians Jimmy Durante , Lupe Vélez , Charles Butterworth , and Jack Pearl . After

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6510-599: The movie. As a result, surviving prints run approximately 68 minutes, but the original run time was 75 minutes. Famed songwriters Rodgers and Hart contributed most of the music. Gus Kahn wrote "Moonlight Serenade" for the 1933 Busby Berkeley movie Footlight Parade . However, when that song was cut from the Warner Bros. picture, it was placed a year later in Hollywood Party and sung by Eddie Quillan . Critical reception for Hollywood Party upon its original release

6615-522: The mystery alive until 1966. One theory was that it referred to the owner of a restaurant in Calabash, North Carolina , where Durante and his troupe had stopped to eat. He was so taken by the food, the service, and the chitchat that he told the owner that he would make her famous. Since he did not know her name, he referred to her as "Mrs. Calabash". At a National Press Club meeting in 1966 (broadcast on NBC's Monitor program), Durante finally revealed that it

6720-513: The neighborhood in a strong manner, and Chinatown holds a special place in the imagination of Chinese Americans, just as Astoria in Queens holds a place in the hearts of Greek Americans . It was a hub for ancestors of many people in the metropolitan area, and much depicted in fiction and films. Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem , established in 1907, was long led by Moshe Feinstein . In the late 20th century, Jewish communities have worked to preserve

6825-418: The neighborhood south of Delancey Street and west of Allen Street has, in large measure, become part of Chinatown . Grand Street is one of the major business and shopping streets of Chinatown. Also contained within the neighborhood are strips of lighting and restaurant supply shops on the Bowery. While the Lower East Side has been a place of successive immigrant populations, many American Jews relate to

6930-546: The neighborhood was slated for demolition under the Cooper Square Urban Renewal Plan of 1956, which was to redevelop the area from Ninth to Delancey Streets from the Bowery/Third Avenue to Chrystie Street /Second Avenue with new privately owned cooperative housing . The United Housing Foundation was selected as the sponsor for the project, which faced great opposition from the community. Neither

7035-481: The north of Delancey Street continued south. Several restaurants, bars, and galleries opened below Delancey Street after 2005, especially around the intersection of Broome and Orchard Streets. The neighborhood's second boutique hotel, Blue Moon Hotel, opened on Orchard Street just south of Delancey Street in early 2006. However, unlike The Hotel on Rivington, the Blue Moon used an existing tenement building, and its exterior

7140-408: The north, by the East River to the east, by Fulton and Franklin Streets to the south, and by Pearl Street and Broadway to the west. This more extensive definition of the neighborhood includes Chinatown , the East Village , and Little Italy . A less extensive definition would have the neighborhood bordered in the south and west by Chinatown , – which extends north to roughly Grand Street – in

7245-422: The oldest neighborhoods of the city, the Lower East Side has long been a lower-class worker neighborhood and often a poor and ethnically diverse section of New York. As well as Irish , Italians , Poles , Ukrainians , and other ethnic groups, it once had a sizeable German population and was known as Little Germany (Kleindeutschland) . Today it is a predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican community, and in

7350-537: The one started by Jacob Riis 's book How the Other Half Lives continued to attempt to alleviate the problems of the area through settlement houses , such as the Henry Street Settlement , and other welfare and service agencies. The city itself moved to address the problem when it built First Houses , the first such public housing project in the United States, in 1935–1936. The development, located on

7455-655: The original as the Fuzhou cultural center of the New York metropolitan area , and is still rapidly growing in contrast to Manhattan's Little Fuzhou that is shrinking under gentrification . Since the 2010s, the Fuzhou immigrant population and businesses have been declining throughout the whole eastern portion of Manhattan's Chinatown due to gentrification. There is a rapidly increasing influx of high-income, often non-Chinese, professionals moving into this area, including high-end hipster -owned businesses. The neighborhood has become home to numerous contemporary art galleries. One of

7560-462: The original large-scale development nor a 1961 revised proposal was implemented, and it was not until 1991 that an agreement was made to redevelop a small portion of the proposed renewal site. The East Village was once considered the Lower East Side's northwest corner. However, in the 1960s, the demographics of the area above Houston Street began to change as hipsters , musicians, and artists moved in. Newcomers and real estate brokers popularized

7665-601: The overwhelming majority directed by Richard Boleslavsky . George Stevens directed the Laurel and Hardy sequence and Dave Gould directed the "Feelin' High" dance number with choreography by Georgie Hale. Seymour Felix and Eddie Prinz directed final reshoots. Around the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer backlot, the choreographers of the dance sequences were competing with those staging the MGM movie Dancing Lady , vying to see who could create

7770-540: The percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 48% in Community District 3, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51%, respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018 , Community District 3 was considered to be gentrifying : according to the Community Health Profile, the district was low-income in 1990 and has seen above-median rent growth up to 2010. One of

7875-419: The police) ABC No Rio kept its sense of activism , community, and outsiderness. The product of this open, expansive approach to art was a space for creating new works that did not have links to the art market place and that were able to explore new artistic possibilities. Other outsider galleries sprung up throughout the Lower East Side and East Village—some 200 at the height of the scene in the 1980s, including

7980-749: The population. The racial composition of the Lower East Side changed moderately from 2000 to 2010, with the most significant changes being the White population's increase by 18% (2,514), the Asian population's increase by 10% (1,673), and the Hispanic / Latino population's decrease by 10% (3,219). The minority Black population experienced a slight increase by 1% (41), while the very small population of all other races decreased by 17% (310). The Lower East Side lies in Manhattan Community District 3 , which encompasses

8085-528: The process of gentrification (as documented by the portraits of its residents in the Clinton+Rivington chapter of The Corners Project.) Since the immigration waves from Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Lower East Side became known as having been a center of Jewish immigrant culture. In her 2000 book Lower East Side Memories: A Jewish Place in America , Hasia Diner explains that

8190-657: The projects built using money from the Durante Fund was a heated therapy swimming pool at the Hughen School in Port Arthur, Texas. Completed in 1968, Durante named the pool the "Inka Dinka Doo Pool". Durante was deeply religious and a staunch Roman Catholic . In Las Vegas, he was seen regularly after Sunday Mass outside of the Guardian Angel Cathedral, standing next to the priest and greeting parishioners as they left

8295-445: The resulting noise is a cause of tension between bar owners and longtime residents. Furthermore, as gentrification continues, many established landmarks and venues have been lost. Hollywood Party (1934 film) Jungle movie star "Schnarzan", a character in parody of Tarzan, is advised by his manager that he needs new lions for his pictures, as his old ones are "worn out". At a wild Hollywood party we see various guests, including

8400-405: The show, Durante took over as its star from April 22 to September 30, 1934. He then moved on to The Jumbo Fire Chief Program (1935–1936). Durante teamed with Garry Moore for The Durante-Moore Show in 1943. Durante's comic chemistry with the young, brush cut Moore brought Durante an even larger audience. "Dat's my boy dat said dat!" became an instant catchphrase , which would later inspire

8505-773: The small Madina Masjid, a mosque on First Avenue and 11th Street. The neighborhood still has many historic synagogues, such as the Bialystoker Synagogue , Beth Hamedrash Hagadol , the Eldridge Street Synagogue , Kehila Kedosha Janina (the only Greek synagogue in the Western Hemisphere), the Angel Orensanz Center (the fourth oldest synagogue building in the United States), and various smaller synagogues along East Broadway. Another landmark,

8610-580: The south side of East 3rd Street between First Avenue and Avenue A , and on the west side of Avenue A between East 2nd and East 3rd Streets, is now considered to be located within the East Village. By the turn of the twentieth century, the neighborhood had become closely associated with radical politics, such as anarchism , socialism , and communism . It was also known as a place where many popular performers had grown up, such as Eddie Cantor , Al Jolson , George and Ira Gershwin , Jimmy Durante , and Irving Berlin . Later, more radical artists such as

8715-505: The surrounding neighborhood. Following the construction of the Hotel on Rivington one block away, several luxury condominiums around Houston, and the New Museum on Bowery , this new wave of construction is another sign that the gentrification cycle is entering a high-luxury phase similar to in SoHo and Nolita in the previous decade. More recently, the gentrification that was previously confined to

8820-463: The theaters are now gone. Songwriter Irving Berlin , actor John Garfield , and singer Eddie Cantor grew up here. Since the mid-20th century, the area has been settled primarily by immigrants, primarily from Latin America , especially Central America and Puerto Rico. They have established their own groceries and shops, marketing goods from their culture and cuisine. Bodegas have replaced Jewish shops, and there are mostly Roman Catholics . In what

8925-488: The well-known (at that time) 1924 Edna Ferber novel So Big featuring a Durante caricature on the cover. The "so big" refers to his nose, and as a runaway criminal turns the corner by the book, Durante turns sideways using his nose to trip the criminal, allowing his capture. In Hollywood Daffy , Durante is directly depicted as himself, pronouncing his catchphrase "Those are the conditions that prevail!" In The Mouse-Merized Cat , Catstello (a Lou Costello mouse) briefly

9030-505: The west by Nolita and in the north by the East Village . Historically, the "Lower East Side" referred to the area alongside the East River from about the Manhattan Bridge and Canal Street up to 14th Street , and roughly bounded on the west by Broadway . It included areas known today as East Village , Alphabet City , Chinatown , Bowery , Little Italy , and NoLIta . Parts of the East Village are still known as Loisaida ,

9135-546: Was The Phantom President (1932), starring George M. Cohan with Durante as his gregarious pal. Durante then replaced Cliff Edwards as the comic foil in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 's Buster Keaton comedies: Speak Easily (1932), The Passionate Plumber (1932), and What! No Beer? (1933). Although his style of fast-talking comedy did not always mesh smoothly with the mimed visuals of Keaton, their series proved successful enough and might have continued. However, Keaton

9240-621: Was a barber. Durante served as an altar boy at St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church , known as the Actor's Chapel. Durante dropped out of school in seventh grade to become a full-time ragtime pianist. He played in piano bars under the name "Ragtime Jimmy" before he joined one of the first recognizable jazz bands in New York, the Original New Orleans Jazz Band . Durante was the only member not from New Orleans. His routine of breaking into

9345-595: Was also based on Durante. In Mickey Mouse Works , a character named Mortimer Mouse (voiced by Maurice LaMarche ) was based on Durante, complete with the "ha-cha-cha!". One of the main characters in Terrytoons' Heckle and Jeckle cartoon series also takes to imitating Jimmy in 1948's "Taming The Cat" ("Get a couple of song birds today..."). Since Durante's death, his songs have featured in several films. Dan Aykroyd and Kim Basinger performed impressions of Durante from The Man Who Came to Dinner , singing "Did You Ever Have

9450-407: Was also called Corlaers Hook under Dutch and British rule and briefly Crown Point during British occupation in the Revolution. It was named after the schoolmaster Jacobus van Corlaer, who settled on this "plantation" that in 1638 was called by a Europeanized version of its Lenape name , Nechtans or Nechtanc . Corlaer sold the plantation to Wilhelmus Hendrickse Beekman (1623–1707), founder of

9555-476: Was experiencing personal problems including loss of control over his movies, alcohol abuse, and a messy divorce, so MGM fired Keaton and kept Durante. MGM gave Durante leads in moderately budgeted comedies like Meet the Baron (1933) and Hollywood Party (1934), but he couldn't carry an entire feature film; he was more effective as somebody's sidekick, and MGM released him in 1934. Durante went to England to work in

9660-408: Was fast and funny". From 1950 to 1951, Durante was the host once a month (alternating with Ed Wynn , Danny Thomas , and Jack Carson ) on NBC's comedy-variety series Four Star Revue , airing on Wednesday evenings at 8 p.m. Jimmy continued with the show until 1954. Durante then hosted a half-hour variety show, The Jimmy Durante Show , on NBC from October 2, 1954, to June 23, 1956. Beginning in

9765-466: Was in the film Joker (2019) and its trailer. His rendition of " The Glory of Love " was also used in the end credits of the horror film Orphan (2009), and in its prequel, Orphan: First Kill (2022), with a rendition of it sung by Isabelle Fuhrman . His song "The Day I Read a Book" is regularly played on NPR 's Weekend Edition before author interviews and reviews. Lower East Side The Lower East Side , sometimes abbreviated as LES ,

9870-473: Was in the film's closing credits. Both are included on the film's best-selling soundtrack. Durante also recorded a cover of the well-known song " I'll Be Seeing You ", which became a trademark song on his 1960s TV show and was featured in the 2004 film The Notebook . He wrote a foreword for a humorous book compiled by Dick Hyman, titled Cockeyed Americana . In the first paragraph of the "Foreword!", as Durante called it, he describes meeting Hyman and discussing

9975-471: Was indeed a tribute to his wife. While driving across the country, they stopped in Calabash, a name she had loved. "Mrs. Calabash" became his pet name for her, and he signed off his radio program with "Good night, Mrs. Calabash." He added "wherever you are" after the first year. Durante married his second wife, Margaret "Margie" Little, at St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church in New York City on December 14, 1960. As

10080-551: Was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Durante is known to most modern audiences as the character who narrated the 1969 animated special Frosty the Snowman . He also performed the title song of the 1968 comedy-adventure movie Monte Carlo or Bust! (titled Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies in the U.S.) over the film's animated opening credits. While his own career in animation

10185-790: Was largely negative. Multiple exhibitors wrote in to the Motion Picture Herald to express their disgust with the movie, and one theater manager from Kentucky called it "One of the poorest excuses for a picture we have ever played". The New York Times wrote that it "may have been very funny while it was being made, but as it comes to the screen it is not a little disappointing". The film's chaotic, patchwork structure didn't appeal to general audiences. Hollywood Party remains significant today for its comedy stars, including Laurel and Hardy, radio celebrity Jack Pearl, The Three Stooges (in their final appearance for MGM, written by Arthur Kober ), and Mickey Mouse. The Mickey Mouse sequence introduces

10290-462: Was limited, Durante's distinctive voice, looks, and catchphrases earned him numerous depictions and allusions in animation. He was caricatured as early as 1933, alongside Buster Keaton in the Ub Iwerks cartoon Soda Squirt . Director Tex Avery presented him as a persecuted turkey in the MGM cartoon Jerky Turkey . In MGM's Tom and Jerry cartoons with father-and-son bulldogs Spike and Tyke , Durante

10395-485: Was located along the modern Bowery between Prince Street and Astor Place , as well as the "only separate enclave" of this type within Manhattan. These black farmers were some of the earliest settlers of the area. Gradually, during the 17th century, there was an overall consolidation of the boweries and farms into larger parcels, and much of the Lower East Side was then part of the Delancey farm. James Delancey 's pre-Revolutionary farm east of post road leading from

10500-461: Was lower, at 13% and 11%, respectively. As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 3 was $ 39,584, though the median income in the Lower East Side individually was $ 51,649. In 2018, an estimated 18% of Community District 3 residents lived in poverty, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or

10605-457: Was not immediately expected, Durante was touring in New York at the time and returned to Los Angeles right away to complete the funeral arrangements. Durante's radio show was bracketed with two trademarks: "Inka Dinka Doo" as his opening theme, and the invariable signoff that became another familiar national catchphrase: "Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are." For years, no one knew who Mrs. Calabash referred to, and Durante preferred to keep

10710-478: Was occupied by members of the Lenape tribe, who were organized in bands that moved from place to place according to the seasons, fishing on the rivers in the summer, and moving inland in the fall and winter to gather crops and hunt for food. Their main trail took approximately the route of Broadway . One encampment in the Lower East Side area, near Corlears Hook was called Rechtauck or Naghtogack. The population of

10815-605: Was producer Harry Rapf's last attempt to stage an expensive revue – or any expensive project at all. The failure of Hollywood Party resulted in Rapf being transferred to MGM's short-subjects department, but he acquitted himself well enough there to return to low-budget feature productions, which he produced until his death in 1949. Hollywood Party did recoup some of its losses later. Hal Roach had discontinued his releasing arrangement with MGM in 1938, so MGM would have no further Laurel and Hardy comedies to offer exhibitors. The studio filled

10920-587: Was referenced with a raspy voice and an affectionate "Dat's my boy!" In another Tom and Jerry short, Surf-Bored Cat , a starfish lands on Tom's head, giving him a big nose. He then proceeds with Durante's famous "Ha-cha-cha-cha" call. The 1943 Tex Avery cartoon What's Buzzin' Buzzard featured a vulture with a voice that sounded like Jimmy Durante. Hanna-Barbera continued to use the Durante voice (imitated by Doug Young ) in Hanna-Barbera 's Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy cartoons, Doggie Daddy invariably addressing

11025-488: Was the location of some of the first tenements built in New York City. Corlears Hook is mentioned on the first page of Chapter 1 of Herman Melville 's Moby Dick , first published in 1851: "Circumambulate the city of a dreamy Sabbath afternoon. Go from Corlears Hook to Coenties Slip , and from thence, by Whitehall, northward. What do you see? ..." and again in Chapter 99—The Doubloon. The original location of Corlears Hook

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