Paul_D's Blog

without great effort he befriended or was befriended  by the most influential columnists of the time: Winchell, Jimmy Cannon, Grantland Rice, Bill Corum, Earl Wilson, and Red Smith.  Acquiring a new sense of leadership, he also showed a decent respect for beat writers, less renowned journalists who wrote each day.

Entering Toots Shor's in the West Fifties, one passed a large, round bar packed at appropriate hours by characters from sports, theater, advertising, and public relations.  Drink prices were stiff. The place was called a gymnasium with room service, different from a candlelit French restaurant.

An ethic of puritanism prevailed. One did not sit in that joint and recount sexual conquests. Did not even tell dirty jokes.  Journalists from the city’s 11 dailies also hung out there. They could duck in for a quick drink and pick up copy for a column by noting who was present that night. During the 1940s and 50s when New York became the capitol of the world, Toots Shor’s restaurant was the capitol of the city’s pop social scene. Toots described himself as a mere saloon keeper. Yet his restaurant was the center of urban glamour and money.