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Remembering Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill's Brooklyn Mama

Sir Winston Churchill is one of the most revered people who ever lived. The 20th century British statesman and Prime Minister was one of the Allied leaders who, in the Darkest Hour, defeated Nazi Germany in World War II and thereby saved Western Civilization.

And even though he was the quintessential Englishman, Winston Churchill was half-American -- specifically, he was half-Brooklyn.

Sir Winston's mother was from Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Lady Jennie Jerome Churchill was born there in the then-City of Brooklyn in 1854 and, at the age of 20, married Lord Randolf Churchill (giving birth to Winston, her oldest son, in 1875).

Long-story short: one of history's greatest statesman was brought into the world via 21 year-old Brooklyn gal who was one of the first "dollar brides" -- i.e. a rich American given in marriage to the historical but broke British nobility. 

Although her famous son would overwhelm her memory, Jennie Jerome had a fascinating -- and scandalous -- life all of her. Many lovers (including a future King Edward VII), a younger second husband (only 16 days older than Winson!), major philanthropic initiatives, and she played a major role in Winston's early political career -- although her death in 1921 precluded her seeing her son's ultimate triumph.

You should read and watch (below) about her amazing life.

Even though Jennie Jerome lived almost her entire adult life in England, she hasn't been forgotten in her hometown. Up in the Bronx there's a playground named in her honor. And doubtless, without the NYC grit she gave her eldest son, the history of the world would be very different.

Dave Kendall RIP

Back in the 1980s and '90s, when MTV was actually a music channel, they had programs that showcased different kinds of music like Yo MTV Raps, the metal show Headbangers ball, and 120 Minutes that focused on "alternative" music and grunge.

120 Minutes was created by a guy named Dave Kendall who was actually a music journalist. The show as on late Sunday nights for, you guessed it, two hours, and Kendall hosted it for a few years. 

And on the night of September 29, 1991 -- just as I was starting my freshman year of high school -- Kendall hosted the premiere of a music video called "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by the band Nirvana. At that moment it might have seemed like a it was just another video and song by just another band but this moment would change music and cultural history forever. 

Dave Kendall has passed at the age of 68. RIP.

Wild Weather in NYC

So yesterday in NYC we recorded record high heat -- 100F degrees! -- plus a massive thunderstorm plus a massive dirty smoky orange haze that set over the city due to wildfires up in Canada. 

This city has experienced all kinds of wild weather -- massive blizzards, hurricaines, floods, even hazes before -- but to have this weird combination is rare. 

Helicopters over Little Neck Bay -- July 8th, 2026, 6:52 PM

Mr NYC in Kennebunkport, Maine

Recently I spent a night in Kennebunkport, Maine. It was my first time in the Pine Tree State and -- wow! -- it's beautiful.

Maine is much in the news these days for political reasons but most of the time it's a quiet, sleepy place up north.

In my mind it's The Place Beyond Boston, even more remote than Vermont and New Hampshire, basically a piece of Canada captured within the Lower 48. In Maine, the pace of life is slower, time is more important than money, and culturally it's actually more French-Canadian than American.

Several years ago the humorous write Drew Magary wrote a piece for GQ called "Maine: Do We Need It?" that dissects the vagaries of this odd place.

Unlike northern Maine -- where both its residents and geography have more common with the Wildings in the land beyond the Wall in Game of Thrones -- southern Maine is gorgeous tourist trap. Kennebunkport is its crown jewel, a beautiful seaside town with charming shops, great restaurants, and nice bed and breakfasts.

When we got there, we visited one of the beautiful private beaches (thanks to some family friends). Then we stayed at the Kings Point Inn which I highly recommend, is reasonably priced, gives you breakfast, and has a jacuzzi bathtub. The friendly guy at the front desk talked about how much he loves his town and state, and gave us a nice map -- even showing us directions to Walkers Point, summer home of the Bush family (don't worry, we didn't go). For dinner, we ate a place called Hurricaine -- while the service was slow and it was crowded, the food was amazing. After dinner we walked around the charming streets, getting ice cream, and enjoying the relaxed vibe of the place. I took lots of pictures which, you'll see here, and drank in its beauty.

A couple of interesting things: 1) Apparently the Bush family was in-residence on Walkers Point and good ol' George W. was there celebrating his 80th birthday. 2) Did you know that Maine used to be part of Massachusetts? It became independent in 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise -- Maine joined as a free state, Missouri as a slave state. 3) There's actually two townd, Kennebunkport and Kennebunk that are divided/joined by a bridge and make us this area. 4) If you go to Maine, you better like seafood.  

The End of Central Park Horse Carriages?

There's a currently a bill circulating in the City Council to ban horse carriages in Central Park. While they are a nostalgic and beautiful part of the history and identity of the park and city, they really are outdated and dangerous. People and horses have died and, even when they don't, these poor horses are scared of the noise and traffic of the city as well as being baked or frozen in the summer and winter months.

This editorial gives a good oversight of this bill, and how it would buy-out the  horse-carriage industry so that the people working in it aren't left destitute. 

But I agree, it needs to end. Heck, I can remember seeing groups organizing against horse-carriages back when I was a kid so this isn't a new issue. And yet, as nostalgic as I am for the old days of NYC, this is a lot like public smoking -- something that some people might enjoy but that really has no place in a decent society. 

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

Recently I visited the birthplace of the only American president born in Manhattan -- the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace on East 20th Street. It's actually part of the US National Parks so it was odd and fascinating to see people dressed as park rangers in the middle of the city.

Since it's a Federal site, admission is free. However, in order to see the whole house, you need to join one of the hourly tours. The house itself is a beautifully preserved example of a Knickerbocker 19th-century Manhattan architecture and interior decorating, with the museum to TR on the first floor. 

It's a popular destination. I went at the end of the day in scorching hot weather in the middle of the week and there were lots of people on the tour. It's certainly worth seeing this historic place, and remembering that once upon NYC produced a president worth being proud of. 

Remembering the "Pine Tar Incident" @ Yankee Stadium -- July 24, 1983

" ... and thank you for your support": Remembering Bartles & Jaymes Ads in NYC

Gotta Love New Yorkers

Overhead in the Temple of Dendur at the Met Museum: "Who's more evil? Herod or the Sacklers?"

Brooklyn @ America 250

On this July 4th, 250th anniversary of American Independence, I'm going to focus on one place -- Brooklyn.

I recently spent a week there and, if you want to understand the greatness of America, you can find it in the history, food, and streets of this mighty borough that once upon was its very own city. For example ...

... if you go there you can eat at amazing restaurants like Wheated.

... if you walk the streets you can see funny bumper stickers like:

... at night you find people watching the World Cup on the streets and join them!

... and you can get stunning views of the city when you take the train into Manhattan, a reminder that we are huge city of islands, a city on water, a city that contains multitudes.

Happy birthday America, and America wouldn't be a great as it is without Brooklyn!

NYC Hosts the Wedding of the Year

Two Classy Brits Talk "Mamdani Effect" Beyond NYC

And as we celebrate America 250, what do our former masters in the United Kingdom, the people "across the pond", think of their once-upon-a-time subjects?

Well, these two classy Brits have some thoughts -- especially about the mayor of NYC and how the "Mamdani Effect" is extending beyond NYC and even into the former Mother Country.

America 250: George III's Failure

I'm fascinated by stories of failure. As a failure myself, it's so much more interesting than success. That's why I read books and watch documentaries about movies that flopped, about wars that went wrong, about various other things that went awry. Somewhere along the way someone made a decision or decisions that seemed correct at the time -- but that turned out instead to be really wrong. Failure is about the intersection of intent with human falibility, about the clash between dreams and reality. 

I'm a fan of failure. 

Therefore, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, I'd like to share these hilarious clips from the 1994 movie The Madness of King George where George III mourns the "paradise lost" that was "the colonies." Of course two decades later the musical Hamilton would have a more comic take on George III's defeat -- but after 250 years, we won't "be back."

Climbers Storm the Empire State Building!

How Many Shots Are There in a "Tootsie" Shot?

I didn't realize that it had a name but it does: that shot ... that shot when a person or a couple of people are walking the crowded streets of NYC, a long-lense camera focusing on them as we follow their journey -- both literal and existential -- is called "the Tootsie shot." 

That's because, in the 1982 classic Tootsie, we follow the crossdressing hero played by Dustin Hoffman as he/she walks the crowded Manhattan streets as they try to restart their acting career as a woman. 

I just listened to an entire podcast episode about this particular shot, and how variations of it appear in different ways in many NYC movies. But what this shot contains, what all the version of it contains, is the same visual meaning -- that of a person, alone in NYC, is starting a new journey that will change his or her life. 

And here's the thing: "the Tootsie shot" is much older than Tootsie itself. In the 1969 classic Midnight Cowboy -- more than a decade before Tootsie -- Hoffman himself walks on the streets in a crowd, bellowing his classic line, "I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin' here!" 

There are many examples of this famous shot from different NYC movies over the decade -- including two with John Travolta playing the Brooklyn dancer Tony Menero. 

Here are some great examples of "the Tootsie shot" in some classic NYC movies:

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Shaft (1971)

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Times Square (1980)

Tootsie (1982)

Staying Alive (1983)

The Secrets of My Success (1987)

Working Girl (1988)

Sea of Love (1989)

The Prince of Tides (1991)

Elf (2003)

NYC: Days of Future Past

Last night's NYC primaries made history -- two members of Congress were defeated as were several members of the state legislature, and the Democratic Socialists of America saw several of its candidates win (including the Brooklyn Borough President who was running for Congress losing).

Even though Tammny Hall is long gone, it's spirit remained in NYC politics for decades -- static, perenially status quo, incumbents getting reelected over and over and over again. Rarely, very rarely, did incumbents lose -- until the last few years. That's now accelerated, and incumbents are starting to drop like flies.

Only time will tell but it appears that NYC's political future will be much more dynamic.

And while NYC's political future is being forged, its past is being memoralized -- although somewhere far from NYC: a new presidential library for Theodore Roosevelt, only one of two presidents born in the city, is opening ... in North Dakota. It might seem like an odd place but TR spent a lot of time in the state during his youth and had many formative experiences. Also, city-boy that he was, TR founded the national parks, preserving so much of the nation's wilderness. So it's appropriate his library would be out there -- cementing his legacy in the place where he forged it.

When it comes to NYC politics, these days we're truly living in the past and future at the same time. 

In the Shadow of Greatness

I was pondering something lately and, as a ponder, it was an admittedly silly ponder but ponder about this silly matter I nonetheless did ponder. 

The ponder was about Anthony Bourdain, the late writer/broadcaster about food and travel who died by his own hand in 2018. He went from being a line chef to a celebrity due to his brilliant writings and TV shows that observed the world around us and what we eat. He became acclaimed and famous for making us look at and understand our world better -- and making it more delicious.

Oh, yes, and he was my neighbor -- something I've blogged about more than a few times before. 

Bourdain is still remembered and celebrated almost a decade after his death -- now with a movie about his life set to debut this this year -- which is something few us will ever get. 

He achieved, in a word, greatness -- and yours truly lived in the shadow of his greatness. 

This blog has always been my attempt to understand NYC better and to share my observations about it to the world. But I never will achieve the greatness that Bourdain did although I think I've also contributed something of value to the culture too.

And as once-neighbor, in a way, we share a certain past -- although he went on to greatness and I have spent my time laboring in the shadows.

In 'udder words, if Anthony Bourdain was ...

... Bob Dylan, I'm Llewyn Davis. If

... Mozart, I'm Salieri.

... Jesus, I'm Brian.

But greatness is not, should not, be the purpose of life. Greatness finds people -- like it did Anthony Bourdain. However, we should all try to contribute what we can, when we can, where and how we can. And I've done that! Maybe my contributions are in the shadows but they're not totally in the dark. 

The Papal Primaries of NYC

Tomorrow is Primary Day in New York, and the fate of many political careers for State and Federal elected officials will be decided.

The big ones are the Democratic Congressional Primaries between Congressman Dan Goldman and former NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, and multiple candidates (including Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of the late President Kennedy) who are running to replace retiring Congressman Jerry Nadler.

In heavily Democratic NYC these primaries are usually more important than general elections. And for decades incumbents almost always won -- there have been a few exceptions, including AOC's big 2018 victory, but VERY few -- which meant that winning a primary was almost like a Papal election (if you won a primary or survived a primary challenger, you could serve for decades). For example, I remember 20 years ago there was a nasty primary in Brooklyn to replace the retirning Congressman Major Owens; then-City Councilwoman Yvette Clark won and she's been in office ever since.

There 'ya go.

But in the last few years incumbents have been less-and-less bullet-proof in primaries: Queens/Bronx Congressman Joe Crowley lost to AOC in 2018, then Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel lost to Jamaal Bowman in 2020 and then Bowman lost in 2024 to now-Congressman George Latimer. Lots of state elected have also lost their seats in primaries in recent years. And it's expected than Goldman will proabably lose to Lander and that Congressman Espaillat might lose to a strong challanger. This article talks about the shifting sands of primary politics in NYC -- even if you get elected to Congress, your own party might throw you out in a few short years.

To quote former British Prime Minister John Major, "Politics is a rough old trade."

"La Dolce Musto" Forever

In the very first year of this blog, back in 2007, I had the honor of interviewing legendary Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto. He gave me a funny, quirky interview, and I was very grateful for his time. The name of his long-running column was "La Dolce Musto."

Now, if you'd like, you can go back and read about Michael's memory of his first 1984 "La Dolce Musto" column in the Village Voice. 

Michael is an Only in NYC type, the kind whose likes we might never see again. 

New York Knicks NBA Championship Parade & Ceremony @ City Hall

When I was a kid I remember the now-legendary 1986 Mets World Series victory. There was something special, timeless and singular, about it, more than just another run-of-the-mill World Series, and it's fondly remember 40 years later.

I think it's fair to say that the 2026 Knicks NBA Championship will also go down in the history of NYC as a special, timeless and singular moment. This wasn't just a big victory by the city's basketball team: this was a moment where the city's spirit decided to sing -- and sing loudly.

The New York Knicks -- 2026 NBA Champions!

This is the first time that the NY Knicks have won the NBA championship title since 1973 -- 53 freakin' years ago. 

A singular moment for the city, and a memory for all New Yorkers to cherish.

Here's how the game evolved and ended ...

... and here's how the city is celebrating the Knick's first championship in over half-a-century:

Knicks Pull Off Historic Game 4 NBA Finals Victory

Knicks didn't win Game 3 but a sleazy guy from Queens who noboby wanted there got loudly booed -- so it was kind of was a victory of a different kind.

Robin Byrd Bangs Again!

Damn, never though I'd see this: there's an upcoming HBO documentary about naughty NYC late-night cable TV host Robin Byrd who ran her stripper/adult star-filled show from the late 1970s to the late 1990s.

And it's called, haha, Bang My Box.

Robin was an "Only in New York" type, a former adult star who appeared in Debbie Does Dallas and who, along with Al Goldstein, brought "the sexy" and scandalous to NYC week-after-week in those pre-Internet/social media days. I remember watching Robin regularly during my high school years (and then in repeats for years afterwards) and she was truly a, uh, needed night cap.

I've blogged about Robin over the years, including back in 2009! And I interviewed former Robin Byrd guest, former adult star Hyapatia Lee, back in 2019. And now ... mainstream culture has caught up with Mr NYC, giving us this documentary about this NYC icon (believe it or not, it's produced by Sarah Jessica Parker), and proving, yet again, that Mr NYC is Ahead of His Time.

I'm looking forward to seeing this doc and also feel, quite smugly, that I recognized Robin's cultural significance much earlier than anyone else! 

Postscript: Robin's show ended in April, 1999, just weeks before I graduated from college and two years before 9/11. It felt like, feels like, the end of old NYC and my childhood. Le sigh. 

Scott Pelley on the Fate of "60 Minutes"

Knicks Pull Off Stunning Game 2 Finals Win

Rocky Allen RIP

Well, this is sad. Longtime radio DJ Rocky Allen has died at the age of 71.

Rocky was an old-school DJ who worked all over the country, eventually coming to the late 95.5 WPLJ FM in NYC in the early 1990s. Rocky had two stints at WPLJ in the 1990s and 2000s, and also did time on 77 WABC AM radio. He was a good natured, sweet man with a great voice.

And I worked for him! 

Well, not really -- in the summer of 1994 I was an intern at WPLJ (as I've blogged about before) and logged his show a few times. He was always very nice to me the few times we spoke and it was a good hang at his show. 

In fact, when I was logging his show, I met Pat Morita from the Karate Kid movie series. He was visiting the show one day to promote The Next Karate Kid and he shook my hand by saying "Hi, I used to be a movie star." Rocky and Pat talked about how Pat's new co-star, a young lady named Hillary Swank, was really talented -- and a few years later she'd win two Academy Awards. 

Another memory of working with Rocky Allen: the dude was funny, much funnier off the air than on. During commercial breaks and when songs were playing, he and the staff would tell wild, hilarious jokes and stories. I remember ...

... one of his producers telling us about going down to visit his girlfriend in Florida and found her banging another guy. 

... Rocky's sidekick, Blaine Ensley, looking at a newspaper and, referencing the then-Paula Jones lawsuit against then-President Clinton, asking me, "Do you think Bill showed that chick his weenie?" I had no answer for that nor did I think he really wanted one, although it was obviously a foreshadowing of things to come.

... and from Rocky himself. He once hosted a short salon with me and the guys in the studio about whether or not not "fat chicks" gave "better blow jobs." Rocky did not believe that weight was necessarily proportional to skill (and Rocky himself was very fat so he could and should have advocated for this "position") but the other guys were convinced -- overweight ladies were more talented at this particular activity. So these days, whenever I see fat ladies, I think of Rocky and the gang and smile.

RIP, Rocky. I'll miss 'ya. You were a mench

Culture Uncovered!

One of the reasons I love history is that it's the gift that keeps on giving. There's so much of it, and so much to learn, that as much as you know or think you know, there's always more .. and more ... and more ...

I love learning about people who lived in the past who might not have been the most famous and powerful people of their times but who nonetheless lead interesting lives that sometime intersected with history. And as we get older, we start to see how much of our lives have also, at very times, intersected with history. 

And sometimes history can be wacky ... literally.

Recently I came upon some cultural history that, for decades, has been suppressed but that recently has become freely available ... thanks to YouTube. And boy is it wacky! 

In 1975 the Maysles brothers made the classic documentary Grey Gardens about Edie and Edith Beale, the reclusive cousins of Jackie Kennedy who were living in squalor in the Hamptons. But it turns out that a couple years earlier, in 1972, Jackie Kennedy's sister Lee Radziweil and her then-boyfriend, the photographer Peter Beard, went out to the Hamptons to visit the Beales and filmed them.

The result was a documentary that came out in 2016 called That Summer, and it's a fascinating, new look at these two legendary eccentrics in a context that is both familiar from Grey Gardens yet also humanizes them more than that documentary did. This was a part of the past that we thought we knew but, once this footage was uncovered, we literally saw and learned even more about these two cultural icons. 

And then ... there's Martin Lawrence. Yes, in the early 1990s, Mr. Lawrence was the star of his hit sitcom Martin! and he was on top of the world. Naturally he was invited to host Saturday Night Live in 1994 and, uh, let's just say that he brought a bit of a "Def Comedy Jam" mentality to the whitest comedy show on TV. He did the usual monologue and it went off the rails when he started talking about the recent John Wayne Bobbit case (the guy who got his weiner cut off) and then it becomes about Mr Lawrence's beliefs about the important of feminine hygiene.

It was so raunchy that it was edited out of the West Coast broadcast and all subsequent broadcasts. But, uh, well, now we can see if for ourselves. And it's naaaaasty! But it's a piece of forgotten cultural history that is now uncovered (you can see the edited and unedited versions below).

By the way, the musical guest for Martin!'s episode was the Canadian band Crash Test Dummies. They had a huge hit at the time with the song "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm", and it's a rather bizarre contrast to have had an aggressive black comedian host like Martin Lawrence with a superwhite band like Crash Test Dummies. 

While we rightly think we're living in bizarre times, when you uncover the cultural of the past, we should realize that the bizarreness was there all the time. 

Review: "The Rocky Horror Show"

Let me be honest: The Rocky Horror Show is not really my kind of show. I've seen the movie, and enjoyed it, but let's just say that I'm a Square and this is not a show for my kind. But when you have friends and family who are most definately not Squares, ya go.

And I did. And I enjoyed it!

Back up: both the show and the movie are the brainchild of a man named Richard O'Brien who wrote and first staged this show in 1973. The plot is about a young stranded couple who, on a dark and stormy night, knock on the door of a strange house and get sucked into a world that turns out to be ... otherwordly. Great songs, and tranvestites, and all sorts of funky stuff ensues and it's a great time.

Silly as the show is, this current new Broadway production is very well done -- especially Luke Evans as the mysterious Frank-n-footer and Stephanie Hsu as the impressionable young Janet. Rachel Dratch, once of SNL, is brilliant as the Narrator, and the whole case, you can tell, is just having a great time. 

The show is a wild good time -- even the audience gets into the act, and many were dressed as transvestites (!). So while The Rocky Horror Show ain't exactly  South Pacific or Gypsy or Hamilton, it's still a memorable classic, and this particular staging of it is very well done. 

Flags 8th Avenue -- Tuesday, May 26, 6:17 PM

Knicks Go to the NBA Finals -- First Time in 27 Years!

Brooklyn Bridge at Sunrise -- May 19th, 2026, 8:19 AM

The Ed Sullivan Theater Goes Dark

Stephen Colbert signed off The Late Show last night and now, after 33 years, one of the big 11:30 PM talk shows is gone. I attended a taping of the show back in 2018 and blogged about it at the time.

It's sad to think that all of the talent and energy I saw that day is now gone. Colbert and this show deserved better but the monsters who now run CBS decided, in the most cowardly way possible, to censor him for political reasons.

So it goes.

The Late Show ran for all 33 years from The Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway and 53rd Street. The theater was, in many ways, the first sign of the theater district and the entire Times Square area. When you came upon it you it was like the theater was welcoming you to the cultural heart of NYC -- and America.

I didn't spend a lot of time in the theater district as a kid but I remember that when I was there I would pass The Ed Sullivan Theater which, at the time, had a big black and white marquee. It would announce various taping for various shows -- including the 1980s sitcom Kate & Allie. Often the theater would lie empty and it looked a little run down. It just seemed to sit there -- it's amazing history as the place where Ed Sullivan changed the culture with the Beatles and numerous other artists long in the past.

Then, in 1993, it found its second life.

David Letterman started The Late Show that year and it once again became a massive cultural hub, basically the nerve center for NYC cultural hub. I was in high school at the time and it was really exciting! The theater screamed "New York!" to the rest of America -- and the rest of America loved it. 

And now it's all over.

The Ed Sullivan Theater is once again just sitting there empty. It's gone dark. So far there are apparently now plans to use it for anything again. That would be tragic. It's a beautiful space in the heart of Manhattan and it let it wither would be criminals. But since our country is being run and owned by criminals, I don't hold out hope.

Light a candle for the Ed Sullivan Theater. It needs the love.