Remembering Lynn Samuels

Ten years ago I wrote briefly about Lynn Samuels, the radio talk show host who died suddenly in late 2011 at the age of 69. 

Lynn was a rare thing -- a liberal woman in the combative world of conservative male talk radio, a rough talking broad among the fast talking dudes. But her show was more than about politics -- it was about life, it was about attitude, it was about pop culture, it was about the absurdities of living in New York City -- and Lynn was New York City to the core. Her voice was the city. More than anyone else on the radio, she defined and explained NYC to itself.

She was the closest thing ever to a stand-up comedian on the air. 

Lynn was a journey-woman radio host, migrating from the rough and tumble of non-profit radio station WBAI to the (then) powerhouse local station WABC, and finally to the behemoth of SIRIUS XM. During her WABC years she would be hired and fired many times, always in a different time slot -- weeknights, late nights, Saturday mornings, Saturday afternoons, Sunday nights, and she would fill in for just about every other host on the station as well. She'd take calls and talk to anyone, bring on psychics and all sorts of weirdos on the air, she'd sing and bang the console, she'd do anything to entertain her audience. Before podcasts, Lynn was the best thing you could possibly listen to.

I discovered Lynn's show in high school and fell in love with it. I even called into her a few times to talk about the newly elected President Clinton and movies. She was always a joy to chat with, a real character. 

This hilarious clip of Lynn reading the personal ads capture what was so special about her, and Lord know we'll never hear her likes again on the NYC airwaves. 

Last of the Blues Greats

I just read -- and urged you to do so -- this article about Robert Ross, a veteran blues guitarist who has played the club scene in NYC and around the country for more than 50 years.

Even though Ross jammed with Jimi Hendrix back in the day and played at hallowed, long-gone NYC institutions like Max's Kansas City, Ross has never become rich and famous or any kind of star. He's remained, for more than half-a-centry, a journeyman muscian, a traveling man singing for his supper, a living relic of a time and music long gone by.

Yet Ross endures, sharing his genuine love the blues with people everywhere he goes. In some ways, he's a real life Llewyn Davis -- a singer/guitarist committed to a type of music that's not very popular, certainly not lucrative, but has so much soul and spirit, provides so much joy, that he's willing to keep performing it for pennies.

Ross's life story both saddens and inspires, making you realize that sometimes your love and pride in your work is the only reward you'll get -- and sometimes that's enough.

Ukraine vs. Russia Proxy War in NYC: Veselka vs. The Russian Tea Room

NYC Novelties

The definition of the word "novelty" is "the quality of being new, original, or unusual."

This city is filled with myriad novelties -- people, place, things -- that are offbeat, interesting, strange, original, and wholly their own. Good people may disagreed as to what makes someone, something, or someplace novel but, in looking at NYC past and present, here are three novelties that recently came to my attention that you might find interesting:

- If you are watching The Gilded Age, you might be intrigued by the character of Ward McCallister, portrayed by Nathan Lane. In a show that mixes history with fiction, McCallister was a real person, a self-appointed arbiter of NYC high society during the late 19th century. You might say he was Truman Capote before Truman Capote -- a Southern transplant of uncertain sexuality who delighted and amused wealthy and famous doyennes with rapier-like wit and cutting insights. He was invited and went everywhere, he was a valued guest at any table, he "made the scene" until, later in life, he wrote about it all and turned into a social pariah. Like Capote, McCallistser was a true NYC novelty, an "only-in-New York" type who couldn't exist anywhere else.

- Then there's a whole neighborhood that's a novelty -- Red Hook, Brooklyn. Right across the East River from Manhattan, Red Hook is largely cutoff from the rest of the borough and city since it has next to no public transporation (no subways, just one bus line, and the occasional ferry). A former industrial area, it seems frozen in time like -- no massive gentrification there -- like an old abandoned New England village. The residents love it and its streets and buildings almost seem like history made real. There really isn't any other neighborhood like it in the whole city, a real NYC residential novelty.

- Finally, when we think of Native American culture and the Wild West, we don't think of a townhouse in Boerum Hill. But you should! This fascinating article traces the history of a woman named Murial Miguel, now 84 years old, who grew up and still lives in this townhouse and who parents hosted numerous Native American actors and performers for decades, starting in the 1930s. It became a refuge and a salon for numerous Native American talents and Wild West show performers who were far from home, many scared to be in "the big city." Ms. Miguel is herself a theater performer and still working at her advanced age. What an amazing, trule "novel" NYC story!

"Saturday Night Live" & The Metropolitan Opera Sing for Ukraine

Remembering Gregory Hines

On this last day of Black History Month 2022, I want to remember one of my favorite entertainers from childhood who left us far too early: tap dancer, singer, and actor Gregory Hines.

Born in NYC in 1946, he grew up in the Sugar Hill area of Harlem and, as early as two years old, demonstrated his great abilities to dance and light up a stage. A child performer, he made his Broadway debut in 1954 and continued to perform on stage, earning Tony nominations in the 1970s and 80s before winning one in 1992 for Jelly's Last Jam. He was a life-longer performer and teacher of tap dancing, influencing a generation of tap dancers including the great Savion Glover.

Hine's singing and acting career were equally impressive. He fronted a band in LA in the 1970s called Severance. In the 1980s he dueted with Luther Vandross for the song "There's Nothing Better Than Love" that reached #1 on the Billboard charts. And he starred in movies including History of the World Part I, Wolfen, White Nights (dancing up a storm with Mikhail Baryshnikov), and even did a buddy cop movie with Billy Crystal called Runnin' Scared. He also appeared many times on the show Will & Grace and won a voiceover Emmy for a Nick Jr show called Little Bill in 2003 -- the year that he died from liver cancer, aged 57.

Gregory Hines was a blazing talent, a true multi-hyphenate performer, a proud New Yorker, and his passing remains a true loss to the culture of this city and country.

NYC Supports Ukraine

Reflections of, by, and for New Yorkers

To live in NYC is to ruminate about NYC.

To be a New Yorker is a state of mind as much as a way of life. 

If you've ever lived in NYC for any period of time, the city stamps itself on your soul, it lives inside you, for better or worse, forever, wherever you go. 

And this is true for New Yorkers past and present, especially for those New Yorkers who carry memories of, and hold deep feelings for, the city's past while existing in its present. 

I count myself as one such New Yorker.

Some recent developments has made me think a lot about how New Yorkers reflect upon their city -- past, present, and future -- and how New Yorkers reflect upon themselves. 

First, the past: there's a new documentary about the old-fasioned automats, the vast cafaterias around the city where you could get fast, quick meals. You would walk in and go up to an array of small windows, drop a few coins into slot, and the windows would open giving you a sandwhich, coffee, slice of cake, mac'n'chesse, juice, comfort food like that. There were a staple of the city for decades and many New Yorkers -- Mel  Brooks, Colin Powell, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, my mother -- were automat regulars. They gave New Yorkers a sense of community, a bond, even if the automat patrons didn't know or talk to each other. It became part of their souls and memories that they carried within themselves forever -- even when some of the automat regulars went on to fame and fortune. Obviously the advent of fast-food put the automats out of business (although the last one didn't close in NYC until 1991) but they remain a beloved part of the city's past.

Second, the present: in case you haven't read today's news (today being February 24, 2022, soon-to-be a date in the past), Russia is invading Ukraine. For most Americans, this is far-off event happening to a far-off people. But there is a huge Ukrainian community/diaspora in NYC, and this tragedy hits them personally, especially those with family back home. In fact, part of the East Village is called "Little Ukraine" and it includes one of my favorite hangout, Veselka, the great Ukrainian restaurant/dessert place. For these Ukrainian New Yorkers, this moment must make them reflect about their home country and their lives and families there vs. their lives in NYC. Because NYC has such a vibrant Ukrainian community, hopefully Ukrainians can get some comfort and strength from each other and fellow New Yorkers.

Third, the future: soon there will be a new Delta terminal at La Guarida airport. What will be special about it (besides it's flashy new 21st-century features) are the six permanent art installations by six NYC artists. The works will include lights, sculptures, tiles, and other artworks that reflect the diversity, vibrancy, and people of this city to the doubtless passengers who will pass through the terminal. It will be the city reflecting itself to the future citizens of, and visitors to, NYC, the past speaking to and educating the future about the people who live, work, and make this city such a special, unique place.

Mayor LaGuardia: The Greatest Drama

Stephanie Selby RIP

Over the years I've blogged about my childhood experiences in the world of professional ballet. Like much of what we might consider "showbiz", it's a rough, grown-up world for a young developing child to intersect with, a place where the innocence and vulnerability of youth smashes up against the brutal realities of an exacting, demanding profession.

So it was with some interest, and much sadness, that I read about the recent death of Stephanie Selby.

She played Marie in "The Nutcracker" at the New York City Ballet in 1976 (you can read her review here) and became the subject of a book that same year called A Very Young Dancer. It was a backstage collection of photographs showing her rehearsing for the famous ballet, a behind-the-scenes "making of" look at the magical production. (Remember, back then, we didn't have reality TV or social media or anything like that so the public rarely saw the behind the curtain of cultural touchstones.) The book became a surprise bestseller, inspired many young women to pursue dance, and Stephanie became a temporary celebrity. 

However, like in my experience, it turned sour when the teenage years arrived. She began to misbehave at the School of American Ballet (the feeder school for the New York City Ballet and where the kids for "The Nutcracker" come from), her dancing suffered, and eventually she was kicked out of the school. Her dreams of being a professional dancer were shattered and, it appears, she never got over it. This dissapointment was also exacerbated by clinical depression.

In her adult years, she migrated to Wyoming and she died there, from suicide apparently, at agae 56. She seems to have had a vagabond life but also had some good people in it and some love. It's a sad ending to her life. But I hope she had some happiness from time to time and that she's at peace now.