CABARET VILLE MAGAZINE. P143

FOR LAUGHS AND FOR SERIOUS

 By Paulette Attie

 

Henny Youngman, comic famous for his one liners. 

 

A special table was reserved at the Friars Club for comic Henny Youngman. It was located front and center, so we could pay respects to Henny upon entering and exiting the dining room. When Henny invited you to be his guest, it meant you paid for your own meal and for the privilege of being the butt of his jokes. Everyone jumped at the opportunity.

Photo: Rod Gilbert.

One afternoon, I was chosen. Henny asked me if I’d like a diamond pin. “Of course,” I answered, whereupon Henny presented me with a dime attached to a safety pin. This is one of the many experiences that make me laugh and keep me returning to the Friars Club. But the Friars Club event that I enjoy the most is our annual Chanukah and Christmas Party for children. “Our,” some may ask? “Isn’t the Friars Club for men only?” It was until 1988, at which time I became the first woman performer elected into the Club. It’s one of those firsts for which I am most proud. The New York Friars Club now boasts a membership which includes about 10% women.  Back to that party for children. For thirty years, the Friars Club has given a party for the less privileged children in the community.

Thoto: Fabulous Friar Liza Minelli, performing at the 1995 Friars Foundation Applause Dinner for Frank Military, music publisher legend and Friars Club Scribe for 4 years.

This involves inviting them to a movie, this year it will be “Chicken Little,” at the Ziegfeld Theatre in Manhattan, and giving each child a large shopping bag full of gifts. The goodies include wearing apparel, toys, educational books, etc. Giving out these presents is as big a treat for those who hand them out as it is for the children who receive them. Their eyes bulge with pleasure and curiosity as to what is contained therein. Some are little tots, and their accompanying parents have to carry the bags for them. Other children are big enough to carry their own. A few ask for a second bag to bring home to their brother or sister who couldn’t make it to the party.  CONTINUES NEXT