The Copa Read online

  Many artists through the years would use the Copacabana as a venue to record their performances for album release. Bobby Darin, Paul Anka, Jackie Wilson, Jimmy Durante, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and Connie Francis are just a few of those who have released recordings that were taped at the Copa.

  Sound engineer and producer Hank Cattaneo recalls:

  My first encounter with the Copacabana was in the late 1960s. Dionne Warwick was doing a recording there for Burt Bacharach and I was asked to survey the Copa and determine where to gain entrance, place equipment, and provide general technical support. Given the Copa’s famed reputation, my expectations were high. However, I was to be disappointed with the reality. Instead of the grand showroom I had seen replicated on many a Hollywood set, what I encountered was a nightclub with a basement entrance located below an unattractive hotel. Though clean, it was small and dark, with odors of the prior evening’s meals. It was painted entirely in black, with fabricated white palm trees—far less than what I had expected. The backstage entrance was through the hotel lobby, which had a balcony that overlooked the check-in area. It was said that here on this balcony young waifs offered their services to waiters and captains to gain free entrance when some of the legendary performers were appearing.

  A small stage managed to satisfy some of the greatest performers. Their working space would continue to diminish as waiters would appear, adding more small tables to satisfy late-arriving luminaries who demanded front-row seating. A table that started out as front-row seating could become back-of-the-house as the night went on. Less-than-distinguished guests, or those who had failed to adequately satisfy a captain’s out-raised hand, were escorted to the infamous “Burma Road” area of the club—an elevated balcony to the extreme left of the entrance where one’s table offered less than a commanding view of the stage.

  These details not withstanding, the Copa had a mystique all its own. Famous for its fine French and Chinese food, it was when the place was occupied with patrons that it became alive. The patrons and the performers made the Copa and the allure of its name become real. The hustle and bustle of guests, waiters, captains, and celebrities created an excitement that suddenly would transform it into the magnificent nightclub it was famous for [being].

  The legendary Jules Podell, a large imposing man, was the owner—though it was often rumored [that] he represented individuals who chose to be anonymous. He sat at a small table not far from the entrance; it was [from] here, at that famous command center, [that] all matters pertaining to the management of the club were directed: cleanliness, quality and quantity of food, the pecking order of seating, selection of entertainers, their starting times, their departure from stage, etc. A simple rap upon the table from his famous, large ring would signal the nearest captain, and waiters would scurry simply to avoid what would be the rich voice of wrath that he was famous for. Acts would shudder with concern when that ring rapped more than once upon the table. [At] a level loud enough to be heard onstage, he would signal his annoyance at a bad joke. Lesser performers were known to panic. Were they on too long, had they performed poorly? He was a figure [who] was as legendary as his famous nightclub; Damon Runyon could not have created a better character.

  The famous Copa Girls, who often opened the evening’s performances, were at times required to work in spaces not much larger than some tables. They were directed to the stage by a gentleman named Doug Coudy, who would often send them on their way with a loving tap on their behinds as they giggled out to the stage. Doug was the house production manager, electrician, and the soundman. He was, in fact, a “can do” kind of guy. The girls’ entrance was at the foot of the steps, where all working personnel entered through the lobby of the upstairs hotel. Organized confusion often reigned in this area as waiters all served dinners from this location as well. Sound and lights were also controlled here. Doug, who had a slight but disarmingly attractive speech impediment, did his best to control the situation, but most often it was without success and at times could be quite funny.

  One day I received a call from Paul Anka, whom I had worked with at A&R Recording Studios. He was performing at the Copa and asked if I could stop by to check out the sound. It seemed he was having some inconsistencies with the sound levels. The sound equipment, though dated, appeared to be working fine as I positioned myself in the show room during his performance. Still in view of the sound equipment, I saw a waiter with a tray of food pass by the equipment and, without missing a step, lowered Paul’s volume control, only to see another waiter a moment later change it back again. Simple enough; I taped all the controls fixed to the correct level, and the rest of the show went flawlessly. Later, with Paul, I explained the reason for volume changes and what had been done to prevent it from occurring again. Though upset, Paul just shook his head in dismay. However, to prevent it from happening again, he requested I attend each evening’s performance until his run was over. This eventually led to my touring with Paul Anka for many years.

  My experience at the Copa, allowed me throughout the subsequent years to enjoy working with many wonderfully talented artists including Frank Sinatra. Those were the days.

  A night at the Copa.

  Dad’s famous ring; one tap would send shivers up the spine of the Copa staff.

  Walter Winchell, the renowned gossip columnist, was a good friend of my parents. Winchell was also famous as the narrator on the popular television series The Untouchables. I remember him as an old man who smoked a cigar. Whenever he would come to our house he was always friendly to me. Winchell ’s wife liked the name Malda, God knows why, and they named their daughter Walda, after me. So her name was Walda Winchell. When I complained to my mother for naming me Malda she would say, “At least we didn’t name you Walda!” After a while I said I was changing my name to Mickey, and I would tell people to address me as Mickey.

  The late comedian Joey Villa would recount this story about working the Copa:

  In 1962 I was booked at the Copacabana as the opening act for Nat King Cole. At that time, I was part of a comedy team called Forbes and Villa. When Nat Cole played the Copacabana for Jules Podell the place was packed…Cole was one of the club’s highest-rated performers. One evening my partner, Don Forbes, and I were just getting ready to walk down the steps of the nightclub floor. Don was on the left and I was on the right side of the room when the announcer was introducing us to start the show. While he was on the side of the stage, Don started to flirt with one of the Copa Girls—which did not sit well with Jules Podell. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Podell walk[ed] by and punched Don in the stomach; so hard that he was winded and couldn’t even speak. By this time our names had been announced, so I was onstage for a few minutes alone before Don finally arrived huffing and puffing. Podell had rules in his club, and when you were at the Copa you better stick to them.

  Famous publicist Lee Solters, who has represented everyone from Barbra Streisand to Michael Jackson, remembers, “I had a client that was working the Copa, I can’t even remember who it was now, but I went to the rehearsal. I didn’t want to be noticed, so I found a seat by a table in the back of the room, figuring I wouldn’t bother anyone in such a remote place. After five minutes or so, someone taps me on the shoulder…it was Podell. He says to me in a gruff voice ‘Who are you and why are you sitting in my seat?’”

  Rip Taylor remembers:

  The first time I played the Copa was nerve-racking. I had finally graduated from doing my act in strip joints across America to legitimate clubs and then television. Someone saw me on The Ed Sullivan Show and that led to my being booked at the Copacabana. Meeting Jules Podell for the first time was very exciting. Before your first show, Podell would welcome and introduce you to the staff in the kitchen. I remember him saying, “Everybody, this is Rip Taylor, a brand-new funny guy…let’s hear it for him,” and the staff would all applaud. The acts always said hello to Podell before they went on because he would sit at a register in the kitchen and you had
to pass him to get to the stage every show. I thanked him and was so happy my act was well received by the Copa audience. Although I had played the Latin Quarter and other top clubs, the Copa was special…it was the mecca of show business. I worked the Copa seven or eight times. Nat King Cole was, without question, one of the sweetest and kindest men I’ve ever met…he was just so wonderful. I can’t tell you how it furthered my career, and others, once word spread that you had played the Copa.

  Martha Raye would also visit us, and I would play with her daughter Melody. Raye was a popular radio, nightclub, and movie star whose nickname was “The Big Mouth”; later generations would come to know her from a series of popular commercials she made for Polident denture cleaner. Martha was fun to be around; she’d always sing and play the piano at our house. She could open her mouth so wide it looked like the Grand Canyon. She was funny and a genuinely nice person. Martha liked being around children and always did something to keep us entertained. She didn’t sit with the adults, she’d rather hang out with us. Sophie Tucker also came to the house a lot. I remember her being loud and fat, and my father loved her. Sophie would crack my father up; I never saw him laugh as much as he did around her.

  A billboard in Times Square announcing Sam Cooke’s at the club. Cooke would record the live album Sam Cooke at the Copa during his 1964 engagement.

  Me and two friends pose with Martha Raye. Besides being a very talented comedian, Martha was always very nice to me and loved being around children.

  Arranger and conductor Pete Moore recalled that during one of Tom Jones’s successful engagements at the Copa, the singer had a request. After the first few days, Jones asked Podell if it would be possible to get some fresh lemons in between his shows. Jones told Podell that he liked to drink hot water with lemon to ease the strain on his throat. Podell said that he would be happy to have the lemons delivered each night to Jones’s dressing room. Jones was grateful that Podell was happy to honor his request; however, he was taken aback when on his closing night, Podell had deducted the cost of the lemons from his performing fee.

  Celebrity impressionist and comedian Rich Little played the Copa with acts such as Billy Daniels in the 1960s. During his debut appearance, Little’s routine included a parody of the Sinatra (Frank and Nancy) hit song “Something Stupid.” Little would sing the parody in the voice of President Lyndon Johnson, and one of the lines in the song mentioned Vietnam. One critic wrote a scathing review, saying how dare Little, a Canadian, mention the Vietnam conflict in his routine. This caused a firestorm of press and protests, which left Podell in quite a conundrum. On the one hand, the brouhaha over Little’s routine was filling the club, as curious audiences wanted to hear the routine themselves. On the other, Podell did not like the negative press and protests in front of his club. Rich Little offered to quit but Podell told him that was not necessary. In the end, after other critics came to see Little’s controversial bit, the majority of them agreed that it was not offensive or disrespectful to the American people or the military. Rich Little would play the Copa several more times without causing any such controversy.

  Ad for singer Billy Daniels. His most famous song was ‘That Old Black Magic.’ This was still during the time that Jack Entratter was working with my father at the club before moving to Las Vegas and becoming the entertainment director at the Sands.

  As the decade of the 1950s was coming to a close, the Copa was still the “in” place to be seen. This New York Sun article, from 1959, on the nightclub scene in the city, praised the club as one of its best-run operations:

  The Copacabana, at 10 E. 60th St., is the only other major cabaret to give the LATIN QUARTER serious competition. It features a line of beautiful and stylish girls, picked less for their dancing talent than their ability to wear clothes, two dance bands—one for the Latin-America rhythms—singing and dancing soloists and one big-name star. Joe E. Lewis is a perennial favorite, and so is Jimmy Durante. Whenever they perform in New York, Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr. pick the COPA for their appearances. Some of the beauties who graduated from the COPA chorus line are June Allyson, Joanne Dru, Janice Rule and Carroll Baker.

  The COPA is open seven nites a week the year around and is one nite club which puts an emphasis on good food. It has a special kitchen for Chinese dishes, which are popular with stay-up-lates.

  Like most every other nite spot in New York, the COPA has an interesting background. During Prohibition era it was known as the Villa Vallee, featuring (naturally) Rudy Vallee. Jules Podell, the owner, previously operated a Coney Island restaurant, a Fulton Street chop house, and the Kit Kat Club, a late nite rendezvous where the BLUE ANGEL is now located. A friend who had returned from a visit to Rio suggested the name COPACABANA for Podell’s new nite club when he took over in 1940. The first floor show was staged by Ramon, popular as part of the dance team of Ramon & Rosita when the Latin-American dances first came in. With his new partner, Renita, Ramon headed the show, but the vogue for their type of ballroom dancing had gone out and the early shows were flops.

  Podell took on as press agent Mary Anita Loos, niece of Anita Loos, and now a well established writer herself. She proposed bringing in Don Loper, who danced with Maxine Barratt. Loper designed all of Maxine’s clothes and she was the first member of a dance team to wear a hat and long gloves. Loper costumed the COPA girls in the same style, and that style has changed very little in the past 18 years.

  Jules Podell usually puts in a full day at his club but seldom puts in a personal appearance in front. His club employs 275 people and his is one of the few restaurants where there is an employee pension plan for retirement.

  The COPA is far more expensive than the LATIN QUARTER and its patrons are mostly big spenders from Miami Beach, Hollywood and New York. The name stars draw highly professional audiences.

  Rip Taylor said, “Mr. Jules Podell made the Copacabana the premier nightclub of its time because of the acts he booked and the high quality of the staff and food at the club he demanded. He insisted that everything was perfect and it was!”

  Frank Military recalled, “Without a doubt, the Copa was the best nightclub in all of New York, or the East Coast for that matter, throughout the 1950s. All the top acts worked at the Copa. There were other clubs, such as the Latin Quarter and Bill Miller’s Riviera, but the top spot was the Copacabana. The shows were productions, not just a singer or comedian onstage. The Copa Girls would come out and do a number or two and then the opening act and headline act would follow. There were usually two or three shows each night, depending who was headlining at the time. It was a great era that will never be replicated in terms of glamour, elegance, and entertainment.”

  A typical site in front of the Copacabana; a crowd lines up in order to gain entry and see the headline act. This night the Temptations were opening at the club.

  David Green delivers a cake to my father as he, my mother, and friends celebrate his 60th birthday.

  CHAPTER 5

  Bowlers, Brawlers, and Brooklyn Dodgers

  The wonderful thing about going to spend an evening at the Copa was that besides the headliners who were performing onstage, the audience would almost always include celebrities, politicians, and sports figures who would sometimes be more famous than the star attraction. My father was always happy when someone from the world of sports stopped by the club.

  Dad was a big baseball fan; I don’t ever remember him being interested in other sports like basketball or football. I know at one point he played golf, but it was not very often to my recollection. His favorite team was the New York Yankees, and he would listen or watch the games in his den before leaving for the club. I was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, and I loved rooting against him. I have signed baseballs from the 1952 World Series, and he had a collection of autographs from the various players who came into the club. I wish I had them today, but my mother didn’t realize their potential value and got rid of them when Jules passed away.

  Joe DiMaggio with my parents. Joe was a ver
y shy man, however, he came to the Copa often as he enjoyed the entertainment and the way my father and the staff treated him.

  Pee Wee, a Copa maitre d’, Rafer Johnson, and my father in front of an ad for Tony Bennett’s engagement at the club. Rafer Johnson won a gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics in the decathlon. He then went on to become a sportscaster.

  Dad with Clem Lebine. Clem was a pitcher for the Brooklyn and then Los Angeles Dodgers. Labine was instrumental in helping the Brooklyn Dodgers win their first ever World Series in 1955.

  One happy childhood sports memory I have includes Sammy Davis Jr. Almost every year my father, mother, and I would go to the World Series games if a New York team happened to be involved. Jackson would drive us to the ballpark, where we would meet Sammy and his friends. Sammy’s uncle and father, among others, almost always accompanied him as they were still all in the Will Mastin Trio before he went solo. I don’t think Will was actually Sammy’s uncle but they were very close, having been together since Sammy was a small child. We went many times, so I don’t recall the exact dates we attended, but I do know the majority of the games were at Yankee Stadium. As you can imagine, with such a group, we were treated like royalty. Being a young girl, I really had no interest in the game, although Sammy would patiently explain to me what was happening on the field. The highlight for me was always the peanuts, popcorn, and hot dogs I was able to eat.

  The baseball players and managers would sometimes come to visit our group and say hello before or after the game. I didn’t know who the players were at that time, but I did get to meet many of the great Yankee players of the 1950s. Dad loved it when the Yankee players came to the Copa, and he would treat them as VIPs. I do remember meeting Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin and a few other sports figures at the club on occasion.