Toots (film)
Encyclopedia
Toots is a documentary film
which outlines the life of Toots Shor
(1903-1977), Manhattan's premier saloonkeeper from the year 1940 to the year 1959. At 18, he relocated from South Philadelphia to New York and became a speakeasy bouncer. In 1940, he opened his restaurant, Toots Shor's at 51 West 51st St., which was frequented by sports heroes, actors, mobsters, cops, politicians, visiting dignitaries, and writers. The film is commentated by Shor's daughter, Frank Gifford
, Peter Duchin
, former sports writers, and others as the filmmaker mixes still photographs, archive footage, including an appearance on "This Is Your Life
," and an audio-tape interview from 1975 to present a portrait of New York during and after Prohibition
and of a lovable, larger-than-life, uniquely New York public figure.
, she glanced over a co-worker’s shoulder and noticed Toots Shor’s name in the New York Times crossword puzzle. Ms. Jacobson casually mentioned that Mr. Shor, the fabled New York saloonkeeper, was her grandfather. Embarrassed to admit that she didn't know much about her grandfather, Jacobson set out on a decade-long journey to immerse herself in the life and lore of Shor, the Runyonesque character who turned the role of restaurateur into a celebrity archetype, became a symbol of the city’s midcentury apotheosis, and addressed everyone from bus drivers to movie stars with his signature epithet, “crumb bum.”
and Frank Sinatra
and Ernest Hemingway
rubbed elbows with working stiffs.
After deciding to pursue the project, she sent a fax to Walter Cronkite
requesting an interview. Two days later Ms. Jacobson got a message: “Kristi, it’s Walter Cronkite. I knew and loved Toots. What can I do to help you?”
Soon more friends and admirers of Shor were sitting in front of Ms. Jacobson’s camera, recounting tales of boozy bonhomie: journalists (Gay Talese
), broadcasters (Mike Wallace
), athletes (Whitey Ford
, Joe Garagiola
). Tom Brokaw
signed on as a consulting producer.
It turned out that the most difficult interviewee to nail down was her own mother, Kerry Jacobson, one of Shor’s four children with his wife, the former Ziegfeld Follies
dancer Marion Shor, known as Baby. In fact, her daughter's was the first interview Kerry Jacobson ever consented to oblige. “[Toots'] children were raised to keep their lives private, not to brag. It just wasn’t [my mother's] instinct to talk about, you know, how her dad had turned up at her confirmation with John Wayne.”
- Laura Kern, The New York Times
"Bottom Line: A glorious exercise in nostalgia. "Toots" affectionately and vividly recalls a bygone New York era, one in which life was simpler (if not more innocent, as one interview subject points out) and celebrities and ordinary folk could be in close proximity without hulking bodyguards getting in the way.
- Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
"A nostalgic, meticulously researched full course meal from granddaughter Kristi Jacobson that will whet appetites of fest, specialty and tube diners."
- Eddie Cockrell, Variety
3.5 out of 4 stars "Shor's granddaughter Kristi Jacobson has made an unexpectedly good documentary about this sentimental, volatile ex-bouncer's life and times unexpected, because Jacobson isn't afraid to paint her grandfather (who died, in 1977, when she was 6) as a complicated, reckless and hard-swigging dreamer."
- The Chicago Tribune
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
which outlines the life of Toots Shor
Toots Shor
Bernard "Toots" Shor was, during the 1940s and 1950s, the proprietor of a legendary restaurant, Toots Shor's Restaurant, in Manhattan...
(1903-1977), Manhattan's premier saloonkeeper from the year 1940 to the year 1959. At 18, he relocated from South Philadelphia to New York and became a speakeasy bouncer. In 1940, he opened his restaurant, Toots Shor's at 51 West 51st St., which was frequented by sports heroes, actors, mobsters, cops, politicians, visiting dignitaries, and writers. The film is commentated by Shor's daughter, Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
, Peter Duchin
Peter Duchin
-Life and career:Duchin was born in New York City, the son of pianist and band leader Eddy Duchin. His mother was Marjorie Oelrichs, a Newport, Rhode Island and New York City socialite who died unexpectedly when he was just five days old. He was raised by close family friends, statesman W...
, former sports writers, and others as the filmmaker mixes still photographs, archive footage, including an appearance on "This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
," and an audio-tape interview from 1975 to present a portrait of New York during and after Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
and of a lovable, larger-than-life, uniquely New York public figure.
Inspiration for the Film
One day in 1997, when Kristi Jacobson was working in the documentary division of ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, she glanced over a co-worker’s shoulder and noticed Toots Shor’s name in the New York Times crossword puzzle. Ms. Jacobson casually mentioned that Mr. Shor, the fabled New York saloonkeeper, was her grandfather. Embarrassed to admit that she didn't know much about her grandfather, Jacobson set out on a decade-long journey to immerse herself in the life and lore of Shor, the Runyonesque character who turned the role of restaurateur into a celebrity archetype, became a symbol of the city’s midcentury apotheosis, and addressed everyone from bus drivers to movie stars with his signature epithet, “crumb bum.”
Synopsis
The film identifies what were the markers of Toots' career as a celebrity restaurateur: Prohibition, the growth of the Mafia, the golden age of baseball, and the death of the saloon scene at in the "serious" atmosphere created by the tumult of the 60s. Throughout the film, there is a feel of romantic nostalgia as all those who are interviewed recall Toots fondly as a lover of New York, at a moment when the city was awash in wealth and celebrity as never before, and that the city’s sizzle was once embodied by a sports bar in Midtown: a place of glamour and egalitarianism, where Joe DiMaggioJoe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
rubbed elbows with working stiffs.
After deciding to pursue the project, she sent a fax to Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
requesting an interview. Two days later Ms. Jacobson got a message: “Kristi, it’s Walter Cronkite. I knew and loved Toots. What can I do to help you?”
Soon more friends and admirers of Shor were sitting in front of Ms. Jacobson’s camera, recounting tales of boozy bonhomie: journalists (Gay Talese
Gay Talese
Gay Talese is an American author. He wrote for The New York Times in the early 1960s and helped to define literary journalism...
), broadcasters (Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
), athletes (Whitey Ford
Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career with the New York Yankees. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.-Early life and career:...
, Joe Garagiola
Joe Garagiola
Joseph Henry "Joe" Garagiola, Sr. is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball who later became an announcer and television host, popular for his colorful personality. He was well known for being one of the regular panelists of The Today Show on NBC for many years.-Early life:Garagiola...
). Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
signed on as a consulting producer.
It turned out that the most difficult interviewee to nail down was her own mother, Kerry Jacobson, one of Shor’s four children with his wife, the former Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
dancer Marion Shor, known as Baby. In fact, her daughter's was the first interview Kerry Jacobson ever consented to oblige. “[Toots'] children were raised to keep their lives private, not to brag. It just wasn’t [my mother's] instinct to talk about, you know, how her dad had turned up at her confirmation with John Wayne.”
Reviews
"Cheers to Ms. Jacobson for keeping alive the memory of New York nightlifes golden era, and a man who embodied it."- Laura Kern, The New York Times
"Bottom Line: A glorious exercise in nostalgia. "Toots" affectionately and vividly recalls a bygone New York era, one in which life was simpler (if not more innocent, as one interview subject points out) and celebrities and ordinary folk could be in close proximity without hulking bodyguards getting in the way.
- Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
"A nostalgic, meticulously researched full course meal from granddaughter Kristi Jacobson that will whet appetites of fest, specialty and tube diners."
- Eddie Cockrell, Variety
3.5 out of 4 stars "Shor's granddaughter Kristi Jacobson has made an unexpectedly good documentary about this sentimental, volatile ex-bouncer's life and times unexpected, because Jacobson isn't afraid to paint her grandfather (who died, in 1977, when she was 6) as a complicated, reckless and hard-swigging dreamer."
- The Chicago Tribune
External links
- http://www.tootsthemovie.com/
- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/movies/17shor.html