1939 - Astor Bar, New YorkMy father, Michael Rogers, was a bartender at New York’s legendary Astor Bar from 1936 to 1965. The photo above was taken for the N.Y. Daily News series, “The Correct Thing,” on tipping bartenders. It’s not a good shot of him, as it doesn’t do justice to his hair, wavy and deep black, a color he likened to “the inside of a raven’s wing.” He was born in … [Read more...] about “What’re You Having”
Jackie Gleason
The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: Stage and Screen
By Irish America Staff
November 1999
James CagneyScreen Giant "If you listen to the clowns around you're just dead. Go do what you have to do." Born July 17, 1899 on New York City's Lower East Side, James Francis Cagney was the second of seven children, two of whom died in infancy. His father was a saloonkeeper in the tough neighborhood where many of Cagney's contemporaries ended up in prison. In an interview … [Read more...] about The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: Stage and Screen
The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: Writers and Media
By Irish America Staff
November 1999
Nellie BlyNewshound "Energy rightly applied can accomplish anything." Nellie Bly's biographer, Brooke Kroeger, captured the essence of his admirable subject when he wrote: "In the 1880s, she pioneered the development of 'detective' or 'stunt' journalism, the acknowledged forerunner to full-scale investigative reporting." Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 to Michael … [Read more...] about The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: Writers and Media