The Copa (5 page)
Authors: Mickey Podell-Raber
Legendary nightclub entertainer Jimmy Durante holds court at the club after one of his performances.
My cousin, Jackie, dressed as a waiter and flanked by the world famous Copa Girls.
Some speculate that even more than the headliners, the main attraction at the nightclub was the Copa Girls. Originally billed as the “Copa Babies” or “Samba Sirens,” the Copa Girls would become world famous. The Copa Girls were regarded as the most beautiful showgirls in all of New York. In the first few years of the club's existence, the girls would be introduced to the audience by their own theme song, “You Just Can't Copa with a Copacabana Baby.”
In addition to beauty, the major requirement was a girl's ability to dance any number that was incorporated into the current Copa revue. Normally, the average age of the girls was twenty years old. Youth was a prerequisite, since the girls had to perform a total of twenty-one shows per week. The girls did not have much time in between shows to do anything except to grab a bite to eat. Rehearsals for the revues
would usually take four to six weeks before it would debut in front of a paying crowd.
In 1942, eighteen of the twenty-five girls who worked as Copa Girls signed a contract with a Hollywood agent or went into a Broadway musical.
“Jack Entratter hired me and we auditioned for an entire week, starting on Monday, before he made his decision on Friday. As a Copa Girl, we had to be at the club by 6:30
P.M.
and didn't get finished until
3
A.M.
or so; we did three shows a night back then. The shows began at 8 and we would do an opening, middle, and closing number for each show. There was one big dressing room and each girl had her own mirror and dressing table, but it was small area. Doug Coudy was the chorographer and he would walk into our dressing room at any timeâeven when we would be getting dressed; he was the first gay man I ever knew. As far as the pay was concerned, back then, in the early 1950s, we got $125 a week, which was great money,” says former Copa Girl Lynn Kessler.
Copa Girls Shirley Cutler, far left bottom, and Lynn Shannon with entertainer Jimmy Durante.
My father was proud of the Copa Girls and over the years did all he could to help mold and enhance their image. Doug Coudy, who was originally hired as a choreographer at the club, looked after the girls and was a mentor to many of them. Coudy, more than anyone else, worked with the girls to help perfect their enduring style. The public-relations man for the clubâI believe it was Sy Prestonâwould boast in a 1960 release, “The Copa Girls caused a delightful revolution in show business. For generations showgirls had been dressed in fantastic scaffoldings of feathers and plumes, or else in silly satin suits like drum majorettes. The Copa Girls began by being the most exciting models in America's greatest city for beautiful models, and thenâthey were dressed in the very height of Paris and New York fashion. The Copa Girls are not only the World's Most Beautiful; they are also the World's Most Stylish Girls. At the last count, forty-four Copa Girls have gone to Hollywood from the Copa floor. Among the famous names you know who were Copa Girls are Martha Stewart, Lucille Bremer, June Allyson, Olga San Juan, Janice Ruleâ¦.”
When I was at the club, especially as a child, I would sneak back to the Copa Girls' dressing room and talk with them; they were always
very friendly to me. I remember how exciting it was to see them all made up and in their costumes, which were amazing. I could never figure out how they were able to be so poised while wearing their large headdresses and high heels. The Copa Girls were all gorgeous; every girl back then dreamed of being one. Their dressing rooms were narrow and full of large mirrors. Their job was difficult because they were on and off the stage due to numerous costume changes required during a show. I never saw the girls mingling with the customers while I was at the club; I believe my father had a strict rule about that. I recall that the comedian Jan Murray met his wife while she was a Copa Girl. I didn't see my father interact much around the Copa Girls; I think he would talk to Doug Coudy if he wanted something changed or altered in their act. In all the years of shows I never saw the girls make one mistake; they were always perfect.
Nat King Cole, Roy Campanella, and my father pose for this photo with the Copa Girls. Campanella, a catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was paralyzed in a 1958 auto accident.
The Copa Kitchen
My father was a detail-oriented boss and a perfectionist. He was hands-on regarding all aspects and operations involved with the Copa, especially in the kitchens. Above all, he prided himself on the cuisine at the club. In fact, he was so proud of the food that he considered himself as restaurateur instead of nightclub owner. The following would be printed on the Copa handbills:
The Copa cuisine and the Copa kitchens are under the personal supervision of Jule Podell. The Copa is known as the one nightclub in New York City where the old phrase “night club food” does not apply. Smart New Yorkers are aware that the Copa's food is equal of that served at the top eating places of this food-conscious town. We wish that we could take every one of you on a tour of these truly fabulous kitchens where the Copa food is prepared. They are huge, exciting, filled with food and drink of the finest quality, and all prepared by master chefs. The astonishing thing about the Copa is that it costs less to eat here than in most of New York's fine restaurantsâand the show, the dancing, the beautiful girls, the atmosphere, the excitement, is not even added to your check. It adds up to the smartest entertainment buy in New York.
Unless you were a waiter, captain, chef, or entertainerânot many were allowed to enter the sanctuary of the Copa kitchens, which my father ruled with an iron fist.
My father also had a kitchen dedicated to Chinese cuisine. “The Copa is famous in New York for its Oriental dishes, and there's a good reason why. We maintain a separate Chinese unit in our kitchens, staffed by the finest native chefs. If you are a lover of Chinese food you
will agree with those who have said that there is no better Chinese food served anywhere!”
The captains and waiters in the Copa kitchen preparing for the evening dinner crowd.
Dad was also pleased that not only the customers but the press raved about the food at the Copa. Columnist Martin Burden wrote in the
New York Post,
“When you visit the Copa you're in for a treat. It's a great buy, a comparatively inexpensive way to sample the best nightlife our city has to offer, and the Copa kitchens turn out some of the best food in town.” And New York columnist Robert W. Dana filed this review on June 13, 1949 headlined
FOOD IS TOPS, TOO, AT THE COPACABANA
:
In all the years it has gained a nationwide reputation for its excellent shows, fine music and gilt-edged atmosphere, the Copacabana, 10 E. 60th St., has been doing an outstanding job of preparing food in immaculate kitchens behind the scenes. So often I have heard the remark: “We never knew a night club could serve such food” that I decided to meet the chefs.
That entails too much meeting during the busy dinner hour, what with 20 chefs and cooks in allâ15 preparing a French cuisine and five a list of Chinese dishes. So it was restricted to a fast handshake with Marcel Jougier, head French chef, who has been there six years, and a nod to Lum On, head Chinese chef.
The rest of the time was devoted to watching Jules Podell, the club's supervising director and a restaurant man for 30 years, watching each waiter like a hawk to make sure that each order is as near perfection as possible. Down the line they came, bearing their trays of edibles. Quickly the stocky man in the brown suit lifted each cover, made sure the size of the portion and the general appearance of the plate was right, otherwise back the waiter went to the back of the line to try all over again.
Mania for Cleanliness
You'd think that running the one gauntlet would suffice, but, no, the waiter has to satisfy the head checker before leaving the kitchen for the final trip to the customer. Mr. Podell has a mania on the subject of cleanliness. Let him see a piece of lettuce staining the floor and he'll stop everything to have it cleaned up. Let a waiter show a spot on his white jacket with the crimson collar and a quick change is ordered.
Out front, Jack Entratter, the quietly efficient manager, watches the customers' satisfaction, exemplified, perhaps in a group of women having a dinner party on the balcony.
They not only are going to see one of the town's best night club shows, but they're going to eat a tasty, filling table d'hôte dinner, with entrees ranging in price from $2.50 for filet of lemon sole Breteuil to $4.25 for roast stuffed Vermont tom turkey. Some of the other fishes are scaloppini of veal (always excellent), emince of capon with spaghetti Tetrazzinni, baby lamb steak béarnaise and such Chinese dishes as white meat chicken chow mein and pepper steak with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes.
Menu Memos:
Copacabana, 10 E. 60th St. Excellent French and Chinese cuisines. Joe Lopez, headwaiter, Table d'hote dinners served from 7 to 10 p.m., $2.50 to $6.50 for filet mignon. Also an extensive à la carte list. Current floor show stars Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, the fine comedy team, in their seventh week. Mary Raye and Naldi, the dancers, have just joined the show as featured performers, with the Copa girls youthful singers and dancers comprising the rest of the entertainment.
