My first cousin (I only have a few) Raymond Greenberg M.D. he does not seem a likely Jayne Mansfield fan he reads hardback books about lets say Epidemiology Ray sent me this amazing photo to emphasize my Jayne Mansfield Mickey Hargitay point. (And as to those of you who wrote me yesterday asking
I never got to go to Grossinger’s the way Esther did.
My parents went there and to the Concord with the Saturday Night Group,
when the adults went on getaways without the kids.
The Saturday Night Group was a bunch of couples
who got together on the specified weekend night to go out to dinner
and then back to one of the couples’ houses (they rotated)
for the men to play poker and the women to play mahjong.
When the kids went along for getaways to the Catskills,
The adults downgraded to
The Nevele or The Fallsview;
Weren’t going to spend Grossinger’s money on the kids.
But it was always a blast anyway.
I never got to see a big celebrity at The Nevele or The Fallsview
the way Esther got to see Jayne Mansfield and her hubby at Grossinger’s.
Except that one time when The Rocky Fellers
were the featured act at The Nevele.
They were a one-hit-wonder Filipino band
That hit the charts in 1963 with “Killer Joe”.
They were composed of a father and four sons.
One of the sons was right around my age.
I think his name was Albert.
They all had free run of the joint when they weren’t performing at night
and could mingle with the guests, so I had a lot of time to hang out with Albert
and we became the fastest of friends that fateful week at The Nevele.
He even showed me where they stayed
And I can tell you it wasn’t in one of the nice guest rooms.
No, they were clammed up in the basement in a room like where the staff stayed.
No Jayne Mansfield treatment for them.
But they didn’t seem to mind.
PS The closest I ever got to Grossinger’s was their rye bread my mother bought at the grocery store.
PPS That Jayne Mansfield photo with her and hubby clad in leopard skin swim gear, now that is the epitome of a power couple! No wonder they didn’t say anything memorable in Esther’s interview – they didn’t have to.
Resentment (not really) by Steve Gold
(A poem in the style of Esther Cohen)
I never got to go to Grossinger’s the way Esther did.
My parents went there and to the Concord with the Saturday Night Group,
when the adults went on getaways without the kids.
The Saturday Night Group was a bunch of couples
who got together on the specified weekend night to go out to dinner
and then back to one of the couples’ houses (they rotated)
for the men to play poker and the women to play mahjong.
When the kids went along for getaways to the Catskills,
The adults downgraded to
The Nevele or The Fallsview;
Weren’t going to spend Grossinger’s money on the kids.
But it was always a blast anyway.
I never got to see a big celebrity at The Nevele or The Fallsview
the way Esther got to see Jayne Mansfield and her hubby at Grossinger’s.
Except that one time when The Rocky Fellers
were the featured act at The Nevele.
They were a one-hit-wonder Filipino band
That hit the charts in 1963 with “Killer Joe”.
They were composed of a father and four sons.
One of the sons was right around my age.
I think his name was Albert.
They all had free run of the joint when they weren’t performing at night
and could mingle with the guests, so I had a lot of time to hang out with Albert
and we became the fastest of friends that fateful week at The Nevele.
He even showed me where they stayed
And I can tell you it wasn’t in one of the nice guest rooms.
No, they were clammed up in the basement in a room like where the staff stayed.
No Jayne Mansfield treatment for them.
But they didn’t seem to mind.
PS The closest I ever got to Grossinger’s was their rye bread my mother bought at the grocery store.
PPS That Jayne Mansfield photo with her and hubby clad in leopard skin swim gear, now that is the epitome of a power couple! No wonder they didn’t say anything memorable in Esther’s interview – they didn’t have to.
I enjoyed your story Esther! I went to University High with her daughter Jayne Marie Jr.
You must of been around her age when you interviewed her mom and step dad.
Our class graduated in June 1968, but her mother died the previous Summer.
I don’t remember Jayne Jr. returning to school after the accident.
I do remember I stopped wishing for another mother than the one I had that Summer.
HI TERESA, I REMEMBER WHEN JAYNE DIED. ONE OF THOSE AMAZING DAYS. XXXX TO YOU
When I taught in Pen Argyl I met a woman who said Jayne Mansfield was a distant cousin. She was not a platinum blonde but she did have unusual eyes