Heine's Yearning—as 'Poor Sick Jew'
Pinky Lee of 'Cart oon Capers' Fame
elins, that go whizzing up to the guards, our knights for ass drivers,
BY HEINRICH HEINE
In 1949, Pinky Lee made his
By HERBERT G. LUFT
seventh heaven and smite the pious and our court ladies for common
television
debut
as
guest
star
in
Ah,
gone
is
my
yearning
for
rest.
HOLLYWOOD — Pinky L e e ,
hypocrites who have crept into the wenches. And just as he mistook
whose new television show, "Car- San Francisco. The following year I know now what I will, what I
Holy of Holies . . . I am all joy a puppet show for the deeds of
saw
the
first
"Pinky
Lee
Show,"
shall,
what
I
must
do
.
.
.
I
am
toon Capers," has returned to the
a state, so I regard our state-deeds
and song, all sword and flame!
a
half-hour
evening
show
with
a
I
the
Son
of
the
Revolution
and
ABC network and is seen each
*
*
as mere puppet-comedies. Yet just
weekday morning from 7:30 to story set to music which was again take up the charmed weap-
Perhaps you are correct, and I as bravely as the bold knight of
8:00 a.m., told me about his back- sponsored directly by RCA. A ons upon which my mother has
the
ground and career during a series guest appearance on the Ed Sul- breathed her magic words of bless- am only a Don Quixote; and the La Mancha do I drive into
wooden
trash
•
.
.
reading
of
all
manner
of
strange
livan
show
led
to
seven
more
and
ing
.
.
.
Flowers!
Flowers!
I
will
of interviews in which he stressed
* * *
that he is a Jewish boy born in a tremendous rating for his own crown my head with flowers for the books has turned my head, even
I
am
no
longer
a divine biped;
as
that
of
La
Mancha
was
turned
show.
fight unto death. and my lyre, give
St. Paul, Minnesota under the
When Pinky Lee went abroad me my lyre that I may sing a . . . (But) he desired to restore de- I am no longer the "freest German
name of Pincus Leff.
the first time in January of 1938 battle song . . . Words like flam- caying chivalry, while I, on the since Goethe," as I was called in
Originally studying to become for five weeks' engagement each ing stars that shoot from the heav- contrary, would utterly destroy all better days; I am no longer the
an attorney, the young would-be in Melbourne and Sidney, Austr- ens to burn palaces and illumine that is left over from those days Great Heathen No. 2, another vine-
lawyer one night stepped on the alia, he had hoped that he could hovels . . • words like bright jay- . . . My colleague regarded wind- crowned Dionysus, excelled only
stage with a carefully prepared make the jump to England, but
mills as giants; I, however, see in by my colleague, N. , to whom was
speech on the American way of the European war cancelled all
the giants of the day only noisy given the title of Grand Duke Jup-
government. The audience didn't his plans. It was not until 1951
Memories of `Kingfish' windmills . . He took beggars' iter of Weimar; I am no longer a
concentrate on the meaning of his that he finally made the Palladium
pot-houses for castles, ass-drivers joyous Hellene, sound in body,
By JESSE SILVER
address but lapsed into laughter in London where he appeared as a
and ROY SILVER
for cavaliers, stable-girls for court- smiling down gaily on the melan-
upon hearing his decided lisp. "I soloist for 30 minutes on stage, un-
(Copyright, 1964, Jewish
ladies; but I take our castles for choly Nazarenes. I am now only a
Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
knew that my dream of becoming heard of in the history of British
mere lodging-houses for black- poor sick Jew
•
Does
anyone
remember
the
a lawyer was lost that moment," vaudeville for an entertainer the
Paid Political Advertisement
colorful Kingfish Levinsky, a
Pinky recalls. This was the be- public hardly knew. It was in
heavyweight contender during
ginning of another aspiration for London that Pinky used his "Mad-
the mid-1930s? He had reams
Elect . . .
him—to make people laugh by am, I am talking to you" number
of publicity and loads of ambi-
using his lisp as an asset. Switch- with great success. At a repeat
Sponsored
Former State Representative
tion but he wasn't much of a
ing goals from law to laughter, engagement in England, Pinky ap-
resolution
re-
Pincus Leff became Gus Edward's peared with Patachou at the Adel- pug. He was managed by his
sister, "Leapin' Lena" Levy, and
protege under the new label of
questing U. S.
phi Theater in London.
he was married for six weeks
Pinky Lee, the dynamic little guy
Congress to
In 1954, "The Pinky Lee
to a fan dancer, which should
with the infectious grin and snap-
Show," now conceived as a
give you some indication of the
ping black eyes who later did
guarantee the
children's program, returned to
more bizarre aspects of his ca-
"flash acts" on the burlesque and
NBC on a five-day-a-week basis.
boundaries of
reer. The Kingfish's most not-
circuit.
vaudeville
His gift for mime in the fairy
able bout lasted only 2:21 of the
Israel.
Radio called and in 1934, Pinky
tale pantomimes drew fan mail
first round when Joe Louis put
performed in San Francisco for
Democrat
him on the deck three times.
from oldsters and youngsters
NBC's "The Carefree Carnival"
Despite this he made boxing
alike. "Yoo hoo, it's me, my
Primary Sept. 1, 1964
1st
Congressional
District
with the orchestra and another
pay off to the tune of $350,000.
name is Pinky Lee" became a
Meredith
man
named
young
Yet when last seen, Kingfish
part of the American scene
Political Adv.
Wilson. Next came New York
Levinsky was peddling neckties
along with his other trademarks
and the Fleishmann's Yeast
in
Sonny
Liston's
t
r
a
i
n
i
n
g
such as his checkered cap and
Hour with topper Rudy Valee.
camp!
suit. Sammy Davis, Jr. incor-
Shortly afterwards, Pinky join-
porated the cue line of "my
By comparison, Jackie Fields,
ed Earl Carroll's stage shows.
name is Pinky Lee" in his best- born Jacob Finkelstein, the for-
Later, he appeared on Broad-
selling record of "Black Magic."
mer world welterweight cham-
way in "Wine, Women and
pion, is doing quite well in Las
Pinky confesses to me that it
Song."
Vegas. He holds a small interest
was his ambition to appear once
In Hollywood, he bowed in the more in a television show exclus-
in one of the large hotels and
Hunt Stromberg picture, "A Lady ively aimed at an adult audience
serves as an unofficial Grover
of Burlesque" (1943), in which he and in 1961 he did such an even-
Whalen-type.
co-starred with Barbara Stanwyck ing show for a while three times
and Michael O'Shea; Pinky Lee's a week with Vivian Blaine sharing
Israel is Hebrew meaning "cham-
DEMOCRAT
role was especially developed by the limelight with him.
pion of God." Properly the term
writer Virginia Van Upp to fit his
Earlier still, in 1958, he com- should be applied solely to the
unusual personality. Herbert Yates pleted an engagement of 18 solid Northern Kingdom, where dwelt
of Republic Studios offered Pinky weeks as headliner at Major Rid- the so-called "Ten Tribes of Isra-
a series of comedy-Western leads; dle's Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, to el." General acceptance, however,
but he declined to be stereotyped leave only for a personal appear- has made it synonymous with
in ordinary B-pictures. Later he ance tour throughout the country. Jewry.
went into some Roy Rogers-Dale In March of this year, he returned
Evans Westerns such as "In Old to the Nevada health resort to
Amarillo" and "South of Cali- shatter all records in the 25 years
ente" in which he was granted of the Las Vegas Desert Inn.
FOR IMPARTIAL JUSTICE
more meaningful parts. Opposite
The veteran comedian would like
Virginia Grey he appeared in "One to go on again as an entertainer
Exciting Night."
for grownups, but has been stamp-
Political Adv. ed as a clown with the checkered
cap who gives childern of all ages
laughter and warmth with his pant-
omimes, fairy tales, skits, and
elfish song and dances.
A visual comedian wth fast-mov-
ing face, eyes and lisp, Pinky has
never used a dialect and feels
strongly against berating any na-
tionality or making fun of the
Jewish or Christian religions
while on stage. Though he is not
Orthodox, he is proud of his herit-
age and has never told a story
which is in bad taste or would
belittle his own people..
-
-
FREDERICK
YATES
U.S. Congressman
RE-ELECT
EDGAR M.
BRANIGIN
COUNTY CLERK
Endorsed by UAW-AFL-CIO
Joint Council
ELECT
.
JACK J.
KRAIZMAN
Bible's Pricelessness
14th District
DEMOCRAT
208 ON YOUR BALLOT
By FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
It is a thing of the highest im-
portance to instil into the minds
of the people .. . that feeling
of reverence which will teach
them there are certain things
which they may not touch,
which must be preserved from
the hand of profanation. And,
on the other side, when we con-
sider the so-called "men of cul-
ture," those who believe in
"modern ideas" there is nothing
that so disgusts us at their ap-
parent lack of a sense of shame,
and that easy effrontery of hand
and eye with which they maul
and finger everything. Such
books as this (the Bible) with
their fathomless depth and their
priceless worth, need an external
authority, backed by force, to
protect them, in order that they
may remain in existence for all
thousands of years which are
necessary before their wealth
can be exhausted.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
16 Friday, August 21, 1964
JUDGE RECORDERS COURT
• U. of M. GRADUATE • FAMILY MAN
• Past Stale Commander, Jewish War Veterans
• Member Pisgah Lodge Bnai Brill' • Member Knights of Pythias
• Vice President of Congregation Bnai David
• Member Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Stale Bar of Michigan
• Member Recorders Court Committee, Detroit Bar Association
Not Prosecution Minded 25 Year Experience Defense Attorney
672 x JACK J. KRAIZMAN
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