Crazy Lou

Last updated

Crazy Lou (died 1886) was the pseudonym of a New York showgirl and prostitute who was a well-known personality in the Bowery during the late 19th century. Described as a "famous local harlot derived from Boston society"', [1] little of her life is known before her arrival in New York. She is said to have been the daughter of a wealthy Boston merchant who, at the age of 17, was seduced by a young man and traveled to New York to join him. She instead fell into the hands of procuresses who sold her to one of the Seven Sisters brothels, a group of seven well-known establishments located in a residential area of brownstones on West 25th Street. Forced into prostitution, she was eventually released "when her beauty faded". [2] [3]

Remaining in New York, she frequented the Haymarket and the Cremorne and eventually became a popular dance hall girl. She regularly performed at some of the top bars and social clubs in the city including establishments owned by Tom Gould, Harry Hill and Billy McGlory. She spent her last years at Frank Stephenson's Black and Tan Club where, even after retirement, she remained a regular, typically staying from midnight until 2:00 am. As she grew older, she became destitute and reportedly "lived on scrappings from garbage pails" and made her living begging or selling flowers on the street. Yet she continued going to the Black and Tan, where she had a regular table and was personally served a tumbler of whiskey by Stephenson free of charge. One night in 1886, the elderly woman did not show up at the bar, and the next morning, her body was found floating in the East River. [4] [5] Her mysterious death was never solved; however, Stephenson continued to set a glass of whiskey at her usual table for a month after her death and allowed no one to sit at the table until 2:00 am. [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonewall riots</span> 1969 spontaneous uprising for modern LGBTQ rights movement

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Although the demonstrations were not the first time American homosexuals fought back against government-sponsored persecution of sexual minorities, the Stonewall riots marked a new beginning for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Massacre</span> 1770 shooting by British soldiers

The Boston Massacre was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which nine British soldiers shot several of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing them verbally and throwing various projectiles. The event was heavily publicized as "a massacre" by leading Patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. British troops had been stationed in the Province of Massachusetts Bay since 1768 in order to support crown-appointed officials and to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation.

<i>In the Heat of the Night</i> (TV series) American crime drama series

In the Heat of the Night is an American police procedural crime drama television series loosely based on 1965 novel of the same title and the 1967 film of the same name. The TV series starred Carroll O'Connor as police chief Bill Gillespie and Howard Rollins as police detective Virgil Tibbs. The series was broadcast on NBC from March 6, 1988 to May 19, 1992 before moving to CBS, where it aired from October 28, 1992 to May 16, 1995. Its executive producers were O'Connor, Fred Silverman and Juanita Bartlett. This series marked O'Connor's return to a series for the first time since the All in the Family spinoff Archie Bunker's Place ended in 1983.

<i>All in the Family</i> American sitcom television series (1971–1979)

All in the Family is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as Archie Bunker's Place, a continuation series, which picked up where All in the Family ended and ran for four seasons through April 4, 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speakeasy</span> Establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages; now, retro-style bars

A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Parsons</span> American labor organizer (c.1851–1942)

Lucy E. Parsons was an American social anarchist and later civil rights activist. Her early life is shrouded in mystery: she herself said she was of mixed Mexican and Native American ancestry; historians believe she was born to an African-American slave, possibly in Virginia, then married a black freedman in Texas. In addition to Parsons, she went by different surnames during her life including Carter, Diaz, Gonzalez and Hull. She met Albert Parsons in Waco, Texas, and claimed to have married him although no records have been found. They moved to Chicago together around 1873 and Parsons' ideology were shaped by the harsh repression of the Chicago railroad strike of 1877. She argued for labor organization and class struggle, writing polemical texts and speaking at events. She joined the International Workingmen's Association and later the Knights of Labor, and she set up the Chicago Working Women's Union with her friend Lizzie Swank and other women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Dahlia</span> American murder victim (1924–1947)

Elizabeth Short, known as the Black Dahlia, was an American woman found murdered in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 15, 1947. Her case became highly publicized owing to the gruesome nature of the crime, which included the mutilation and bisection of her corpse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Albion Andrew</span> American lawyer and politician; 25th Governor of Massachusetts (1861-66)

John Albion Andrew was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He was elected in 1860 as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts, serving between 1861 and 1866, and led the state's contributions to the Union cause during the American Civil War (1861–1865). He was a guiding force behind the creation of some of the first African-American units in the United States Army, including the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. He belonged to the Whig, Free Soil, and Republican parties during his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin</span> American publisher, journalist, African American civil rights leader, suffragist, and editor

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin was a publisher, journalist, civil rights leader, suffragist, abolitionist, and editor of the Woman's Era, the first national newspaper published by and for African American women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toots Shor</span> American restaurateur (1903–1977)

Bernard "Toots" Shor was the proprietor of the saloon and restaurant Toots Shor's Restaurant, in Manhattan. He ran three establishments under that name, but his first was located at 51 West 51st Street. He was a saloonkeeper, friend, and confidant to some of New York's biggest celebrities during that era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsha P. Johnson</span> Black American gay liberation activist (1945–1992)

Marsha P. Johnson was an American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. Known as an outspoken advocate for gay rights, Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susie King Taylor</span> First black nurse during the American Civil War

Susie King Taylor was an American nurse, educator and memoirist. Born into slavery in coastal Georgia, she is known for being the first African-American nurse during the American Civil War. Beyond her aptitude in nursing the wounded of the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Taylor was the first Black woman to self-publish her memoirs. She was the author of Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33rd United States Colored Troops, Late 1st S.C. Volunteers (1902). She was also an educator to formerly bonded Black people in the Reconstruction-era South when she opened various Freedmen's schools for them in the city of Savannah, Georgia. Taylor was a main organizer of Corps 67 of the Woman's Relief Corps in Massachusetts (1886).

SS <i>Kronprinzessin Cecilie</i> (1906)

SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie was an ocean liner built in Stettin, Germany in 1906 for North German Lloyd that had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted in a ship at the time of construction. The last of four ships of the Kaiser class, she was also the last German ship to have been built with four funnels. She was engaged in transatlantic service between her home port of Bremen and New York until the outbreak of World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Cat Bar</span> Historic site in San Francisco

The Black Cat Bar or Black Cat Café was a bar in San Francisco, California. It originally opened in 1906 and closed in 1921. The Black Cat re-opened in 1933 and operated for another 30 years. During its second run of operation, it was a hangout for Beats and bohemians but over time began attracting more and more of a gay clientele, and becoming a flashpoint for what was then known as the homophile movement, a precursor to the gay liberation movement that gained momentum in the 1960s.

John Saffin was an English-born merchant, politician, judge, and poet. He is best known for the work A Brief and Candid Answer, which was written in response to Samuel Sewall's The Selling of Joseph, and for a small collection of poetry, most of which was not published until the 20th century. Literary historian Harrison Meserole ranks Saffin as "seventh or eighth" among colonial American poets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Donston Stephenson</span>

Robert Donston Stephenson was a British writer and journalist, chiefly known for having been made a potential suspect in the Jack the Ripper investigation and for his personal theory as to the identity of the murderer.

Patrick "Burly" Bohan was an American saloonkeeper and owner of The Doctor's, a popular dive bar at 95 Park Row, Manhattan and hangout for panhandlers and professional beggars known as the 'Bowery Bums'. Many of his patrons "preyed upon the public by simulating cripples." Bohan, according to crime historian Herbert Asbury, provided a locker for storing crutches and canes while these panhandlers spent their money on whiskey, rum and liquified camphor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Allen (saloon keeper)</span> American saloon keeper and underworld figure

John Allen was an American saloon keeper and underworld figure in New York City during the early-to mid-19th century. A former religious student, Allen was considered one of the most notorious criminals in the city and was known as the "Wickedest Man in New York". A public crusade against him, headed by lawyer and journalist Oliver Dyer, resulted in a reform movement known as the "Water Street revival".

Frank Stephenson was an American saloon keeper and underworld figure in New York City during the mid-to late 19th century. He was the owner of The Black and Tan, a popular Bowery basement bar located on Bleecker Street. It was one of the first saloons to cater to African-Americans and was a competitor against neighboring establishments such as Harry Hill's gambling resort and Billy McGlory's Armory Hall among others. He is also credited for opening the city's first and oldest "undisguised" gay bar, The Slide, also on Bleecker Street.

Reuben, Reuben is a two-act, "urban folk opera" by Marc Blitzstein, written from 1953 to 1955. Set in New York's Little Italy and inspired by the Faust legend, it concerns Reuben, a suicidal veteran who has received a medical discharge because he cannot speak. His disorder serves as an allegory of the difficulties of interpersonal communication in society, and of the eventual triumph of love over these difficulties and over the death wish. It was shown at the Shubert Theatre in Boston from October 10 to 22, 1955. Hanya Holm choreographed, Robert Lewis stage directed, and Cheryl Crawford produced the show.

References

  1. 1 2 Petronius. New York Unexpurgated: An Amoral Guide for the Jaded, Tired, Evil, Non-conforming, Corrupt, Condemned, and the Curious, Humans and Otherwise, to Under Underground Manhattan. New York: Matrix House, 1966. (p. 192) OCLC   950624
  2. 1 2 Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (p. 170) ISBN   1-56025-275-8
  3. O'Connor, Richard. Hell's Kitchen: The Roaring Days of New York's Wild West Side. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1958. (p. 85) OCLC   1483793
  4. Walling, George W. Recollections of a New York Chief of Police: An Official Record of Thirty-eight Years as Patrolman, Detective, Captain, Inspector and Chief of the New York Police. New York: Caxton Book Concern, 1887. (pp. 487-88) OCLC   31433390
  5. O'Connor (p. 86)