Atlantic City Memory Lane

Submitted by Lane Watson from Hughesville, Maryland. Entered on January 5, 2009
"I met the Three Stooges back stage at the Pier,I could not get over the make-up they used. I also watched this man clap together bricks, etc. to make the noises that were needed for their Acts. They were so nice and polite. Lois, I went to school with Joan, please tell her I said hi. Missed her at the last reunion." Edit Entry

Submitted by Lois Kaness from Denver. Entered on January 4, 2009
"My grandfather was a friend of Larry Fine's. The Fines lived at a hotel with their daughter, and, when my mother was a teenager/young woman she would babysit for them. When I was in my Junior or Senior year at ACHS and the Stooge's were appearing at the Pier, Larry was always gracious when I brought autograph collector friends to meet him at his hotel. Leafing through some old photo albums the other day, I found a poolside pic of Larry signing my cousin Joan Burachio's autograph book..." Edit Entry

Submitted by Henry Weiss from Galloway, NJ. Entered on January 4, 2009
"Larry Fine's sister and brother-in-law bought my house in Margate in 1978, on the corner of Delavan & Amherst Ave. They paid cash for the house, and my wife and 2 daughters moved to a larger house in Northfield, where we lived for about 25 yrs. I sold my house without a realtor, putting a sign in front, and they walked in, toured the house, and made us an offer.... which we eventually accepted. " Edit Entry

Submitted by Woody from Mays Landing N.J. . Entered on January 4, 2009
"Kate: In reference to Larry of the 3 Stooges. He was born Oct 5,1902 in Philadelphia,Pa. He died Jan 24 1975. His real name was Louis Feinberg. Their first 2 Reeler(20 Minutes) was in 1934 and was called "Women Haters". Their last 2 reeler was made in 1959 and was called "Sappy Bullfighters". I knew Larry's neice very well as she was a Middle School Teacher in Philly. Moe's older brother was Shemp and his younger brother was Curly. There were 6 Three Stooges. Moe, Curly, Larry, Joe Besser, Joe DeRita and Shemp Howard. They made 190 2 reelers. They also made a few feature films and appeared as guest stars in a few films. I met them when they played The Steel Pier the week of June 26, 1960" Edit Entry

Submitted by Kate from Mass. Entered on January 4, 2009
"Can you tell us any more about Larry Fine? I just watched the 3 stooges marathon on New Years eve and I would be fascinated to know more about him. " Edit Entry

Submitted by Daniel Mathis from Indianapolis, Indiana. Entered on January 4, 2009
"Is there a map of the Steel Pier that shows the layout of all the theaters, attractions, food places etc. that I can buy, see online or find in a book or something?" Edit Entry

Submitted by Larry Letzer from Copperas Cove, Texas. Entered on January 4, 2009
"Woody, Do you remember the last name of the Pier's public relations director? I think his first name was Jack. When I worked at Fred Hess and Son, I was on call to go to the pier and report to him although he did plan ahead, there were times that something would come up and I would drop what I was doing and get to the pier. Thank goodness we did not have pagers or cell phones in those days. A bit of bragging, but one night I was working at the hotel across the street from the Shelburne (can't remember the name, but I was in the Hess truck and met a young lady. We left the hotel and went parking in Absecon. The pier was trying to get in touch with me and had left messages at the hotel, and my home and with Howard Rosswork, Hess's manager and at Hertz's where we parked the truck overnight, but I did not get home until 3am. Lots of questions the following morning when I went to work." Edit Entry

Submitted by kid of the 50's from pa. Entered on January 4, 2009
"I remember 1960's......playing with kids on Congress st. Barb, Harvey, and Anita, who was on Tony Grant Stars of tomorrow, and the 3 chinese looking kids from philly. The man at the corner liquor? store, giving us free bags of chips. Putting a dress on in the evenings to walk on the boardwalk, the artist drawing our picture. Highlight, meeting Larry Fine." Edit Entry

Submitted by Mouse from Miramar. Entered on January 3, 2009
"To "Woody" and "bob r" your right about the Ocean Theater. There was one,just passed the Music Hall. There was a stair case that you took to get to the second floor. I believe there were at one time Musical Production Shows, presented. It caught fire, and was never rebuilt. It was between the Music Hall and the Diving Bell locations. Perhaps someone from the Atlantic County Historical Society could help. This is circa'30s and early '40s. I can still hear Frank Sinatra music as I passed the staircase to the Ocean Theater which was closed off. A little farther down {toward the ocean} was a food counter, and then you passed the Glass encased stables of the diving horses. Enjoy everyones comments and memories. These years it cost $1.25 for 1 adult with 1 child all day. And the aroma of the Hot Dog Stand Over Tony Grants on the North side watching the swimmers at Virginia Ave. Archie B. had it right, "Those were the Days"." Edit Entry

Submitted by Woody from Mays Landing N.J. . Entered on January 2, 2009
"Bob, In reference to Steel Pier: When we had a big star and large crowds in the Music Hall, we would open up the balcony's on both sides of the Theater. On a rainy day, everyone would go to the Pier. We would discontinue the main feature and just show short subjects. That meant that the star of the week would have to do about 6 shows a day instead of 4. In the years that I worked on the pier, the only time we had to move the show to the Marine Ballroom was the Labor Day Weekend when Ricky Nelson appeared(1958). I don"t remember an Ocean Theater." Edit Entry

Submitted by bob r from Ventnor nj. Entered on January 2, 2009
"Hey Steel Pier buffs. What happened to the OCEAN theater located on the ocean side if the Music Hall. When we had a BIG star in the Music Hall we would run continues stageshows and move the pictures to the Ocean theater. or am I older than you guys?" Edit Entry

Submitted by Janet Welsh from Ormond Beach, FL. Entered on December 31, 2008
"I have nothing but wonderful memories of Atlantic City and Steel Pier. I saw a paunchy Kenny Rogers in a skimpy bathing suit performing there in a clown show with the diving horse and Barney Cipriani before Kenny even started with the "First Edition." My last visit to Steel Pier was in 1973 when they celebrated their 75th. anniversary. The show featured Frankie Lester and his band. It was a wonderful show of big band music that brought back so many memories. I even bought the 75th. anniversary record they were selling as a souvenier, which I have since converted to a CD because I no longer have a turntable. I love big band music and play that CD over and over. It will always serve as a reminder of Steel Pier and the wonderful showplace it once was. For a few years we owned a summer home in Brigantine and then as my children became parents we started taking our family vacations in Ocean City, NJ where we rented a beachfront umit for a week and made unforgetable memories. We love the Jersey Shore... Atlantic City, Ocean City, Wildwood, Cape May, etc. Al Alberts has a wonderful CD called "Summertime Memories" which includes "On the Way to Cape May, Sea Isle City, "On the Boardwalk in Atlantic City", "Harbor Lights" and a few others. When I listen to it, it takes me back to those wonderful times at the Jersey Shore when life was gentler and uncomplicated. Great memories that will last forever! " Edit Entry

Submitted by Susan Voci from NJ/FL. Entered on December 31, 2008
"Steel Pier was one of my fondest memories. I remember being scared of the fun houses. (can you imagine) Crazyville and Mystery Ride I wouldn't think of going into. The best buttered popcorn was in the Casino theater, best french fries in the center. Lets not forget that unique smell in the Chinese store. Tony Grant was my favorite show. I used to take lessons and had to quit because my family couldn't afford $3:00 a week. Different times. I don't submit much on this site but I read it almost daily. The memories that are shared are close to my heart. Everyone have a HEALTHY HAPPY NEW YEAR " Edit Entry

Submitted by Woody from Mays Landing N.J. . Entered on December 31, 2008
"Hello Steel Pier Fans, You are all right about the theaters on the pier. As you entered the pier was the Casino Theater. We ran a B movie 6 times a day. Later in the 50's after each movie was "Dancing Waters" It can now be seen in Las Vegas and also at the Ocean End of Caesars Pier (The old Million Dollar Pier) Next was the Music Hall Theater. A fair movie (Mostly Charlie Chan or a J.Arthur Rank film) and an All Star Show with a name act. Then came The Tony Grant "Stars of Tomorrow-Childrens Show. This was called "The Midway Theater" Then at night at the Ocean End of the pier was "The Marine Ballroom" featuring The Bg Bands. Dancing from 8:30pm to 12:30am Also in The Ballroom from 12 Noon to 1:pm and 4:30 to 6:30 was the Ed Hurst Record Hop. Of course lets not forget "The Water Circus in the Marine Stadium. Divers, Clowns, Animal Acts, Circus Acts and The World Famous "High Diving Horse". Five shows a day unless it rained. If we go back to August 1965, appearing in the Music Hall were, George Gobel(TV Stars), The 4 Seasons, The King Family, Johnny Mathis, Wayne Newton and Peter & Gordon. Each act usually worked from Sunday to Saturday." Edit Entry

Submitted by Jim Bloom from Silver Spring, MD. Entered on December 31, 2008
"Geez--- all these memories from AC and downbeach from the 50s and early 60s. There was an Italian Restaurant in Ventnor on Ventnor Ave. and I can't remember the name now but it was pretty decent. In my ACHS years , 1953-57, we'd hang out at Super Sub Shop just a few blocks down from the school. Once in a while Albion Hart, the assistant principal would send his goons out to look for kids (like myself) who were cutting classes while shmoozing at the sub shop. I think the owners were the Kaplans and they moved to Florida in the late 50s. When I worked the rides at Million Dollar Pier, they would have us on "stand-by" on rainy days when they closed the Pier, and this is when we'd go to the Steel Pier to look for girls. If we hooked up with a girl, then it cleared up, we had to decide whether to report back to the Pier or not---risking getting canned. Lou's was Community Central for the Jewish crowd. You could meet just about every Jewish person in town there at one time or another. Kornblau's likewise and Shumsky's. Tony's is still going strong and has great pizza----at least as of a couple of years ago when I was last in town. I am probably confusing ski ball with the pokerino as I worked both of them for a while. The gimmick for when someone won a free game was the slug on a wire that you could feed into the coin slot and then remove. Selling papers on the boardwalk was a pain in the butt. I did tnis in the early 50s and I learned to make up ridiculous headlines to shout so I could sell the paper. I would usually make up stuff about Frank Sinatra in a shooting or even about flying saucers landing as I was a sci-fi fan. The idea was to move on once you sold a few that way because the buyers sometimes came back and asked where was the story. " Edit Entry

Submitted by Marty Hyman from South Philly. Entered on December 31, 2008
"The Movie house at the front of Steel Pier was called the Casino Theater. At the middle of the pier the Music Hall Theater showed movies separated by live Vaudeville shows. What was the name of the theater that Tony Grant's Stars of Tomorrow played in?" Edit Entry

Submitted by Henry Weiss from Galloway, NJ. Entered on December 30, 2008
"One was the Midway Theater, named because it was in the middle of the pier. Not sure of the other name, just can't seem to remember. Age does remarkable things to one's memory..........." Edit Entry

Submitted by Bill McGowan from Salem, New Jersey. Entered on December 30, 2008
"There were two movie houses that played in the Steel Pier. Anyone remember if they had names?" Edit Entry

Submitted by RON from Galloway from Galloway. Entered on December 30, 2008
"I remember selling the 7 star final union, when it was the press union news papers. the press was the morning paper the 5 star union came out at 5 o'clock pm and the 7 star came out around 7 o'clock pm and had the late race results. My papers would be delivered to me at Mass and Atl. aves. then a mad dash down Atlantic ave. to Kents and Lintons restaurants(trying to be the first newsboy to get to the horse players. Swell, if you didn't have to fight one of the older guys to get there. the paper sold for 2 cents,but the players would give you a nickle or a dime. Unless you got to a bigwiner then it was a quarter.the fromt page of the 7 star was orange." Edit Entry

Submitted by Anthony Mazzone from Narberth, PA. Entered on December 29, 2008
"Sold papers on the Boardwalk from about 1968 to 1971. I would stand for hours across from Million Dollar Pier on Arkansas Ave or on Michigan Avenue. This was a great job: never missed any action and could be visited by my friends. I was supposed to hawk the headlines but was more interested in trading papers for fried clams at Howard Johnson's or salt water taffy at James. And, when in pursuit of some alluring damsel, the profit motive would be put aside and the stand remain unmanned for long periods of time. When Judy Garland died, June 22, 1969, all the other paper sellers had record nights. The boardwalk would become even more crowded whenever a big event let out of Convention Hall. That's when we were supposed to move out into the middle of the Boards and sell for all we were worth. I was never very good at it. In order to make a profit, we had to charge more for the paper than the newsstand price, which did not go over well with the public. Except that is, for the men waiting for the Daily Telegraph to be delivered. This was a racing paper, and the track guys just plunked down a whole dollar (I believe it cost 60 cents) and went running off. At the end of the evening, we had to bring the remaining papers down to the distribution point somewhere near the old bus station. We would be paid immediately. By this time, we were ravenous, and would head to the White House or Delaware subs where we deposited a substantial portion of our earnings." Edit Entry