DCS: hadji ali

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Hadji Ali performed for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Judy Garland proclaimed him her favorite vaudeville performed. More recently, magician David Blaine cited him as his favorite magician and a personal inspiration. Hadji Ali’s “talent” was impressive and decidedly unusual.

Born in Egypt somewhere between 1888 and 1892, young Hadji developed an affinity for swimming in the Nile River. He discovered that he could swallow large amounts of water and then spit it out like a spouting whale. As he grew older, he refined his ability. He was able to control intake, bodily placement and distribution and, most importantly, regurgitation.

He began to exhibit his talent at fairs, music halls and sideshows. In his act, Hadji would swallow huge amounts of water and top it off with a generous amount of kerosene. He’d spew the fuel, set it alight and then act as a human fire extinguisher and douse the flame to the delight and astonishment of audiences. Another feat Hadji performed was to swallow several dozen hazelnuts followed by a handful of almonds, then, regurgitate the nuts in the exact order as determined by the audience’s request. Hadji would also swallow several different colored handkerchiefs and regurgitate them in a randomly-determined order. He’d cap off a performance by placing eight lit cigarettes in his mouth and spew smoke like a volcano for well over a minute.

Hadji’s act was popular among most audiences. Every so often, a dinner show was cut short when several audience members experienced nausea from viewing Hadji’s exploits while eating.

Hadji Ali’s passed away in 1937 after a bout of bronchitis. Prior to his death, posters advertising his live appearances boasted that $50,000 was offered by the Rockefeller Medical Institute for Hadji’s stomach for examination. Upon his death, The Rockefeller Institute said that no such monetary offer had ever been made… although they would be interested in conducting such an examination. Hadji’s daughter solicited her father’s remains to surgeons at Johns Hopkins University. Her offer was declined.

Hadji Ali was interred at Kensico Cemetery in New York.

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DCS: mary webster

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Chicago transplant Mary Webster — in all honesty — had a pretty unremarkable career. As a twenty-year old aspiring actress, she took roles portraying teenage characters in episodic television. She made her big screen debut in 1957 opposite Jerry Lewis in The Delicate Delinquent, his first full-length motion picture after his split with partner Dean Martin. Later the same year, Mary costarred in The Tin Star, a role that prepared her for a string of Western roles that would follow. She was featured in a number of guest roles in Westerns, dramas, two episodes of Twilight Zone and even a few comedies into the early 1960s, when she left Hollywood and retired from acting.

And then, in 1991, Mary showed up as a contestant on the popular game show Jeopardy! during the Seniors Tournament.

Her passing in 2017 at the age of 81 warranted a small write up in The Hollywood Reporter.

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DCS: leo hirschfield

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Considering the nature of his chosen profession and the fun-filled products with which he was associated, Leo Hirschfield led a complicated life.

The son of an Austrian candy maker, young Leo came to the United States and began working for Manhattan confectioners Stern & Saalberg. While in the employ of Stern & Saalberg, Leo was awarded several patents for advancement in candy-making technology. The patents, however, were shared with Stern & Saalberg. In 1895, Leo invented a fruit-flavored gelatin product called “Bromangelon,” which became a very popular dessert… until it was eclipsed by a similar product introduced two years later… a product called “Jell-o.”

In 1907, Leo was still employed by Stern & Saalberg. He developed a uniquely-textured chocolate candy which he named “Tootsie,” supposedly after a nickname for his daughter. However, company records show that a character named “Tootsie” served as a spokesperson and mascot for the Bromangelon product. Nevertheless, Tootsie Rolls were introduced to the market and, thanks to a huge marketing campaign, became a nationwide success. Leo was named a director within the Stern & Saalberg company and became a very wealthy man.

In early 1920, Leo left Stern & Saalberg to start his own candy enterprise. In 1921, Leo’s wife became seriously ill and she was committed to a sanitarium. Leo’s health began to decline as well. Although Leo was rich from his time with Stern & Saalberg, his own candy venture was not especially successful.  Leo was also despondent over his wife’s health. On January 13, 1922, Leo checked in to a room at the Hotel Monterey in New York City and shot himself in the head. He left a note reading “sorry, but I could not help it.”

With no official birth records available, Leo was believed to be 54 years old. Stern & Saalberg became Sweets Company of America which eventually became Tootsie Roll Industries. It grew to be one of the largest candy companies in the world.

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DCS: jonathan haze

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Many, many years ago, my mom’s friend Arlene recommended a film called Little Shop of Horrors. She told my mom, in a phone conversation, that she had stumbled upon this little gem while trying to find something to watch during a a late-night bout with insomnia. Arlene settled upon this quirky little flick after watching a scene that was riddled with references to the Yiddish humor she had heard as a child. Arlene explained to my mom that the film was somewhere between a science-fiction tale and the stand-up comedy of Borscht Belt comic Myron Cohen. In the days before VCRs, Netflix and other instantaneous home media, we would just have to wait until a repeat showing of Little Shop of Horrors popped up on a local UHF station. (UHF? Ask your parents.)

A week or so later, my mom spotted a Saturday afternoon showing of Little Shop of Horrors in the daily TV listing of our local newspaper. My mom and I shared a wicked sense of humor, so based on Arlene’s account of the movie, it was right up our alley. My mom and I often bonded over eclectic comedy. We would watch episodes of the (then) newly-discovered Monty Python’s Flying Circus and — quite literally — roll on the floor in uncontrollable peals of laughter… much to my father’s chagrin. While we tried to catch our collective breath, my dad would glare at us and, bark, “I don’t see what’s so funny? I can’t understand a goddamn thing they’re saying!” He’d go back to chain smoking his Chesterfields, reading his newspaper and getting angrier and angrier as my mom and I continued laughing.

On Saturday afternoon, my mom and I sat down in our den to watch Little Shop of Horrors. My father was off in another room, listening to a Phillies game on the radio, smoking cigarettes and staying well out of earshot of our potential laughter. The film began and within minutes, we were laughing. Between the deadpan opening narration parodying the popular Dragnet format and the dialogue involving a bereft character slyly named “Mrs. Siddie Shiva,” our laughter had progressed to hysterics. As the film continued, it got goofier and goofier. There was a giant man-eating plant, a wildly-masochistic dental patient, a climactic chase through a toilet factory and all sorts of the Jewish humor that Arlene had told my mom about. The cast featured Jackie Joseph, a character actress who frequently showed up in sitcoms and whose distinctive child-like voice was often heard in cartoons like Josie and the Pussycats, as well of a host of unknown actors from producer/director Roger Corman stock players… including an up-and-comer named Jack Nicholson (as the aforementioned dental patient). “Seymour,” the sad sack main character was a typical “mama’s boy,” was played by Jonathan Haze, the former Jack Schachter from Pittsburgh, who was pumping gas in Southern California when he was offered a role in a Z-grade picture called Monster from the Ocean Floor.

For the next one hundred and eleven minutes, my mom and I laughed and laughed at the improbable antics unfolding in Mushnick’s Flower Shop. There were some overt horror aspects to film, but overall, it was a hoot and, although presented in earnest, it was definitely played for laughs.

Years later, my mom and I were surprised when an off-Broadway musical (a musical!), based on this silly little low-budget horror-comedy, was generating a buzz. We were doubly surprised when the off-Broadway production was made into a big-screen musical with Steve Martin, John Candy and Rick Moranis in the role of nebbish “Seymour.”

Jonathan Haze, who originated the role of “Seymour,” passed away this week at the age of 95. Although his published obituaries noted his appearance in Little Shop of Horrors as the pinnacle of his career, he actually enjoyed a career that spanned six decades. Jonathan appeared in over 20 films, including a dozen produced by his friend Roger Corman. He also wrote scripts for a science-fiction parody, as well as an episode of the hipster drama 77 Sunset Strip.

Jonathan also gave my mom and me some hearty laughs.

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