Yes. I do them. We call them "Arnolds". I probably do more than I should at my age but I haven't had any heart surgeries like Arnold.
Jay Helfert
- Thread starter gulfportdoc
- Start date
I really liked Jack too. I had a memorable snooker encounter with him (at Mother's Billiards on Fairfax Ave. In Hollywood) that I talked about in Pool Wars. The old time New York hustler named Al Sunshine (his real name) backed me against Jack when I knew it was a bad game for me. Jack gave me the best advice ever when he told me to just "Enjoy your life!" And he surely enjoyed his.
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You're right that Tony spent a lot of time at Big Momma's when Ronnie and Coke were running it. Harry reminds me of Shaky Red who used to hang at the Billiard Den. No one really knew how good he played since he wouldn't take a chance with anyone who could play. He never lost as far as I know, just picking off the pigeons that fell into his trap. Of course I was playing some of the same guys, but at least I was giving them a spot. Some of these guys played so bad (beginner speed) that I would just ask them what they wanted in One Pocket and give them that without question. Usually they were embarrassed to admit how bad they played and might ask for 10-6 or something like that, when I could give them 10-3 if I wanted to. I loved One Pocket because it gave me such a big edge over weak players. In 9-Ball, giving up the five out or 6,7,8 and 9 could get you in trouble when someone got lucky. Even bad players could luck in a money ball.Harry "The Hook" Cohen was all business, all the time. He'd joke once in a great while, but was usually very serious; and a chain smoker. He rarely played unless he had the lock down nuts. And everyone knew that. He was very knowledgeable about most games, even 3C. I assume he was from NY, although he'd spent time in Miami while the good players wintered there. Freddie Bentivenga hated him, but I got along fine with him. He was quite a bit older than I, and he'd give me a tip once in a great while. I suspect he was a good handicapper with the ponies. He always had a racing form in the back pocket of his Bermuda shorts. I think that he'd done "business" with so many people that he became a little paranoid.
I never knew that Tony Ola was a gangster, although I can believe it. He was kind of an intimidating guy, although not real bright. He was in Chopsticks once in awhile, but hung out quite a bit at Big Mommas. I watched Ronnie Allen give him 4 no-count, free handed one night, and rob him. That may have been in the same night that RA and R. Florence got into a fist fight over a 1P match. Neither guy won..
I had a regular game with Jack Ackerman, the composer for Judy Garland. He always wanted to play me because I gave him the 7, 8 and 9 and the break. He could really break hard and frequently made a money ball. I just had to fade it and usually did and he was always good for forty or fifty bucks. I also played Jimmy Caan a lot before he became famous. I gave him the seven only, because Jimmy had a little speed. He beat me a couple of times with the seven but in the long run I did good with him. We would play a Race to Nine or Eleven for 50, a good game back then. His brother Ronnie was a real doozey, nothing like Jimmy. Ronnie was as crooked as they come and we had one very bad encounter that my friend Leon, the bank robber, had to straighten out for me. I think that story is in Pool Wars also.
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So did you play with The Mothers of Invention? They were a very big deal back in the 60's and 70's and everyone looked up to Frank Zappa.You devil. Yeah, Frank had rented the old Tom Mix log cabin mansion on Laurel Cyn Blvd and Kirkwood. We rehearsed there in the basement for awhile until we rented a hall downtown on Wilshire. I eventually rented a house right on Laurel Cyn Blvd high up near Mulholland Dr. By then I was playing out in the Valley exclusively. One exception was at the Musicians' Union on Vine at Melrose (Down the street from Celebrity Billiards). They had a great rec room downstairs which had pool, snooker, and billiard tables. The snooker table had a golf game going all day until closing. I was able to make good spending money in that game, which I would try to parlay out in the Valley. There was also a decent room on Van Nuys Blvd in the late '60s. Had several decent billiard tables. The vatos were still cruisin' for weesas then..
Dewey Martin, the drummer for The Buffalo Springfield, was a good buddy of mine. He would meet me at the Den and we would play pool and get high afterwards. He always had the best weed. I just remember laughing like little kids when we hung out. He told me so many crazy stories about his life on the road as a rock star, and I'd tell him some of my pool stories.
Jim Morrison from The Doors came in the Den a couple of times but I had no idea who he was. I NEVER went to a movie or a concert or gave a damn about politics or anything else. I just wanted to play pool all day, every day. I did watch TV so I knew who Telly Savalas, Don Adams and Vince Edwards were. But none of them would gamble with me so I didn't really care if they came in there or not.
P.S. Telly was a serious poker player and I would see him often at the Bicycle Club casino.
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You're absolutely right. Looked so much like Tony he could be mistaken for a twin separated soon after birth.
Tony himself is leading a quiet life and being well cared for by family. What a talent and successful, deservedly-long career:
https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/celebrities/info-2021/tony-bennett-alzheimers.html
Arnaldo
Jay. Any way to get you book without using the evil empire of Amazon?
harry came out of new york city. always at aqueduct blowing his dough. he was indeed no one to play as he played very well, stalled and had a lock if he bet. winter time he was at congress billiards in miami, as was many of the new york and east coast hustlers. danny di was one of the few that actually moved there.
sunshine al from new york was mentioned. not the same guy as alibi al, al deanrie. he never seemed to play but backed the broke's. he was a small time hustler with little talent. i took him off for all he had a few times with him backing the worst player i ever saw.
butch came out of new york to cal. he was a golden glove boxer and feared by all as he had killer instinct and loved to fight. he wasnt big at all. and never saw him play pool. there are many stories about him and his fights. i think he is still around and a woodworker by trade now.
sunshine al from new york was mentioned. not the same guy as alibi al, al deanrie. he never seemed to play but backed the broke's. he was a small time hustler with little talent. i took him off for all he had a few times with him backing the worst player i ever saw.
butch came out of new york to cal. he was a golden glove boxer and feared by all as he had killer instinct and loved to fight. he wasnt big at all. and never saw him play pool. there are many stories about him and his fights. i think he is still around and a woodworker by trade now.
Yeah, I was with MOI from '68 to '70. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Tripp Dewey Martin was a damn good drummer, although I never met him. He played with a lot of big name country artists, as well as with B. Springfield. I had no use for Jim Morrison. He had some innate talent, and was a bright guy, but he was so whacked out on drugs and booze that is was sad. TBH if the audiences of the day weren't into drugs, tripping, peace/love and all that horse pucky, he never would have become popular. A couple of times we lampooned him whipping out his johnson on stage in Miami. Hendrix and Joplin got whacked too, but they could really play and perform. But they all had sad ends.
You mentioned Jack Ackerman. I don't know much about him, but I actually played in Judy Garland's band for a concert she did at the Cincinnati Gardens back in 1965. I was never so impressed by a star in my life. She instantly had the audience in the palm of her hand. And what a voice! Unfortunately she didn't sing for the second half of the show. She came out on stage with her doctor who said she had the flu and couldn't continue. She was just wasted. She had a large homosexual following, who became understandably upset, wanting to wreck the joint, so I kinda snuck out of the back of the venue that night. Didn't want to risk getting smacked around by a bunch of fags!
Damn Sam, You The Man!!
Hey Doc, This is fascinating to hear about your musical background. I had to look you up on All Music and it seems that you were on the Zappa records when he went from R&B / Doo Wop styles to where he began to experiment more...I don't even know what you call it, eclectic, free form, modern, fusion. I certainly doesn't fit any one genre. Being a percussionist on that stuff pretty much makes you a pioneer. Pretty cool stuff. Curious if you ever got into the funk scene back then like Sly, Tower of Power, Cold Blood, etc? Are you a fan of way David Garibaldi plays? A lot of those cats did studio work and the Tower horn section recorded with everyone back then. Being in LA did you ever hear the recording from Sunbear who were the house band for Soul Train?
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I remember him, wow
Yep, jayhelfert.com
Thanks, bro. I recall several funny stories from your U.S. Bar Table Championships at the Reno Hilton in the late '90s ('96? '97?). I had a match scheduled with Chris MacDonald (a top Bay Area player just a hair under the pros). I had seen Chris play at some of the Bay Area tournaments, so I sat down to watch his match with Ronnie Allen, which Chris won, but I noticed he was favoring his low back, and was wearing a brace. After the match I told him I was a Chiropractor from near Eureka, CA, and that I might could relieve his back pain. He jumped at the chance for relief, so we went up to his room where I adjusted his low back, and he instantly felt better. He offered to pay, but I told him it was on the house. We're riding back down in the elevator, and I asked him who he was playing next. He said, "Some guy named Art Tripp." I said, "That's me, you schmuck."
We walked back into the tournament room, and there was a big crowd around one of the center tables, including an EMT squad. Some poor guy had dropped dead during his match! But I'll never forget, his opponent came running up to you after the guy died and said, "Is that a forfeit? Is that a forfeit?!" You looked at the jerk and said, "Man, you gotta get a LIFE!"..
Anyway, Chris beat me in the match, after which I told him I should have charged him $200 bucks for the Chiropractic! We became friends after that. He and Barbara stayed with us up in Trinidad, CA when they'd have the big straight pool tournaments up in Eureka.
BTW, was that the year "King Kong" beat C.J. Wiley for the championship? As I recall KK made a do-or-die cross-side combo bank for the win. He jumped up about 3 feet into the air when it dropped. Wiley couldn't believe it.
Zappa never really was an R&B doo-wopper, except in tribute or as satire. We had done Cruisin' With Ruben & the Jets as an homage to '50s rock (which we'd all grown up on), but they'd already done Freak Out!, Absolutely Free, and We're Only in it For the Money before I joined them in NYC, all of which were rock/jazz/avant-garde. I re-did all the drum tracks to "Cruisin'" during the same sessions we did Uncle Meat.
No, I was not a funk fan, although I did enjoy James Brown in the early '60s. Also I was good friends with David Matthews, who was a composer/pianist I knew from the Cincinnati Conservatory. Dave went on to arrange big band scores for some of the top funk bands.
David Garibaldi is a great drummer. I never met him. But the guy was innovative in funk. Sly Stone was a jerk. He was on the bill with us at the Newport Jazz Festival in July, '69, where Sly tried to incite a riot from the stage. We all took that as a personal insult, as it reflected badly on all of us, and as a result his stature went way, way down among other musicians.
There was big prize money that year and the last three players (Bernardo Chavez (KK), CJ and Dave Hemmah made a deal, while still leaving some money to play for. All three of them were paid over 10K and the winner got 15K. Not bad for a bar table tourney 25 years ago and the entry fee was only $150.Thanks, bro. I recall several funny stories from your U.S. Bar Table Championships at the Reno Hilton in the late '90s ('96? '97?). I had a match scheduled with Chris MacDonald (a top Bay Area player just a hair under the pros). I had seen Chris play at some of the Bay Area tournaments, so I sat down to watch his match with Ronnie Allen, which Chris won, but I noticed he was favoring his low back, and was wearing a brace. After the match I told him I was a Chiropractor from near Eureka, CA, and that I might could relieve his back pain. He jumped at the chance for relief, so we went up to his room where I adjusted his low back, and he instantly felt better. He offered to pay, but I told him it was on the house. We're riding back down in the elevator, and I asked him who he was playing next. He said, "Some guy named Art Tripp." I said, "That's me, you schmuck."
We walked back into the tournament room, and there was a big crowd around one of the center tables, including an EMT squad. Some poor guy had dropped dead during his match! But I'll never forget, his opponent came running up to you after the guy died and said, "Is that a forfeit? Is that a forfeit?!" You looked at the jerk and said, "Man, you gotta get a LIFE!"..
Anyway, Chris beat me in the match, after which I told him I should have charged him $200 bucks for the Chiropractic! We became friends after that. He and Barbara stayed with us up in Trinidad, CA when they'd have the big straight pool tournaments up in Eureka.
BTW, was that the year "King Kong" beat C.J. Wiley for the championship? As I recall KK made a do-or-die cross-side combo bank for the win. He jumped up about 3 feet into the air when it dropped. Wiley couldn't believe it.
Things ended badly for Sly, as you well know. He lost his career, his money and everything else. Last I heard he was living in a van on the streets of L.A.
Yes, and it's an awful shame. If he could've gotten off drugs he'd have had a good life. Too many musicians end up that way. And more than a few pool players too.
Dave Matthews is a certified bad ass on the organ. IIRC he replaced Chester Thompson in Tower of Power and also played with Etta James for a long time, then Santana. Then there was the other Chester Thompson who was one of the drummers for Zappa. Full circle...haha.
Right you are. But the guy I was referring to is David Matthews, keyboardist and arranger/composer:
David Matthews (keyboardist) - Wikipedia
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