The Fat Man/by Evelyn...Couple pages.

Island Drive · 2019-03-14T17:24:23+00:00

Evelyn/Fats Interview 2-28-96 Thought you all would enjoy my interview with Ev on her life with this man. These are her exact words about her life with him. I do have video/audio of this and I'm considering duplicating them if there's enough interest. Here's the start of the interview.... Evelyn and I chatting during setup.... Fats always looked young ev said Jeannie was janscos wife ev said she had good looking legs Beginning of dialogue of her first encounter with Rudolph. We were married for 44 years, met March 7, 1941 and married May 7, 1941 We first met in Duquoin IL Fats had a pool room in DC during Ted Roosevelts presidency, he drove around in an open limousine to wave to his public, and never failed to drive past Fats' pool room. Everyone would go outside to see the president pass by, fats said Roosevelt had the Biggest head he had ever seen on a human. BIG Big head, fats made comments about everything, some you could repeat others you couldn't. Where and how they first met Fats attended a pool tournament in Chicago at Bensingers that lasted about six weeks in duration, it supposedly had two or three floors. Now all five below are heading south from Bensingers, in separate cars. One car had a friend of fats from DC, Earl Schreiver and his wife Ada and a little boy Phil. Then there was Jimmy the Greek from NY not Vegas who came with Fats in his car. 150 + tournament games booked at Bensingers event and Fats won 146-148. Fats had a NEW Buick Lasalle, last built, beautiful dark in color, black or dark blue and other couple had a Buick. They were all on their way to Hot Springs AK to go down for some R&R @ Oaklawn Race Track, pool hustlers gathering every spring for many years. timeline 1941 Hwy 51 south from Chicago, fats skidded on pavement just before arriving in Duquoin and fats banged/scratched his new car on a mail box and drove into Duquoin to see about repairs. While in town asked he asked if there was a pool room, there was. Went to Lloyd Reeds poolroom, half of em in there fats already knew from Bensingers and there were big gamblers here in town. Next it took hours to match the game before play even started. Might be odds on the money or odds on the game itself. First game for $900 I was not there till a week later, we had not met yet, fats won that game. They then played for days and nights so to speak. Fats Ck'd into a hotel just around the corner from the pool room. The money and game got bigger and bigger, and he played a local Rounder like fats all this time. The rounder who had been in town a long time, married a Duquoin girl and raised a family, his name was Don something, not Willis. There were a few restaurants close to the poolroom so fats would go there to eat, they were not large restaurants, and Fats didn't want to miss a minute away from the pool room action. I worked as a waitress 2-3 miles down the road from the pool room at the Evening Star. Fats was hungry and this was Monday night and they came to the Star. We had two waitresses, myself and Irene, Mondays I had the night off and that's when they first came in. The Star had liquor and a small dance floor along with the food. Served fried chicken and barbecue every night, open during the weekend. Unless it was going to be unusually busy myself and Ruthie were the only ones who worked there. So I had a night off and they came to eat the first time. Next night I came to work and heard the staff talk etc about the big gamblers in town and tipping BIG $5 plus etc. Just to see and hear about it was BIG for the times, money was huge $2,500 a game and it makes for 'smart conversation'. So I missed seeing them. So I went back to work the next night Tue., and they had talked, Joe Skofie and Mugs owners of the Star, boy Evelyn they said about the big gamblers in town. All week long. Boy Ev you missed it. . Tue pm Fats and real young gal about 17 etc came in with fats, I was there, I was 22. The 17 yr olds name/Ruthie who worked in town at a restaurant by the pool room, a local and had dinner in the star the night before with Fats. And during the time fats was in action, if Ruthie wanted too, fats let her drive his car around, she was a blind 17 yr old. Ev's description of youth.'''' I was the waitress and I want to tell ya something about the chicken. Ed King the chef, he made very good fried chicken. Fats Loved it, never eaten chicken in his life so good, and he told Ed King and everyone about his chicken. Fats always wanted me to cook fried chicken after that, his favorite. Raised in NY fried chicken before refrigeration fats always thought it was supposed to taste half rotten, here in IL at the star it was perfect Fats LOVED it. Back then then kept chicken till sold. Fats ''he liked me on sight'', his first spoken words to me were, other than the ordering of food, and he didn't make it obvious to Ruthie something was going on....''he asked me if I would go out with him that night"?, and I guess he thought he'd drop Ruthie off and double back. I had to work till 11. I said oh ''I couldn't tonight''. I'm not dressed. There was no place to go....there didn't have to be. But I told em I could tomorrow night, and he said ok and he'd see me when I got off of work. The next night comes, he didn't come to pick me up, the Greek his friend came to pick me up. So as we drove back to town where fats was, the Greek had his eyes on me too so he parked in front of the theatre a couple blocks from where fats was and said, what could he and I do, would I go out with him? I said well I'm dated up with Fats tonight, so I refused. So he took me on then to where fats was. Fats was in front of the pool room standing outside on the sidewalk waiting. Next, the Greek and I both got out of the car. Next fats said honey would you like to go get something to eat? I said yeah, and went to one of the restaurants that was real close. So they said would ya like to have a steak? I said yes. The way it turned out they didn't order any food either of em. We were sitting in a Big booth, me on one side all by myself, the Greek and Fats directly across on the other side of the booth....oh they fired the questions at me just as fast as I could answer. They ordered me a steak musta been 1/4'' thick and it covered a Big dinner platter, it covered it all over, like a sheet. So Fats asked ''honey can I cut the steak for ya'', I said ok, and he did, into small pieces. These two sat and watched me take each bite from plate to mouth up and down, like dogs at a dinner table waiting for scraps to fall....I thought ''I'm into something BIG.'' So finally we got rid of the Greek Now its midnight, no place to go, we went straight to a hotel in Carbondale and Old hotel ck'd in as man/wife, and you know the rest of that story''. So I had a date with him the next night, then the next and the next etc. So I saw him every night for two weeks. Two weeks into their relationship, Fats made me quit my job, he wanted me to be wherever he was. Fats got a phone call 11 pm @ Evening Star asking for Rudolph Wanderone, it was his family in NY city, they had sent a western union wire to this area, kinda a death message his sister was a sickly person, Rosalie stepsister a little older than fats was, had respiratory problems and surgery that was a must that could of cured or helped allot. It was a kill or cure type of surgery. They told fats she survived the surgery but not much more time to live. Rosie was his pride and joy. Fats cried like a baby, out loud, just as loud as he could, like a kid, a two yr old at the movies, he also was weepy at movies....Julie another stepsister both last names were Graf. Fats mom was married to a man named Graf, and My name before I was married to Pat was Graff. Fats turned from the phone crying so hard he couldn't talk. He finally said my sister is dying in NY city. He said, Evelyn would you go to NY city with me? I said, oh well I'll have to go get permission from my mother since I'm only 22 yrs old.© __________________ Bill Meacham WBT www.worldbilliardtour.com no link...