Ye Billiard Den

[cardiac kid]

They had another Billiard Den in El Monte, not far from Five Points Bowl. That is where I first met & played Gabe "The Mailman" Girardi, a long time one pocket player. John Henderson

John,

Tried to get Gabe to teach me the fine points of one pocket at the LV Cue Club. Played him a few cheap racks. He quit and matched me up with another guy with whom I played on and off till he left for Florida last Fall. Next thing I know, Gabe passes away. Really never got to know how well he really played in his prime. Perhaps you can enlighten me?

Lyn

 

[jay helfert]

Jay, Is that the Caddy you rode around in?

That well could be Bugsy's Caddy. He always got the prime parking spot! OMG I got higher than a kite riding in that car. Bugsy loved it when he got me high and laughing. He loved to tell stories, but I can't remember any of them, mostly about all the beautiful broads he had. I'd just sit back in that soft ride and listen to him rap, the stereo playing and the joint blazing. It's the small pleasures in life that you remember. When Bugsy would invite me to go for a ride I jumped.

He liked to sweat me playing somebody and after the game take me for a ride and talk about the game. He loved pool and liked to analyze all the shots. He would sit and watch a One Pocket match from beginning to end and remember every move I made. I couldn't remember all the shots like he could. He would say "When that guy put you behind the pack, how come you kicked two rails off the end rail and took a foul?" I had to explain to him that was my best option (to give up one ball) as opposed to selling out the whole game. He would think about it and say that makes sense.

He could be tough if he had to though. If somebody messed with him, he might look them in the eye and ask them if they had a death wish. For an old man he had a cold hard stare that could be frightening. I had a feeling there was something real behind it too. Thank God I never witnessed anything. He would occasionally allude to his mob roots back East, but didn't make a big deal out of it. He was "retired" in California! But my recollection was that just about everybody gave him a wide berth. Even the local gangsters gave him respect. So he was probably the real deal.

 

[jay helfert]

John,

Tried to get Gabe to teach me the fine points of one pocket at the LV Cue Club. Played him a few cheap racks. He quit and matched me up with another guy with whom I played on and off till he left for Florida last Fall. Next thing I know, Gabe passes away. Really never got to know how well he really played in his prime. Perhaps you can enlighten me?

Lyn

Gabe was a pretty good One Pocket shortstop. It took a good player to beat him. And he was smart too. He matched up real good. He was another mild mannered guy who you didn't want to anger. Gabe would whack you one from behind if he got mad enough! :grin:

 

[Black-Balled]

Yeah Bugsy was a great guy. Only I made a rookie mistake and asked a young girl he was with if he was her father. He didnt speak to me after that. Funny people are starting to ask the girls Im now with the same question? Is it because they keep calling me "daddy"? LOL!

I stopped playing pool seriously though when I ran into Black Rudy. Once a debonair good looking money man was down on his luck and looked all broken down. I didnt want to end up on that road. It was sad. I knew it was time to look for something serious.

Funny...

I was on a business trip with a coworker who was pretty cute. We are in the airport waiting for luggage and sor randome guy walks up to me and tells me my daughter is beautiful.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

It was on Santa Monica at Sweetzer.

That's the one I played at - lived a block east at Santa Monica and Harper during the first half of '69. Completely unaware of the talent surrounding me - good thing I hadn't yet caught the gambling bug.

pj
chgo

 

[jay helfert]

That's the one I played at - lived a block east at Santa Monica and Harper during the first half of '69. Completely unaware of the talent surrounding me - good thing I hadn't yet caught the gambling bug.

pj
chgo

I was there waiting, lol.

 

[jay helfert]

That was on Sunset Blvd, right? I used to play there once in a while around 1974. I remember Crazy Bruce, Brookly Butch, and Cuban Joe. There was always something going on there. I got my first decent cue there, pawning a guy's Gina - his name was Cherokee and he needed the cash to rent a recording studio to try to make a record.

Chris

Cherokee has had many names over the years, all self created. I used to hear from him once or twice a year, but not for a while now. He was a top flight grifter, managing long stays in lux surroundings in La Jolla and most recently an estate in Oregon. He always had a big plan he was working on. Interesting guy.

Nope, I never bought in or invested, but that didn’t stop him from trying!

 

[jay helfert]

I thought the Den was a great room, and there were a lot of stars, and action; however the prices were a little to rich for a struggling musician in those days, so I mostly hung around the lesser rooms, like Celebrity Billiards, Mr. Pockets, and Chopsticks out in the Valley.

It's interesting that you mentioned Judy Garland. I'd played a show with her at the Cincinnati Gardens in 1965. She was one of the truly great performers. That night though she couldn't make the second act due to "sickness". She'd caught a sudden case of bottle flu...

Doc

Played in all those rooms multiple times!

 

[jay helfert]

The Climax

Did anybody ever go into The Climax, the all-night members only club in Hollywood? The joint had an all night movie theater, disco, two
4 and 1/2 x 9's, a giant game room, and about 100 gorgeous women, all free except for admission which was $7. They had foam rubber floors in the theater where you could lay down, watch the movie and make out. The disco had a balcony with foam floors also, no chairs. Just lay on the floor and do your thing. It was pitch black up there, but the lights would come back on about every two minutes to stifle any real serious action.

the Beard

One time was enough for me.

 

[smiling_Hans]

One time was enough for me.

I know what you mean. 100 in one night is quite the work.

 

[jay helfert]

Jay, Is that the Caddy you rode around in?

May well be, since Bugsy had a spot reserved for him in front!

Nice to see this thread resurrected. Ye Billiard Den was my “home room” for my first three years in L.A. (1967-69). I really put all my acquired skills to good use there.