| Gary
James Presents "Sinatra's Corner" |
Bruce Snyder of The "21 Club"
By Gary James
In May 1998, one of the greatest singers of the Twentieth Century, Frank
Sinatra passed away. In tribute to Frank Sinatra we thought it would be fitting to offer up some remembrances of the singer by some of the
people who either knew or worked with him.
Bruce Snyder is one such person. For over three decades he has been the
manager of the famed "21 Club" in New York, a favorite haunt for celebrities including Mr. Sinatra.
GJ: Mr. Snyder, how long have you been working at the "21 Club"?
BS: I've been here since 1967.
GJ: In that period, how many times did Frank Sinatra come into the "21
Club"?
BS: Mr. Sinatra was here many, many times during the time I was here. I
remember him being here and the people he brought with him. He was a great guest for us.
GJ: What makes the "21 Club" so exclusive? Why does it have this
reputation as being a hangout for celebrities?
BS: I think in the early days, in the speakeasy days, everybody was looking
for a great place to be where you could eat and drink and "21" was one of those...one of the finest on 52nd Street. They had the
best booze. Writers and budding actors hung out here. I think it just grew from there. Jack and Charlie did a masterful job of creating this
great restaurant. Of course, in the early days if they didn't know you, you didn't get in, because we were serving liquor illegally and it
just grew. After Prohibition, they thought the thing may be finished. Everybody was going to be serving liquor legally. But, everybody kept
coming. It has drawn the rich and famous and the not so rich and famous for all this time. I can remember in the time Frank Sinatra was
coming here, it was not unusual to see Jimmy and Gloria Stewart, or Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Peck, Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Douglas, or Loretta Young.
This was the place that they felt comfortable. The Kriendlers and the Berns (founders of the "21 Club") all knew them as
customers, not necessarily as friends. And certainly the staff knew who they were. They were protected, meaning we didn't let people run
over and say hello to them and get an autograph.
GJ: How would you protect them?
BS: Well, there's a certain amount of decorum in our restaurant. If somebody
were to walk over to the table...well, let's take Frank Sinatra for example. In the days that (bodyguard) Jilly (Rizzo) was with him, Jilly
would be seated with him. Jilly kept a watchful eye, but, usually there was somebody else with him that might be seated at an adjoining
table. He would sometimes travel with a security fellow. It would just be a normal man, but that would be his security man. If somebody came
up to the table and we didn't know them, and we didn't think they knew Mr. Sinatra, we would excuse our self and say please, he's entitled
to his privacy and would appreciate it if you wouldn't bother him. There was never any problem, but in case there was, the man who was
nearby would spring to his feet. Or, if you saw them coming you would kind of give Jilly the nod and if Jilly thought it was ok, he would
nod it was ok. But, generally they were left alone. I still think that's one of the great things about "21". People can come in.
They can have dinner. They can be an ambassador. They can be a movie star. They can be a mayor or governor or sometimes even a president and
people leave them alone.
GJ: Could you prevent people from staring at someone like Frank Sinatra while
he eats? That has to be pretty unnerving as well.
BS: No, you really couldn't. But, you know, they were always seated where we
seated people we knew. The people that we knew, probably many of them knew him. They'd seen him many times. They were not as in awe of Frank
Sinatra. They'd probably met him many times. They probably attended his concerts many times. They were probably famous and wealthy in their
own right. He was just another important person sitting with others. If Mr. Sinatra saw someone across the room that he knew, he'd go over
and say hello to them. He felt very much at home. He knew all the waiters and captains. We knew what he liked to drink. We knew what he
liked to eat. He was of course extremely generous to all of the staff. The people would stand in line when he left in the evenings and he
would be giving them all money on his way out.
GJ: So, whenever Frank Sinatra was in New York, he would come to the
"21"? He was a regular patron?
BS: Absolutely. If we knew Frank Sinatra was in town, we knew he was coming.
Dorothy, his secretary would call us in advance. She'd say, "Mr. Sinatra is going to be performing in Carnegie Hall and he wants to
come Wednesday night, Thursday night. On Friday night, he's going to Elaine's and Saturday night he's going to Gino's." something like
that. But, they would map it all out. We always knew he was coming and the table was always ready.
GJ: Dorothy would be calling you from California?
BS: Yes, of course.
GJ: When Frank Sinatra would come into the "21" Club, did he have
his own table? Was he always seated in the same place?
BS: Yes, generally he was. He would generally bring 8 people, sometimes 10,
and he would sit at a round table in the 21 section of the bar, usually table 14 was the number, with his entourage of people, you know, New
York friends. Again, when Jilly was alive, he was always with him.
GJ: Was it a common practice to always seat someone at the same table? Would
Gregory Peck always be seated at the same table?
BS: If we knew that's the table he wanted we would make every effort to do
that, yes.
GJ: What was so special about table 14? Did it offer a good view of the
restaurant?
BS: Yes. It was a good view of the restaurant and a good view of everybody
else. It's also where the staff that he was used to have waiting on him worked. And, it was also a table - size wise that could accommodate
the people he wanted to bring. Probably the most comfortable table for the number of people he was going to bring.
GJ: How did Frank Sinatra treat you and the "21" Club staff? Was he
friendly? Polite? Talkative?
BS: He couldn't have been nicer. We loved having him. He treated us like
kings. When he walked out he thanked everybody. It was a big night when he was here.
GJ: He probably spent quite a bit of the evening in the restaurant, didn't he?
BS: Yeah. He didn't want to go home. He liked to hang out.
GJ: Where were you when you heard the news that Frank Sinatra died?
BS: Oh gee, I don't know. I really don't know where I was at the time. I'm not
sure. I can only remember the last time I saw him. I knew he was pretty sick.
GJ: What do remember the most about Frank Sinatra?
BS: I remember "magnetism". He was a great character. When he walked
into the room, it's not unlike having the President of the United States walk into the room. Everybody was in awe of Frank Sinatra I think.
I'll never forget, one night he was either coming in or on his way to the men's room and there was about a 12 or 14 year old young man
standing there, and he said hello to him, and the kid was just beside himself as were his parents. So, he was a very special guest at
"21". He was the man. He was terrific.
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