Latest news with #Prohibition
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
The peak before the fall: Jazz, glamour, Gatsby and a short-lived Golden Age
One of the most consequential figures of the Jazz Age, arguably, was a now-forgotten man named Wayne Bidwell Wheeler. He was the driving force behind the National Prohibition Act of 1919. When the consumption of alcohol was made illegal, prohibitionists argued this would help cure a host of ills ranging from domestic violence and political corruption to alcoholism itself. What the Act famously did was help shape crime in the United States, and create a new and profitable field of business: the covert distillation, transport and distribution of alcohol. The most famous of these bootlegger-millionaires was Al Capone, who controlled much of the illegal activity conducted in Chicago between the years of 1925 and '31. He ran breweries and brothels, but was also hailed as a modern-day Robin Hood for his charitable contributions. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, Capone organised one of the city's biggest soup kitchens, feeding about 2,200 people three times a day. Capone was unique among the mobsters of his era for a couple of other reasons too: he readily employed black people; and he was a fan of jazz. There is a story about how he once asked Johnny Dodds to play a song. When the clarinetist said he didn't know it, Capone reportedly tore a $100 bill in two, gave one half to Dodds, and said he would get the other half when he learnt to play it. Another time, a group of Capone's henchmen more-or-less kidnapped the jazz pianist and singer Fats Waller as a birthday present for their boss. Waller stayed with Capone for three days. He was given all the food he could eat, plied with endless glasses of champagne, and was reportedly paid $100 a song. Waller left Capone's company unharmed, and thousands of dollars richer. The eccentricities and the sense of excess and debauchery in F Scott Fitzgerald's classic, The Great Gatsby (1925), draws directly from this world. Fitzgerald was about 22, a young soldier on leave for the weekend, when he visited the Seelbach hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, in the late-1910s. There he met a man named George Remus, who had started out as a criminal lawyer (in both senses of the phrase), and was now a millionaire bootlegger. Remus bought bonded liquor from before Prohibition and distributed it under the guise of medicinal use. His men then staged hijackings of their own delivery trucks, so they could resell the same alcohol at a much higher price. Remus also ran his own distilleries in Cincinnati, moving this booze around through tunnels. And he threw lavish parties, featuring scantily clad dancers and gifts of diamond stick pins and new cars for guests. In that other classic, Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film The Godfather, one sees more of how Prohibition changed the face of organised crime in the US. Salvatore Maranzano organised the Italian-American mob into five families: the Maranzano, Profaci, Mangano, Luciano and Gagliano. He then declared himself 'the boss of all bosses'. He was promptly murdered in a hit ordered by Charles 'Lucky' Luciano, who then set up The Commission, a governing body made up of members of the five families of New York, and representatives from other parts of the country. Meanwhile, crime was merging with a new wave of music in New York City. The original bootlegger of the era wasn't Capone. It was likely a man named Arnold Rothstein. When Prohibition hit, he invested in speakeasies, and smuggled Scotch whisky into the country in his own fleet of freighters. The character Meyer Wolfsheim in The Great Gatsby was based on Rothstein. The speakeasy was where one went to have a drink. Some of these establishments were seedy, others were fashionable. Some managed to be both. New York's 21 Club saw visitors such as Humphrey Bogart and Joan Crawford. It remained fashionable even after Prohibition ended, in 1933. Similarly, Harlem's Cotton Club started off as an outfit where the gangster Owney Madden could sell liquor to the people of Harlem and ended up being one of the most fashionable places in New York — and the heart of the Harlem Renaissance. New Yorkers, regardless of race, crowded there to see the likes of Duke Ellington (1899-1974) and Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) perform. These fashionable clubs attracted a new kind of woman: the Flapper. She challenged ideas of what a woman should be — in her clothing, behaviour, attitudes to sex and liquor. She had her own slang in which a divorced woman was a fire alarm, and engagement rings were handcuffs. The Jazz Age may have come to an abrupt halt in 1929, with the great Wall Street crash and the onset of the Great Depression (which would drag on for 10 years, and be followed by World War 2). But by this time, culture had become a thing of the masses. Gender roles had been altered forever. So had art. Music. Movies. The world had changed. And would change again. (K Narayanan writes on films, videogames, books and occasionally technology)
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
CM to inaugurate regional-level agricultural exhibition near Perundurai on June 11
Minister for Housing, Prohibition, and Excise, S. Muthusamy, on Friday said that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin would inaugurate the regional-level agricultural exhibition near the toll gate, near Perundurai, on June 11. Organised by the Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, the two-day exhibition and seminar would have participation of government departments and farmers from 10 districts. The Minister laid the foundation for the exhibition and held discussions with officials. The purpose of the exhibition was to raise awareness among farmers, college students, the general public, food processors, and exporters about modern technologies, new crop varieties, agricultural machinery, and value-added processing technologies, he said. As part of the exhibition, 70 stalls would be set up by various government departments while 130 stalls would be set up by private enterprises, including Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). The exhibition will showcase, modern and traditional seeds, fruit plants, tray seedlings, processed agricultural products, fertilizers, and crop protection chemicals, modern agricultural machinery and micro-irrigation equipment. Services such as e-rental (e-Vaadagai) for machinery, Uzhavan mobile app, and registration for agri-warehousing will also be made available for farmers. Rajya Sabha MP Anthiyur P. Selvaraj, Erode MP K. E. Prakash, Erode East MLA V. C. Chandrakumar, Personal Assistant (Agriculture) to the District Collector Loganathan, and other officials were present.
Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Retro Indy: Indiana has long rich history of brewing its own beers
(Editor's note: A version of this story originally appeared in 2014.) With its rich German history, Indianapolis has had a long tradition of being home to many a brewery. From the time John Young and William Wernweg set up the city's first brewery in 1834 until April 2, 1918, when the state of Indiana went dry due to Prohibition, Indianapolis had a bustling beer brewing industry. A contractor for the National Road bridges, Wernweg stopped work long enough to join forces with Young to create the city's first brewery on the south side of Maryland Street near West Street. Once Wernweg returned to building bridges six years after the brewery opened, the two original owners sold it to Frenchman René Faux, who found more profit in the sale of yeast to housewives than in the sale of beer. That did not stop Faux from opening a second brewery at Washington Street and College Avenue, according to the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. At that point, his former partner John Philip Meikel opened his own brewery down the street at Washington and California Streets. These early breweries all offered "strong beer," a concoction that was neither lager nor ale. In 1859 C.F. Schmidt began turning out barrels of suds and proved to be the first successful brewmaster serving lager. The Schmidt brewery occupied an entire block on Alabama Street with a two-story brewery, huge ice house, malt and bottling houses, and 50 horses and 30 wagons. Competition came in 1863 in the form of the Pete Lieber Brewery on Madison Avenue followed by the Casper Maus Brewery on West New York Street in 1868. The three breweries joined forces in 1889 to form the Indianapolis Brewing Co. and began exporting beer to Canada and Cuba. Eventually there were at least 18 breweries operating in Indianapolis, turning out brews called Duesseldorfer, Lieber's Gold Medal Beer, Indiana Club Pilsner Style, Imperial and Duselager. In brewing terms, the industry "bloomed" until Indiana became a dry state in 1918 — about a year before Congress passed the Volstead Act Oct. 27, 1919. Across the state, Indiana had 76 breweries at the time that Prohibition took effect, according to the website Indiana Beverage. After Prohibition ended in 1933, however, it took decades for Indiana to see a robust craft beer industry again. While some breweries did reopen after Prohibition, many did not survive to the competition from national beer brands. Craft beer started experiencing a resurgence in Indianapolis the 1990s. Many credit the opening of the Broad Ripple Brewpub in 1990 with its microbrewery next door with starting the trend here. By 1991 the Indianapolis News reported that the brewpub had become a "hot spot for others who enjoy stronger, more flavorful drink than the average American brew," serving more than 40 different beers, five of which were brewed on site. In 1993 the Indianapolis Star reported that the Broad Ripple Brewpub and a brewery in Mishawaka were the only two brewpubs in the state. But soon after that, the trend started to catch on and more breweries opened their doors. In 1996 the inaugural Indiana Microbrewers Festival was held. The annual event grew by the year and by 2004 the number of microbreweries in the state had grown to at least 17, an Indianapolis Star story about that year's festival reported. Among that number was the Broad Ripple Brewpub, whose owner reported that he had seen his business grow by 5% to 10% each year.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
This massive steakhouse chain is about to open more restaurants in Arizona
Texas Roadhouse, the Louisville, Kentucky-based chain famous for its fluffy, pillowy dinner rolls, is expanding in Arizona and bringing its offshoot, Bubba's 33, along. According to Restaurant Business Online, "Texas Roadhouse is the biggest casual-dining chain in the U.S." as of April 3. A Texas Roadhouse spokesperson told USA TODAY that the company plans to open 30 new Texas Roadhouse and Bubba's 33 restaurants in 17 states, including two in Arizona: one in Tempe and another in Yuma. As of May 27, 12 of those locations have opened. This includes a Bubba's 33 in Tempe, which is Arizona's third Bubba's 33 restaurant. The others are in Peoria and Goodyear. Arizona has 10 Texas Roadhouse locations, nine in metro Phoenix and one in Prescott. Yuma's restaurant and opening date have not been announced. Yes. Texas Roadhouse owns Bubba's 33. The founder and CEO of Texas Roadhouse told Forbes that Bubba was his nickname and 33 stood for 1933, the year that Prohibition ended. Diners can find steak, burgers, wings, pastas and pizza on Bubba's 33 menu. Hungry for more? Sign up for our newsletter Dining with azcentral. The new Bubba's 33 location is at 1730 W. Ranch Road, Tempe. It joins locations in Goodyear and Peoria. Details: 480-493-2184, To see all the Texas Roadhouse locations, visit Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@ Follow @baharcreative on Instagram. Yes, Huarachis has a secret menu: Here's what you can't skip This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Steakhouse restaurant expanding in metro Phoenix. See where Sign in to access your portfolio
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Roxie Hart's evolution — from Beulah Annan to Broadway and the big screen
'Chicago The Musical' debuted on Broadway 50 years ago. Directed by Chicago native Bob Fosse and starring Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach, the tale of an unfaithful wife who murders her lover then works the judicial system to secure her freedom was set against the backdrop of Prohibition and the Jazz Age. Though critics — including the Tribune's Don Kirk — largely panned the production, its story has staying power. A 1996 revival has more than 11,000 performances on The White Way, according to Playbill. That makes 'Chicago' the second-longest running show on Broadway after 'The Phantom of the Opera' (13,981 performances) and the longest active show. Vintage Chicago Tribune: Murder, mayhem and 'all that jazz' — the real women who inspired Oscar winner 'Chicago'The musical's story was based on actual events that happened in — you guessed it — Chicago in the early 1920s. Its plot, written by short-time Tribune reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, was ripped from the headlines, many of her own for the paper. And Roxie Hart, the name of its lead character, was probably inspired by a 'dashing beauty' of the same name from Centralia, Illinois. Hart appeared before a packed courtroom in Watkins' hometown of Crawfordsville, Indiana, to testify during a 1914 murder trial. Here's a look back at the woman who inspired 'Chicago' and those who have portrayed the scandalous seductress on stage and screen. To learn more about how 'Chicago' went from Murderess Row to Broadway and then on to movies, order: 'He Had It Coming: Four Murderous Women and the Reporter Who Immortalized Their Stories.' The life of Beulah Annan has been the basis for every portrayal of Hart. Already twice wed and a mother by the age of 24, Annan was satisfied by neither. Through her job at a Chicago laundry, Annan met Harry Kalstedt. Walks together quickly progressed to day-drinking in her apartment while her mechanic husband, Albert, was at work. A drunken disagreement on April 3, 1924, led Annan to shoot Kalstedt with her husband's revolver. She sat with the body for hours as her phonograph wailed the jazzy tune 'Hula Lou' on repeat. Ironically, the first phone call Annan made was to her husband: 'I've shot a man, Albert. He tried to make love to me.' When her husband arrived home, he found Annan covered in blood and called the police. Watkins picked up the investigation of Annan for Kalstedt's murder and it remained front-page news. 'They say she's the prettiest woman ever accused of murder in Chicago — young, slender, with bobbed auburn hair; wide set, appealing blue eyes; tip-tilted nose; translucent skin, faintly very faintly, rouged, an ingenuous smile; refined features, intelligent expression — an 'awfully nice girl' and more than usually pretty,' Watkins wrote. During the inquest, Annan's lawyer W.W. O'Brien claimed, 'Both went for the gun!' Annan said if she didn't shoot Kalstedt, then he would have shot her. After her trial was continued several times, Annan made an announcement — she was pregnant. The claim moved her case to the front of the line. But many wondered — could a beautiful woman expecting a baby get a fair trial? 'The verdict is in your hands and you must decide whether you will permit a woman to commit a crime and let her go because she is good-looking,' prosecutor William McLaughlin told the jury. 'You must decide whether you want to let another pretty woman go out and say, 'I got away with it!'' 'And they did,' Watkins wrote. Less than two hours into deliberations, the all-male jury came to a not-guilty consensus on the third ballot. Husband Albert Annan, who stood by his wife during the trial, was overcome with joy and gratitude. 'I knew my wife would come through all right!' he said proudly. Beulah Annan then thanked each member of the jury individually and posed for a photo with them. Watkins used the trial's twists to write a three-act play, 'A Brave Little Woman,' the first she would write while attending the new Yale School of Drama in 1926. When it debuted on Broadway later that year it was called 'Chicago.' Larrimore was not supposed to be the first actress to portray Hart on stage. She replaced Jeanne Eagels who, according to the Tribune, made rehearsals difficult. That didn't stopped Eagels from sitting in the front row during a performance, where she supposedly 'made faces' at her successor. When the show arrived in Chicago in September 1927, Larrimore was still the lead actress in the production. The Tribune described her as 'vivid and immensely funny.' The story was praised as 'a hearty and favorious romp that makes rich sport of the yellow newspapers. the criminal lawyers, the judges and the juries, and all the bunk and blah that go with the killing of a man by a pretty woman.' Chicago audiences also loved it — the show played for nine weeks. An advertisement for the first screen version of 'Chicago' — produced by Cecil B. DeMille — described the 1928 silent film as 'more melodramatic and much funnier than the stage play.' The Tribune reviewer (who filed under the pseudonym Mae Tinee), however, said 'they have slaughtered Maurine Watkins' play. 'The clever, satiric, diabolically human, uproariously funny play that could so well have been made into just such a picture has had all its fine parts ironed out. It has been fluted and tucked and dyed (including Hart's hair which became blonde for the first time) a la DeMille and the result is just a fussy, ordinary melodrama that is rather funny in spots.' Depite the disdain, Haver's work in the film was praised as 'believable.' Yet again, Watkins' tale was rewritten for the screen — in 1942's 'Roxie Hart,' it was told as a retrospective. 'The public always expects a newspaperman to do a lot of drinking,' reporter Homer Howard (played by George Montgomery) said before toasting to Hart (played by Ginger Rogers) at a tavern (with William Frawley of 'I Love Lucy' fame serving as bartender). He then told the story of the beautiful murderess — who's become a showgirl in this iteration. Though the movie is just 75 minutes long (and available on YouTube), the Tribune reviewer said it 'would have been nice if the director had known just when to end his epic.' Still, Rogers' portrayal of Hart — 'who had yearned for her picture in the paper more than anything else in life' — was called 'deft.' The first musical version of Watkins' play opened on Broadway on June 3, 1975, with Gwen Verdon as Hart and Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly. Verdon, who had to bow out of the production because of illness and was replaced by Liza Minnelli, claimed it had been her idea to adapt the play into a musical. The vaudeville-esque show ran for 936 performances over almost two years. Tribune critic Don Kirk didn't like it. 'Oddly enough, the combined efforts of some of Broadway's brightest talents somehow fail to get it all together. … They call the show, 'Chicago,' but one gets the clear impression they never thought of visiting the place to savor its peculiar ambience and seriously attempt to recapture it in music and words.' The show's lukewarm reception could have also been in part to a blockbuster show which opened the same year — 'A Chorus Line,' which captured many awards. But in short measure, Tribune critic Chris Jones wrote, ''Chicago The Musical' — with a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Ebb — greatly exceeded the fame and influence of the play that was its source. 'Over time it came to be known as the quintessential Fosse musical, the most famous work of the Chicago-born choreographer known for his hyperspecific movement vocabulary of turned-in knees, angled, attitudinal body parts, muscular twitches, sideways shuffling and jazzy, animated hands.' The 'more cynical, darker show,' as Tribune critic Merrill Goozner described it, was given a 'black box setting' with actors and dancers wearing basic — but barely there — black costumes. Slinky dances accompanied fast-paced music from the orchestra, which was seated on a raked bandstand in the background. 'All That Jazz,' 'Razzle Dazzle' and the 'Cell Block Tango' were pumped out with vigor, Tribune critic Richard Christiansen wrote. Column: How Ann Reinking choreographed not just 'Chicago,' but captured the essence of the city itselfReinking, Fosse's muse and confidant, played Hart in the revival. It debuted Nov. 13, 1996, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. Among the show's numerous Tony Awards, Reinking won one for her choreography. Turns out, the star of 'Bridget Jones's Diary' could sing and dance — perhaps not as naturally as her more experienced co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones (who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Velma Kelly) — but better than anyone might have expected. 'This is a honorable, and largely successful, film version of a deliberately dishonorable Broadway show, based in turn on Maurine Dallas Watkins' disreputable and popular 1926 play about a cheap tart who gets away with murder,' Tribune critic Michael Phillips wrote in 2002. Thanks for reading! Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
