The Starlight Club 6: Double Seven

by Joe Corso

  Ernie grinned. “It’s doing better than either of us could have imagined. Wait until you see the place. It’s beautiful.”

  In a way, he was happy that on the spur of the moment, he had decided to go to Las Vegas. He had met with Allan Webber, his partner in the Double Seven Casino, and they had a very productive meeting. Red missed Iris and he wished while he was here that he had the time to go to Los Angeles to see her, but he had to get back to Queens right away, so instead he took the next flight back to LaGuardia.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Red sat behind his big oak desk with his address book lying in front of him. He hadn’t opened it yet. He just sat there thinking about the future. He didn’t want to wind up like Yip. His uncle had no wife and because of that, he left no kids. All he had was his nephew, Red, who he loved like he was his own son. Red wanted more. He wanted a life, and maybe a wife. No! There were no maybes. He wanted an heir and that meant having a wife. He thought of Iris. She was beautiful, fun to be with, smart, and she was now famous and he enjoyed her company. He thought back to the time when he was forced to leave Queens. He took Jimmy the Hat with him and they went on the lam to Fort Lauderdale. It was when they were in the famous Elbow Room where they met Iris and Tiffany that they spotted a tail. Someone was looking to whack them, but they turned the table on him and instead he was the one who was killed. The two women were beautiful and they were fun to be with, which made their time in South Florida enjoyable.

  When Red needed leading ladies for his movie studio, he remembered the two beautiful girls and he contacted them and invited them to the Starlight Club. That night at the club, he introduced them to Larry Bernstein, the president of Columbia Pictures. He wanted Bernstein’s opinion if the girls had potential in the film business. Bernstein agreed that they did and scheduled a screen test for them. Both girls were famous now and Red’s dilemma was that he liked Iris and maybe he even loved Iris. So the question he kept asking himself was, should he ask her to marry him? Richie and JoAnne were getting married and a second wedding at the Starlight Club would be even nicer, he thought. He kept fiddling with his address book, twirling it in a circle but not picking it up. Finally, he made his decision and he called Iris at her home in Hollywood Hills. He was surprised when she picked up the phone. “Iris, this is Red. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “Why no, Red. Is everything all right?”

  “Yes, but I’d like you to fly to New York for the weekend. There are some things I need to discuss with you. Can you free up your schedule and meet with me in New York?”

  Red chided himself for not ordering her to come to New York like he would have done with Swifty or any of his other men. But he wasn’t used to dealing with women, so he knew he had to choose his words carefully. “It’s important that I see you. I have something I have to tell you and I don’t want to talk about it over the phone.”

  It must be important for Red to have asked me to come to New York on such short notice, Iris thought. Then she turned over what he said to her in her mind. It’s strange that Red didn’t ask me how my movie career was doing, or even ask me about Tiffany. Iris didn’t hesitate. She knew what she had to do. She called her private secretary and told her to cancel all of her appointments for the next week, explaining that she had to leave for New York on urgent business.

  The phone rang. “Red, this is Iris. I’ve got tickets to New York on the seven a.m. American flight to LaGuardia Airport. Can you have someone pick me up?”

  Red’s usually steady heart fluttered like a kid’s on his first date. “Don’t worry. Someone…probably me… will be there to pick you up.”

  When Iris’s plane landed that afternoon, Red was all smiles as he greeted her with a big hug, getting stares from passengers who recognized the popular movie star. Vinnie pulled the big car onto the Cross Island Parkway for the short ride to the Starlight Club.

  “You look great, Iris. How was your trip?”

  She looked into Red’s eyes, wondering what the urgency to come to New York was. “It was an uneventful flight, except that I had to fly first class to avoid my newfound fans.” Red nodded in understanding and then proceeded to give her the same lecture that he gave Jimmy the Hat and Swifty about how important it was to be pleasant to the people that paid for the tickets to their movies. She smiled because he had given her and Tiffany that same lecture after they made their first movie. “Don’t worry, Red. Last year, I was a waitress without a future and now I’m a famous movie star. I know what it is to be broke and have to worry about where the money for the rent will come from. I haven’t forgotten my roots and where I came from.”

  Red sighed. “Yeah, I know you haven’t forgotten where you came from and I apologize for bringing it up. It’s just that I want you to succeed. Look, this fame thing is an illusion. One day you have it and the next day it will be gone like a puff of smoke. Enjoy it while you have it and don’t be disappointed when it’s gone.”

  She looked into his eyes for a clue as to why he wanted her to come to New York, but his face was like the Sphinx, emotionless, so she decided to come right out with it and ask him, “Red, why did you want me to drop everything and come to New York?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it over a drink at the Starlight Club.”

  Tarzan brought two glasses of expensive champagne to Red’s favorite table and then he walked back behind the bar, but he kept an eye on them, knowing that Red was about to pop the question. Red didn’t know that Tarzan had a good idea he was going to ask Iris to marry him. But Red was the only one who didn’t know because Red getting married was all the guys talked about for the last two days. The guys even made bets on the wedding date.

  Iris raised an eyebrow. “Champagne for lunch? I thought champagne was reserved for special occasions?”

  Now it was Red’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “This is a special occasion, Iris.”

  She looked deep into his eyes and she shuddered, thinking that maybe he was going to ask her to marry him. She never dreamed this day would come and then she caught herself. Maybe this is only wishful thinking, she thought to herself.

  “Look, Iris. I know you’re wondering why I asked you to come to New York on such short notice and I wouldn’t have asked you to do that if it wasn’t important to me…to us.”

  She was a nervous wreck when she looked at him, wishing he would get to the point. “Iris, I’m a lot older than you and I’m a kinda private person, but I never had anyone that was close to…me…and…” Iris’s heart was hammering against her chest, waiting for the question she always wanted to hear him ask and never thought she would. Red’s hand slipped across the table, and when she looked at it, there was a small box under it.

  “Open it,” he said more forcefully than he intended. She did as he asked and opened the small, black velvet box and she gasped. She was staring at the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. The diamond alone must be five carats.

  “Well, are you going to try it on to see if it fits?”

  She stopped staring at it and quickly slipped it on and the ring fit her finger perfectly.

  “I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

  She nodded her head because she was too filled with emotion to speak. “Yes,” she managed to say between sobs. “I never thought you would ask me, but ever since that day we met at the Elbow Room, I always loved you.”

  Tarzan yelled from behind the bar, “It’s about time you popped the question.”

  Then Doc, Vinnie, Shooter, and Trenchie and even Frankie the Cop walked out of the dining room. Doc was the spokesman. “When we found out that Iris was coming here, even though you may not have known you were going to ask her to marry you, we all knew you would, so we figured we’d wait until you did the right thing and then we’d congratulate you.”

  Red furrowed his brows as if he was angry. “What do you mean, even if I didn’t know I was going to ask her to marry me? I told her to come to New York didn’t I?” He looked at Iris. “You see w
hat I have to put up with, Iris? I even have spies here in my own club.”

  Iris enjoyed the banter going on between these hard men who seemed to genuinely love one another and then she added her thoughts. “What if I didn’t accept his proposal of marriage, then what?” she said, looking at the men.

  Shooter replied, “We would have had to kidnap you and torture you until you accepted his proposal.”

  Iris smiled at him. “So it’s like that, is it?”

  “Yes, ma’am, it sure is.”

  “Well, then, it’s a good thing that that I accepted his proposal.”

  Trenchie, who was silent until then, looked at Red and spoke up. “I couldn’t wait for you to ask her to marry you because I want to put you through the same thing you put me through.”

  They all laughed along with Red and Iris and even Trenchie’s face contorted into a facsimile of a smile as he joined with his friends in the rare euphoric happiness of the moment.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Since Red was to be married and many of the guests were celebrities, he decided to have both weddings and the reception on the same day and as his announced party. The dual weddings of JoAnne and Richie Fingers Cambria and Iris Lange and Big Red took place at St. Leo’s Church on Saturday, September 12th 1964. Joey Bones gave his sister away and the look Joey gave the groom left no doubt as to what he would happen if he ever hurt her. The reception was held at the Starlight Club. Invitations were sent to all of Red’s special guests, which included the bosses of the five New York crime families, Hollywood studio executives, movie stars, sports stars, as well as former vice-president of the United States, Richard Nixon, and his family. Red called Swifty and invited him, Henri, and Gonzo, and he asked them each to bring a beautiful movie star with them. He wanted this night to be enchanting. He wanted all of his guests to be mesmerized by the glitz and glamour of the club and his guests.

  During the ceremony, the church was overflowing with celebrities, politicians, gangsters, and plain folks who were anxious to see the popular beautiful movie star and new bride Iris Lange and the rugged-looking businessman who was purportedly a gangster. Later that day, people began to filter into the Starlight Club through the side entrance that led to the inner bar. The paparazzi waited patiently outside, hoping to take photos of the celebrities who attended the wedding, The FBI had men with cameras stationed outside the club, knowing that the heads of the five families would be attending the wedding celebration and they wanted pictures of them. The club began filling and, shortly, the sliding doors leading into the grand ballroom would open. Since Red was the groom, he wasn’t at the door to greet his guests. This night, it was Tarzan who was in a tuxedo greeting guests. Karen and Marco were seated at a reserved table with Trenchie and Mary, and Iris and Red soon joined them. They watched the three boxers as they entered the club with beautiful movie stars on each of their arms. There were gasps as the doors opened and the guests were led into the ballroom, while Red led his group to his private table in the lead-lined alcove at the side of the ballroom. The Morgenstein and Bernstein families, the vice president and president of Columbia pictures, soon joined them. Red stood and greeted them. “Glad you folks could make it.”

  “We wouldn’t have missed your wedding for the world,” they both said almost at the same time. Red smiled as he noticed Sean Shaunessy being led to Joe Gatto’s table. It appeared that the district manager of the Diplomat Hotel and Joe Gatto, his hotel production manager, were getting along famously ever since that little talk Red and Trenchie had with Shaunessy.

  Iris was a little confused when some of the guests came directly to Red’s table and congratulated him and his beautiful new bride and as they turned to go to their tables, they followed an old Italian custom and they left an envelope in the basket on a table near the bride. Red stood and greeted Allan Webber, his partner in their newly renovated Double Seven Casino. “Glad you could make it, Allan.”

  “I wouldn’t have missed it, Red. This is my wife Liz and this is Scott and Terri.”

  “So I finally get to meet your beautiful wife and your two good-looking kids?”

  Allan smiled brightly. He was obviously very proud of his family. Terri, his daughter, looked to be in her late teens and his son Red took for fifteen or sixteen. Terri looked around at the crowd and was mesmerized by the glamorous ladies and she wondered who would be sitting with them at their table. Red excused himself and escorted Webber and his family to their table personally. Red wanted Webber to relax and have a good time and know that he was important to him. He led them across the room to a table close to the bandstand where they’d have a close view of the entertainers. He no sooner sat down than Tarzan led Richard Nixon and his wife Pat to his table.

  “Mr. Fortunato, we finally meet. I want to thank you for inviting my wife and me to your famous club.”

  “I’m glad you could make it, Mr. Vice President.”

  “I know what you did for me and I never forget a kindness shown to me.” He leaned in closer so no one else could hear him. “Nor do I forget my enemies. One of these days, we must meet for lunch and we can discuss what happened the night of the Republican Convention at Madison Square Garden. And more importantly, why you decided to help an old has-been politician.”

  Red stood and as he shook Nixon’s hand, he leaned close to his ear and whispered, “You are far from being a has-been, Mr. Nixon. I predict great things for you.”

  Then Red escorted the Nixons to the movie mogul’s table. But before he sat down, Nixon slipped his card to Red. “Call me and let’s get together over lunch. I would like to meet with you. There are many things that I’d like to discuss with you and get your opinion on.”

  Red thought he had greeted all of his guests, but he was mistaken when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and faced a good-looking gentleman who just smiled at him. “Don’t know who I am, eh?”

  Red was puzzled. “No, I don’t know who you are.”

  The man put out his hand. “Nick Civella and I owe you big time, Red.”

  Red wrapped his arms around Civella. “I’m glad you could make it, Nick.”

  “Yeah, so am I. Hey, I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Katherine.”

  Ten minutes later, there was a murmur by the guests seated around the room as three men dressed in tuxedos walked in with stunning recognizable movie stars wearing beautiful gowns.

  “Look, Mom. There’s Lana Thomas with Swifty Card…and there’s Toni Bratton and Laura Grey…and…and I recognize the men they’re with. I’ve seen their movies. Look! They’re heading toward our table.”

  Swifty smiled at Allan and his family. “I hope you don’t mind some strangers sitting with you at your table?”

  Allan stood and greeted Swifty and his friends. He was used to greeting celebrities, but his wife and kids weren’t. A few minutes later, Red stopped by the table to see how everyone was getting along. Then he asked Webber if he could borrow his wife and daughter for a moment. He had someone he wanted them to meet.

  Liz Webber wondered who Red was taking her to meet. Isn’t the fact that six famous movie stars are seated at our table enough persons to meet? Red led the two women to his table and directly to Karen and Marco Dumasso, his friends who were the owners of the exclusive and famous women’s clothing line of the stars, René Dumas. The women chatted for a little while and then Karen followed Liz and her daughter back to their table where, after introductions were made, Karen joined the ladies in conversation. It turned out that even movie stars enjoyed good company as well as good conversation. Karen, although not a famous movie star, was famous in the world of fashion and everyone knew of the beautiful female designer who was a partner with her husband in the famous Dumas line of women’s dresses known throughout the world. Terri kept looking at Swifty, wishing that she were with him instead of Lana Thomas, but her longings ended right there. She knew that her father’s new partner, this Red fellow, owned a movie studio and she decided that she would enjoy the night a
nd then maybe next week or the week after she would talk to her father and ask him to talk to his new partner about getting her started in pictures. A little while later, Red returned to their table and asked Webber to come with him before the entertainment began. He led Webber to Bernstein’s table and then Red introduced Allan to the two famous movie moguls.

  “Allan is my partner in the casino we own in Las Vegas called the Double Seven and if you are ever in Las Vegas, stop in and say hello.”

  The men chatted comfortably for a while and then Red looked at his watch. “Time for my act, guys.”

  Webber went back to his table and Red went to the podium. He tapped the mike to see if it was live. He looked around at the people seated at the tables and he smiled. “We have a lot going on tonight, folks. We have a great show lined up for you, but before we get started, I’d like to introduce you to some of our guests here tonight.” Red went through the litany of his star-quality guests, starting with the famous movie stars seated in the audience to the movie moguls from Columbia Pictures, Richard Nixon, and he even introduced Karen and Marco, the famous designers and owners of René Dumas. “But the one person I’m most proud of is Swifty Card. Stand up, Swifty.” Swifty rose and waved and smiled at the crowd. He was a celebrity among celebrities, but more importantly, he was also a champion boxer, which was more important to him than his fame as a movie star. Then Red pointed to Lana Thomas. “Lana, would you please stand. “Ladies and gentlemen, this beautiful young lady appeared in both James Roman and Swifty Card’s screen test. She made movies with both Roman and Swifty and for that I am forever in her debt. Thank you, Lana. As a special treat, Swifty will visit each of you at your tables to introduce himself and to say hello.”