Publicity photo from "The Hustler"

LifeQs

Jackie Gleason

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What was a favorite story Jackie liked to tell?

Robert Waldman
The Place: Jackie's favorite hangout, Toots Shor's.
The Time: the 1950s.

Jackie: "We were in the joint one night around four in the morning, and Toots says, 'You think you can do anything better than me', and I say, 'Anything.' So we agreed to a race around the block. I said we should each go in a different direction, and as soon as he was out of sight, I hailed a cab. By the time Toots appeared, I was standing in front puffing a cigarette. He said, 'All right, you win. Let's have a round.' So we go inside and about ten minutes passes before he looks up and screams, 'Wait a minute, you fat bum! I didn't pass you!' It was the longest double take in history."

Source: Toots

Feb 19, 2016