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Chicago, Ill. Week of July 16·22, 19311 .' : Vol. II. - No. 39. • Borrah Minnevitch and His Rascals By Barry J. Holloway Bill wid Gi"S/flI: The Story of Bill and Ginger By Arthur Q. Bryan An Important Announcement by ~ ' The Voice of Experience': Thi5 Week =-"'~-l His ~ascals Keep CBorrah on the ~un BORRAH [arrer from then on M INNEVITCH cMz'nnevz'tch Fz'lls Role is radio and Broad· .. He made the way history. When harmonica what it Vinctnt Lopez.' Sym is today Of Fafher and Boss to phony Orchestra was ~cheduled to appear at the Metropolitan • . _ The Rascals Hz's Unruly Performers Opera I louse for the -typify the fi15f time, Barrah was i r re~ponsibi l jlY of !.elected to appear as youth. By Barry J. Holloway 1he soloist on the pro gr:\ffi. It was the first lime lh~1 a harmonica was to be played in th:!! citadel of American mu,ic~1 ~rt. Ilis ~)lCl1!cnt performance that night Gill!>!:..! Otto Kahn to lose a ~1.000 bd. Kahn had threatened \0 c;'IIlcd the entire concert, say ing lh;1I j;l2l: W:l~ bad enough at the l\\lITopolilan, but to 11'1 the slrJins of a harmonica rise II<hcre CITU-,o and Farrar had created hi,ton', ",as .. sacrilege. William Morri~. "'ho was presenting the concert, \\. gered Kahn '1.000, which the lo~r was to donate to ch~rjty, That aft!;!r the concert, Kahn could honestly say that the RASI I-here goes the ani,lry {If Minnevitch, in his mu exposure of "'hat ~ic;ll medium, WJS commensurate prorni:;ed to be one with IhOlt 01 Caruso's in his. I(ahn, of Central Parl(s after the performance, wrote out be~t legends. his pcrv,n.,1 check e P~n The mystery of lilting like tunes which have been re II\.NEVITCIl Iead~ a busy ported to waft over the land ']} life-so busy in fact that scaped beauty of New York's his OCSi friends have diffi famed p3rk, to the delight of culty in mnking ;lppointments with lovers strolling in the moonlighl him. I Ie is of a nervous (empera and to the bewilderment of hack ment, ..... hich ,;m;,ly betrays itself dril'ers and patrolmen, i~ no marc. 10 Ihe c;l~llal observer. He re LOI'ers atlributed the sooth fll~e5 10 enter a studio until two ing music to consorts of Cupid. minutes bt:fore he is to brondcast and night after night strolled up -ancl ;III101YS suffers "mike fright" and down the shady paths hoping for Ihe fir~t 5illty seconds. In the for one of the infrequent nocturnal thealH, he ~tands ()utside the stage concerts. I lack-men, disgruntled entr:m.e until his call. He never because the lo\'ers sought the dre~~'s in the theater, but carries paths instead of the faded luxury his chccilt'red CO:1t and derby, gifts ()f their hor:;e·drawn vehides, dis from Zitgleld, ",illl him. He never cussed Ihe peculiar phenomenon in gile~ a broadcast without these hushed \'()ices. EHn their tired !\\'o·artides of dothing. nag~, dre:'ming of a bOl~ket of ()ats One of 1'01 innevitch's grealest in some stable on the East Side. prohlt-ms ;Ire his RascOlIs. '1'0 NBC "'ere affected by the mu~ic. li~tentrs Minnevitch might ~eem -I he ",hole my~tery came ju~t ;Inother conductor, and he about because a young man \\ho probaNy ,""ould be just that but lives in a penthouse ol'erlooking for the dOU'n harmonicans ..... ho the park, sometimes sought the COll,lllutt his gang. 50IituJe only green grass and The<e Kasc:ds (sometimes ruslling leaves could offer, 1Ilinntvltch 9YS that they are This young man would tuck wor<e Ih;')n rascals) ;Ire all youths his pockets full of harmonicas and from ~i>,m.·n to twenty years old. desert his pel1!hollse for the park, Each is ;\0 indi\'idual of contrast and there in shadow·~hrOllded case ing I.>-pe-·one a dwarf, another a would stret~h himself on tile sod. Negro; ('ne W;]llts to be all artist. For company, while he meditated, he played 101'c ballads RLJ<si~ to the \'~h'et dr<lped NBC studios on Fifth Avenue. ;lnd still another a pril.e-flghtt'T. '1 hty typify the irrespon of Till Pan Alley, maybe a portion of "Lohengrin," his Equally as remote is the humble occupation of new~boy ~ibility of youth-and as a result B(lrrah mu~t act in the favorite npera, ()r a bit of "Deep Ril'cr." He did not know from that of a radio :lnd ~lage headliner. capacity of fnther, emplo),i'T, confidant, nurse-maid and his mllsic was exciting cOll1ment-because his habit of mak t-linnevitch h:15 known all these eXlremes. IIhJt-hal'e-you to them. inga studio ()ut of the park was so infrequent. "]"lIcnlv·cight years ago he made' his fir~t broadcast, The Rascals daily form new diques among themselves. But the story is out~the Central PlHk POln is none ~ans harmonica and sans microphone, from his parental They hide one another's harmonicas, knowing that the un ()Iher than Borrah Minncv;tch. king of the harmonicans, home at Kiev, R\ls~ia. l'iie years later he saw the Statue JIl.::ky one will be scolded by BOH;"Ih. They cal! fiaitious featured m'cr National Broadcasting Company networks of Liberty hom Ellis I-l<1nd. lie earned his education at rehearsals, tic knots in one another's clothing-and are with his Ibscals. the English l1igh School in Bo~ton as a new~bor-and one nerer quiet. The Central Park story is one typical ()f t-linnc"itch. of his cu~tomers \\.15 the late Cahin Coolidge, then Lieu Minncvitch suffered acute Iii-comfort from one "jo!;e" Although popular around the NBC studios and on Broad tenant GOlernor of the B;I~' Mate. his Rascals played. Borrah and hi~ RJ~(JIs were playing in WOlY ",here he has played in a number of hit productions, Meantime his brother, Jo'eph t-1. Min\lel"itch, was em a large theater, When time arrived for their curtain, not a few people have penetrated the surface of his person:tl.ity. ployed as a chembt in l\ew York. It was he who dis Rascal was in sight. Minnevitch ~teJlPcd before the foot After months of broadcasting, and :;everal ye:ns in the col'ered a process for l\laking dyes from m>ll;lChite green lights to give a one·man hMmonica ~how. The whole theater, he still manages to live much to him~e1f. crystals ",hich proled of importance during the World dOlen of the Rascals were ~ated on tIle front row "just lie is known almost the world around as the man IIho War ",hen the German supply was exhausted. to see "'hat he w()uld do." made the harmonica wh~t it is today-the per$(m "'ho Borrah follo""ed his brother to New York to study Minne\'itch is one of the "DapPCI-DJns" of radio. lifted it from its post as a plaything for childrf"n, 10 the chemistry and was enrolled in City College to prepare Usually dre,5ed in some ~hade of hlue, his entire en:;emble realms of artistry. himself. blends perfectly. IllS tailor bill~ ;)re t'normous. I-Ie prefers Other than that and the fact he once returned from AlwJys self·supporting. he made a portion of his ex ~Jlort clothes to all others. lit 'COlds a great deal. and Europe "'ith a ocard IIhi.:h made Broadway history penses by plJying ~ h:lrmOllica .to attract customers to a '"Lohengrin" is his favorite Optl;), Minnevitch h~s m;maged to keep his private life :;epJlated music store. One d;IY Ill1go Rie:;enfeld chanced to hear And girls-if you want to mJke a hit with Borrah fl0m his public him. This meeting kd to his nrst professional engagement don't wear a boyish haircut, (.of go strolling on a sunny It is a hr cry from the snow-blown plains of Ciarist as ;I. soloist in Rie~nfcJd'~ or~he5tra at the Rivoli. I lis moming in a mink eo;lt. z I ITTI r r;l'plt ()fl the piano and yours truly No sir. Thtre was .1 time will inIRIc,II,I.dy 5"y, "I ime for Bilt and IIhen \Ie u..ed to go on the Gm.~t:r," An,] "'hy not? lie's bttn 5aying it ~ir at eight \ M. and II you for a )/'lr and I h~lr, Yet this is the fiN d,)n'l think that's A_ M_, try chance I'~t Iud to tell you .... hat I k"OUI ,t, '1 h.. re'~ a frog In your about Bill and GinJ;!'r_ throat that seems to have Before I ~pill the h.: '11 ... h',\\'e\'er, lct'~ do a little delv laken up permanent re~l ing into the hi~tory of tl •• ·-,e 1\\'0, /'\01 mu,h hi~tory, yOIl denee and a penny on each understand, for they h.h~n"t had time to m3ke any in eyelid. You ~re anything bUI voll'ed hiqory becau~ tllt'y're too )oung. '1 heir com p;ooJ natured. The mo~t you bined a!,:es 10111 fort) ~our gl~ing Ihe ~hort end of the ,bre hope for at eight U1m, t ...