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<\/a>By Seth H. Bramson<\/strong><\/p>\nWe closed the last column with a note regarding fidelity and honorable behavior in a marriage and that has been the hallmark of mine and Myrna\u2019s, our love being shared with Myrna\u2019s children, Ben and Sara, my beloved brother and his daughter, my niece, Dara, and, of course, my two grandsons, Joshua and Harrison. (Ben and Sara each had a son and each of them has given me my magnificent grandsons, of whom I am so proud).<\/p>\n
We decided on November 27th, 1976, as the date and were married by the rabbi from the temple on Park Avenue in the New York Gaslight Club, which I was managing at the time. Until I came back to Miami Beach in February of \u201978, Myrna and I saw each other about once a month except during Christmas vacation and in the summer but we knew that, eventually, I would be coming back to Miami Beach, which I did after the late, great Lloyd Apple insisted that I come back to join him in partnership with Eddie, Leonard, Sidney and Mervyn Thal\u2014the famous Thal Brothers of Epicure Market, all now of blessed memory\u2014to operate Lloyd\u2019s of Epicure as the catering division of that famous gourmet market.<\/p>\n
Meantime, though, following the wedding I remained in New York and sometime early in \u201977, my PR guy (and I wish I could remember Bernie\u2019s last name) said to me one day, \u201cSeth, would it be OK, can I invite Henny Youngman to have lunch with us as our guest?\u201d And what flashed through my mind was one of the best-ever scenes from \u201cThe Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and the great Doc Severinsen, leader of the Tonight Show Band, was sitting in for the equally great Ed McMahon. Johnny turned to Doc and said, \u201cDoc, I\u2019m having some people over tomorrow night for Thanksgiving dinner. Can you join us?\u201d Doc looked at the audience and said, \u201cCan you believe this?!! Here I am sitting with the number one person in television, the most in-demand entertainer in the country\u2014my boss\u2014and he invites me to dinner at his home. What am I gonna\u2019 say, \u2018no?\u2019\u201d At which point Johnny said, \u201cwell, can you make it?\u201d And Doc turned, looks at Johnny and said, \u201cno, I can\u2019t. I\u2019m busy\u201d Well, as you can imagine dear readers, the entire audience was convulsed with laughter, and that scene was what immediately flashed through my mind!<\/p>\n
Can you bring Henny Youngman for lunch?!! Oh my god, what am I gonna\u2019 say, \u201cno!!\u201d? Hell, no, I wasn\u2019t going to say \u201cno,\u201d and that, ladies and gentlemen, was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.<\/p>\n
Within two weeks Henny was having lunch with me twice a week at the Gaslight Club and one day, after some weeks, one of our members came rushing into my office: \u201cSeth! Seth! Did you see this?!!\u201d \u201cDid I see what?\u201d \u201cThis! This!\u201d and he thrust that day\u2019s edition of the New York \u201cPost\u201d open to the page with the famed celebrity and entertainment writer Earl Gardner\u2019s column on it. He pointed excitedly and said, \u201clook, look!\u201d And there it was, big as life: \u201cFamed \u2018king of the one-liners\u2019 Henny Youngman a regular at the posh and private New York Gaslight Club at 124 East 56th St. having lunch every Tuesday and Thursday with GM Seth Bramson!\u201d You can\u2019t even begin to imagine what followed.<\/p>\n
Not only did people start pouring in, not just to join the club, but, in addition, to meet Henny, who was always warm and gracious, and loved the attention. Then Gaslight President, the late Bob Fredericks, called me from Chicago: \u201cWhat the hell is going on there?\u201d Bob roared.<\/p>\n
\u201cBob, what are you talking about?\u201d I asked. \u201cMy god, he said, your numbers are going through the roof. I\u2019m sending you a bonus. How did you do it?!!\u201d And as I always do, I simply told him the truth: \u201cBernie asked me if he could bring Henny Youngman for lunch, we hit it off, and he\u2019s now having lunch here regularly, although I think the mention in Earl Gardner\u2019s column in the \u201cPost\u201d might have done some good!\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Alan-king-cigar.jpg\")
<\/a>who was I having lunch with? Henny and Alan King. Not only were they both great to be with, but, as with Henny, Alan was cordial and gracious beyond words and greeted everybody who stopped at the table. One day, after several weeks of our dining together Alan said to me, \u201cSeth, you have been so kind to us that we\u2019d like you to join us for lunch at the Friar\u2019s Club!\u201d That, my friends and readers, was the big time!<\/p>\n