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The Catskills
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After graduation, Julie joined brother Lou as a physical instructor at the Morningside Hotel, a resort in the Catskills. In the summer at the Hotel, he directed and and played in the weekly comedies presented for the guests. Julie was a tummler, as shown on page 417 in Leo Rosten's Book, The Joys of Yiddish under the heading TUMMLER:
Actually from Morningside he went to the new Concord Hotel and there met Ben Lessey, a drummer. Together they wrote a series of satirical songs. "We used to imitate big stars and louse them up," he explained in an interview later, "also we were the originators of 'Russian Doubletalk.' Julie and Ben worked in night spots in the Times Square area until the end of Prohibition. He even played at Ciro's in London. He received his draft notice, was seen by Irving Berlin at Camp Upton emceeing shows, and was chosen for many parts in "This Is The Army". Julie was a nightclub and speakeasy entertainer with Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom and Ben Lessey, and he appeared and performed on the radio. He took over the part of Nathan Detroit in "Guys and Dolls" when Sam Levene left. He also wrote comedy for the Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas TV shows. According to Cardiff Database he appeared in the 1951 movie "I'll See You In My Dreams," a biography of Songwriter Gus Kahn. It was a Warner Bros. film and starred Danny Thomas and Doris Day. Julie played a character named "Johnny." His best friend and fiancée was Sherry Britton, a famous Burlesque queen of that time and just mentioned recently in an article by Mitch Broder. Sherry was eighty in August of 1998. Julie Oshins died before his fiftieth birthday. |
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