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| The Stage deli menu |
"A customer asked Max why he didn't have a parking lot in connection with the Stage Delicatessen. Max snorted: "Jerk! If I had a parking lot, I wouldn't need a restaurant!" A waiter was heard asking a table customer: "Which one of you ordered a clean glass?"
-Myron Cohen
The Stage Deli, "Where celebrities go to look at people", New York's legendary Runyonesque Times Square delicatessen/show biz hangout attracting stage & movie stars, musicians, politicians, sports stars and especially comedians, officially closed it's doors on Thursday, Nov 29th, 2012, the end of an era. It was first opened on Broadway & 48th St in 1937 by diminutive, gravel-voiced, crude Russian immigrant Max Asnas who Fred Allen would dub the "Corned-Beef Confucius" thanks to his "Asnas-isms", off the cuff "rye", psychological quips, for example: "Money is something you make in case you don't die".
The Stage deli was a NY institution, or at least it was till 1967 when Max Asnas finally sold it and retired. He died six months later. The Stage continued on with various owners but it was never quite the same without Max, nor was the quality of the food. Farewell to the Stage.
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/stage-deli-closes-a-midtown-staple-since-1937/The Stage deli was a NY institution, or at least it was till 1967 when Max Asnas finally sold it and retired. He died six months later. The Stage continued on with various owners but it was never quite the same without Max, nor was the quality of the food. Farewell to the Stage.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/stage-deli-serves-overstuffed-sandwich-article-1.1211372
thanks to Kliph Nesteroff
Some images from the Stage's glory years:
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| the opening day of the Stage Deli in 1937, Max Asnas forth from left |
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| "Known for Everything Good" Stage deli ad, caricature of Max Asnas by Al Hirschfeld THE SCHLEPPERS, Fascinating article by Kliph Nesterhoff on mid-twentieth century NYC comedian restaurants/hangouts, including the Stage Deli... http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2011/10/the-schleppers.html  Murray Robinson's 1951 article from Colliers on Max Asnas and the Stage, "Corned-Beef Confucius": http://www.unz.org/Pub/Colliers-1951mar31-00024?View=PDF   "the beloved baron of bagels, blintzes and borscht"  comedian "Fat" Jack Leonard |
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Judy Garland attends a Broadway show cast party at the Stage, 1957...    |
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A portion of the Stage menu by Al Hirschfeld, originally printed in Colliers magazine.      |
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| Another Hirschfeld Stage panoramic, from the March 1954 issue of Colliers, this time depicting the crowd at Lindy's (this drawing has often been confused with the Stage) Image borrowed from this fabulous blog: http://allthingsger.blogspot.com |
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| In 1961, Max Asnas had a wireless mic attached as he held court for three days at the noisy Stage and recorded this "Live Gag Session" comedy album for Kimberley Records. Jack E. Leonard, Myron Cohen, Joey Bishop and Morey Amsterdam, among others also appear, recalling favorite Asnas anecdotes over seltzer, borscht and pastrami sandwiches. http://thecrosspollinator.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/max-asnas-corned-beef-confucius-side-1-mp3/          |
