In his book ‘Up in the Old Hotel’ the legendary journalist Jo Mitchell, who’d spent decades’ reporting on unusual New York characters, mentions Mazie who owned a picture house and was adept at storming down the aisle to confront any trouble maker, who would meet his match in her. This is an extract:
“Now and then, in the Venice, (picture house) a stiff throws his head back and begins to snore so blatantly that he can be heard all over the place, especially during tense moments in the picture. When this happens, or when one of the drunks gets into a bellowing mood, the women and children in the reserved section stamp on the floor and chant, ‘Mazie, Mazie! We want Mazie!
She grabs a bludgeon she keeps around, made of a couple of copies of True Romances (magazine) rolled up tightly and held together by rubber bands, and strides into the theatre. As she goes down the aisle, peering this way and that, women and children jump to their feet, point fingers in the direction of the offender, and cry, ‘There he is, Mazie!’ Mazie gives the man a resounding whack on the head with her bludgeon and keeps on whacking him until he seems willing to behave. Between blows, she threatens him with worse punishment. Her threats are fierce and not altogether coherent. The women and children enjoy this, particularly if Mazie gets the wrong man, as she sometimes does. Mazie is an alarming sight. Her face becomes flushed, her hair flies every which way, and her slip begins to show”.
We are far too well behaved to need a Mazie!
Geoff Yorath
September 18