Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret

Gavin, in his first book, tells the story of New York's intimate nightclubs from their origins in Prohibition speakeasies and brothels through their heyday in the 1940s and '50s to their eventual decline in recent years as TV, rock'n'roll and diminishing audiences have taken their tolls. Deftly blending picturesque descriptions of the venues and lively characterizations of their often eccentric owners and performers, he recreates the colorful atmospheres of Le Ruban Blue, the Blue Angel, the Bon Soir, the Downstairs Room and many other clubs where such entrepreneurs as Herbert Jacoby, Max Gordon, Julius Monk and Spivy presided, and where stars Mabel Mercer, Hildegarde, Pat Carroll, Dorothy Loudon, Eartha Kitt, Kaye Ballard and Johnny Mathis beguiled audiences. This is a rich and intriguing history, entertainingly told. Photos not seen by PW. (Sept.)