Old Men... Happy Birthday to Robert Waltrip Short

 He is a favorite of mine. I am feeling it, & never more so than when I am trying to explain pop culture from the 20th century to my young wards- the group of 14 20-30 year olds that I hire, train, schedule, counsel & maintain as part of my job. Despite the fact that I am able reference to Green Day, Rhianna or Weezer, they just stare dumbly, vacant eyed, & with a touch of disgust, if I try to explain to them who Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Iggy Pop, the Clash or Men At Work are in our cultural history. I am truly old hat, old-fangled, old-fashioned, out-of-date, outmoded, & outworn.


 I wasn’t dismayed that they didn’t know who Bobby Short was. I didn’t expect them to. I am sure that few in my own circle know of Mr. Short. I just couldn’t get them to wrap their heads around the idea of nightclubs, supper clubs, or Café Society. I was just attempting to give them a jumping off place in today’s lesson.


Mr. Short liked to call himself a saloon singer, a moniker I would have loved to have lived with. His was my 1st choice for an avocation. His saloon, from 1968 until his death in 2005, was one of the most elegant in the country, the intimate Cafe Carlyle tucked in the Carlyle hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. There for 6 months each year, in a room where he was only a few feet from his audience, he sang & accompanied himself on the piano. I saw him perform there 4 times in the mid-1970s.






Mr. Short transcended the role of cabaret entertainer to become a New York institution & a symbol of civilized Manhattan culture. In Woody Allen's films a visit to the Carlyle became an essential stop on his characters' cultural tour. He attracted a chic international fan base that included royalty, movie stars, sports figures, socialites & jazz fans. He also appeared in small roles in TV commercials & movies.


Mr. Short's hobnobbing with the cream of society overshadowed his significance as a jazz pianist, singer & scholar. He dedicated himself to spreading an awareness of the African-American contribution to New York's musical theater. In his list of great American songwriters, Cole Porter stood side by side with Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake, & Fats Waller who wrote- Guess Who's in Town?... Mr. Short's unofficial musical greeting.


Mr. Short had a bout of notoriety in May 1980 when Gloria Vanderbilt sued the River House on the East Side of Manhattan, which had refused to sell her a $1.1 million apartment. She accused the management of racial bias because of her friendship with him. The building's board said it wanted to avoid "unwanted publicity." A month later, she dropped the suit. Mr. Short generally stayed out of the fray but said, "I'm old enough to be sophisticated about these things." This phrase is my new motto.