What do you think?
Rate this book
What a Time It Was!: Leonard Lyons and the Golden Age of New York Nightlife
A star-studded follow-up to Stories My Father Told Me , with hundreds of new anecdotes about celebrities from Garbo to Gore Vidal
This remarkable collection of stories, hand-picked from the archive of legendary New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons by his son, film critic Jeffrey Lyons, will transport readers back to the sparkling peak of New York City nightlife. This was the time when notables of every sort—film producers and stars, writers, politicians, comedians, athletes, and artists—gathered nightly at such famed restaurants and nightclubs as Sardi’s, the Stork Club, and the Copacabana. From 1934 to 1974, Leonard Lyons was a fixture at these clubs, befriending celebrities of all stripes and gathering exclusive tidbits for his syndicated newspaper column, The Lyons Den.
What a Time It Was! offers candid portraits of stars and statesmen at work and at play—especially at play—but still, effortlessly, larger than life. Illustrated with snapshots and glamour shots, it offers a unique window onto the lives of iconic figures from Ethel Barrymore and Muhammad Ali to Tennessee Williams and Jackie Kennedy, as well as their favorite haunts. Here are four decades of popular culture seen from the front row, by a man who said, “Give me lights and sound and people, and music into the night. Late into the night!”
If you thought you knew everything about Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, the Roosevelts, and some of New York’s most famous nightclubs, hotels, and gin joints, guess again. No one knew these people and places better than Leonard Lyons.
This remarkable collection of stories, hand-picked from the archive of legendary New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons by his son, film critic Jeffrey Lyons, will transport readers back to the sparkling peak of New York City nightlife. This was the time when notables of every sort—film producers and stars, writers, politicians, comedians, athletes, and artists—gathered nightly at such famed restaurants and nightclubs as Sardi’s, the Stork Club, and the Copacabana. From 1934 to 1974, Leonard Lyons was a fixture at these clubs, befriending celebrities of all stripes and gathering exclusive tidbits for his syndicated newspaper column, The Lyons Den.
What a Time It Was! offers candid portraits of stars and statesmen at work and at play—especially at play—but still, effortlessly, larger than life. Illustrated with snapshots and glamour shots, it offers a unique window onto the lives of iconic figures from Ethel Barrymore and Muhammad Ali to Tennessee Williams and Jackie Kennedy, as well as their favorite haunts. Here are four decades of popular culture seen from the front row, by a man who said, “Give me lights and sound and people, and music into the night. Late into the night!”
If you thought you knew everything about Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, the Roosevelts, and some of New York’s most famous nightclubs, hotels, and gin joints, guess again. No one knew these people and places better than Leonard Lyons.
- GenresHistory
480 pages, Hardcover
First published October 13, 2015
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 23, 2015
It's always a treat to read any book that happens to be written by a member of my family. As he did in his previous book, "Stories My Father Told Me," my Uncle Jeffrey once again provided me with a glimpse of a time, a place, and the celebrated men and women here and about, but also an increased intimacy with my family. Thus,"What a Time It Was!: Leonard Lyons and the Golden Age of New York Nightlife" is surely entertaining, but its value for me will always be more personal.
I grew up going to Sardi's on West 44th Street, where I still see Grandpa Leonard's two photographs on the wall in the bar area. And not to be a name-dropper at all, but I too have met some of the people mentioned in Uncle Jeffrey's book, such as Omar Sharif, Mickey Rooney, and Red Buttons. I think I may have even met Joe DiMaggio when I was a kid. Both DiMaggio and Red Buttons were at my parents wedding. I spoke with Warren Beatty (not mentioned in the book) about my Grandpa Leonard. Beatty told me that Grandpa was like a squirrel with an acorn, furiously writing in his little notepad wherever he went. I grew up with my birth announcements hanging on my wall, each one adorned with well wishes and drawings from the likes of Andy Warhol and Thomas Hart Benton.
The reason I bring this up is because these meetings/connections were all connected not to celebrity, fame, etc...but to my family. The connection never ceases to amaze me. For example, it's a wonder to me that both my Grandfather and I have met and spoken with the same people (at very different times in their respective lives). Both Grandpa Leonard and my father had no idea back in 1961 that the same Red Buttons who was at my parents' wedding would later be talking with me at Dan Tana's in Los Angeles almost 43 years later. I only wish my Grandfather could have been there with me.
Another example, in one of my favorite chapter's in "What a Time It Was!: Leonard Lyons and the Golden Age of New York Nightlife," Uncle Jeff discusses Joan Crawford, and there is a picture with Grandpa Leonard with Joan Crawford at Warner Bros (from the late 1940's probably). Little did either of them know at the time that 60-plus years later, Leonard Lyons' grandson would watch DAISY KENYON (which Grandpa Leonard has a small cameo) and discover the wonder of Joan Crawford for the very first time...later to become a big fan. As I later watched RAIN, SADIE MCKEE, DANCING LADY, STRANGE CARGO, GRAND HOTEL, POSSESSED, MILDRED PIERCE, THE BRIDE WORE RED and other Joan Crawford films, falling in love with her in the process, I often wondered to myself would WOULD Grandpa Leonard and Joan Crawford think of all that?
"What a Time It Was!: Leonard Lyons and the Golden Age of New York Nightlife," for me, is all about the connection to my family. Grandpa Leonard died when I was only seven years old, and he was too ill for me to ever really get to know him in person. That's why I am thankful that Uncle Jeffrey took the time and research to put this together (and also am thankful that my Uncle Douglas wrote the entertaining, and enlightening Afterward). Sure, I enjoyed reading about the actors, writers, directors, studio heads, athletes, Chief Justices, politicians, Presidents, comedians, and conductors, but I most enjoyed experiencing the life my Grandfather had, and what he brought to his family.
I grew up going to Sardi's on West 44th Street, where I still see Grandpa Leonard's two photographs on the wall in the bar area. And not to be a name-dropper at all, but I too have met some of the people mentioned in Uncle Jeffrey's book, such as Omar Sharif, Mickey Rooney, and Red Buttons. I think I may have even met Joe DiMaggio when I was a kid. Both DiMaggio and Red Buttons were at my parents wedding. I spoke with Warren Beatty (not mentioned in the book) about my Grandpa Leonard. Beatty told me that Grandpa was like a squirrel with an acorn, furiously writing in his little notepad wherever he went. I grew up with my birth announcements hanging on my wall, each one adorned with well wishes and drawings from the likes of Andy Warhol and Thomas Hart Benton.
The reason I bring this up is because these meetings/connections were all connected not to celebrity, fame, etc...but to my family. The connection never ceases to amaze me. For example, it's a wonder to me that both my Grandfather and I have met and spoken with the same people (at very different times in their respective lives). Both Grandpa Leonard and my father had no idea back in 1961 that the same Red Buttons who was at my parents' wedding would later be talking with me at Dan Tana's in Los Angeles almost 43 years later. I only wish my Grandfather could have been there with me.
Another example, in one of my favorite chapter's in "What a Time It Was!: Leonard Lyons and the Golden Age of New York Nightlife," Uncle Jeff discusses Joan Crawford, and there is a picture with Grandpa Leonard with Joan Crawford at Warner Bros (from the late 1940's probably). Little did either of them know at the time that 60-plus years later, Leonard Lyons' grandson would watch DAISY KENYON (which Grandpa Leonard has a small cameo) and discover the wonder of Joan Crawford for the very first time...later to become a big fan. As I later watched RAIN, SADIE MCKEE, DANCING LADY, STRANGE CARGO, GRAND HOTEL, POSSESSED, MILDRED PIERCE, THE BRIDE WORE RED and other Joan Crawford films, falling in love with her in the process, I often wondered to myself would WOULD Grandpa Leonard and Joan Crawford think of all that?
"What a Time It Was!: Leonard Lyons and the Golden Age of New York Nightlife," for me, is all about the connection to my family. Grandpa Leonard died when I was only seven years old, and he was too ill for me to ever really get to know him in person. That's why I am thankful that Uncle Jeffrey took the time and research to put this together (and also am thankful that my Uncle Douglas wrote the entertaining, and enlightening Afterward). Sure, I enjoyed reading about the actors, writers, directors, studio heads, athletes, Chief Justices, politicians, Presidents, comedians, and conductors, but I most enjoyed experiencing the life my Grandfather had, and what he brought to his family.
July 25, 2022
What a collection of stories this is! I remember Lyons decades ago as a movie reviewer with (now writer/biographer) Neal Gabler. I did not know that his dad was an influential NYC columnist in the days of cafe society. The entrance into a rarefied celebrity/political/sports world this afforded young Jeffrey was immense, but in these fast-paced pages Jeffrey relies on his father's notes to return us to the lost days of the Stork Club, El Morocco, the Copa and others. Chapters are headed by celebrity names, and the quips, memories, and anecdotes are rapid fire (a bit too rapid, sometimes?). It is a lengthy and diverse crowd, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Al Capone. There is much to sink one's teeth into. I must admit the stories from the world of Washington left me questioning accuracy of certain memories. Eleanor Roosevelt was on the go, yes, but what became her White House portrait was painted from sittings, not merely photographs, as is claimed. Her biographer Joseph Lash tells of the portrait in Eleanor: The Years Alone. And ER inscribed the portrait on the front-"A trial made pleasant by the painter..." There is also a George Jessel story about Eleanor and no chicken in the chicken salad. Was this at the Truman White House (possible) OR a reference to the infamous celery and mayo concoction presented as chicken salad at the White House after the 1945 Inauguration? That's in too many books. Also, editors, it is Lynda BIRD, not BYRD Johnson who was LBJ's daughter. I quibble. Any rapid fire, chock a block recollection is sure to stumble. Overall I enjoyed this trip back into a cafe society gone, and I'll revisit the white tablecloths of the Stork Club, or the dance floor of El Moracco.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews