http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Durante
When my Mom (Aldine Marie Busch) and I left Kansas City, MO for good, our first stop was Las Vegas for an extended visit with Uncle Clay (Emory Clay Campbell). He had been working as a ‘studio musician’ for the shows at the Desert Inn for about two years.
It was late one night, when Mom and I were picking Clay up from work after the last show at the Desert Inn that I got to meet and talk with Jimmy Durante.
I was not allowed backstage, as I was underage. So, as usual, I was left in the lobby while Mom went and collected Clay. I soon got bored and wandered into the main floor restaurant. It was totally empty of customers at that hour, except for one lone older man, dressed in a suit and tie, sitting at a white cloth covered, table by a window. I wandered over, sat at a table next to his, and said “Hi!” No shrinking violet me…
It was not long before he started talking to me, between bites, never putting his knife down while he ate with gusto, asking what I was doing there, etc. Of course, I told him about Kansas City, Uncle Clay, and my Mom.
It was not long before my Mom and Uncle Clay arrived, with stunned expressions on their faces at whom I was talking too. They claimed me, and we left for the parking lot. But once out of the main lobby of the Desert Inn, they were beside themselves with awe, “That was Jimmy Durante!” And Uncle Clay giggled that embarrassed little giggle he had, while shaking his head.
I had not realized that it was Jimmy Durante till I was told so. To me he was just a friendly older man that took interest in a bored teen.
