​Night Club Life - the gangsters, the "acts," the showgirls

Texas Guinan was, by nature, a bon vivant.  Talkative and bursting with high spirits, she enjoyed being around people and vice versa.
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By 1922, however, she was 38 and her body was feeling the effects of the movie stunts and trick riding that the film industry expected of her.  Moreover, she missed being in New York City.  She would soon find another spotlight.
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Prohibition, the 18th Amendment, became law in January 1920.  By 1922 there were more than 5,000 speakeasies and night clubs in Manhattan.  Bernard "Barney" Gallant, her best friend and Greenwich Village neighbor, had achieved worldwide celebrity as the first person arrested for violation of the Volstead Act. Though Barney had briefly gone to jail, he had also become rich and famous, thanks to his celebrity clientele and non-stop newspaper coverage. The former press agent knew the value of courting the fourth estate -- dispensing free drinks and news tips to a devoted coterie of chroniclers such as Walter Winchell, Louis Sobol, Mark Hellinger, and the like.  Gallant happily taught Tex the finer points of being a speakeasy sensation.
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Around the same time, violinist Joe Fejer had been the bandleader at the Hungarian hang-out Gypsyland [133 West 45th Street]. Nils T. Granlund took credit for bringing both Fejer and Texas Guinan to the place.  They were such a draw, the owner hired them to host parties.  Word spread and other restaurateurs vied for her services as an M.C.  Places that normally closed at 1 A.M. were now in full swing until 5:30 A.M. because of Texas Guinan's gift of gab and sass.  She kept honing her skills at the Cafe des Beaux Arts and the Knickerbocker Hotel and, as fate would have it, bootlegger Larry Fay [1888-1933] wanted to open a stylish nightspot and needed an M.C.  When Fay approached Nils T. Granlund to be at the microphone, Nils introduced him instead to Texas Guinan.
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In partnership with the gangsters Owney Madden and “Big Frenchy” De Mange, The El Fey Club opened on May 1, 1924, the first of the successful joint ventures between Larry Fay and Texas Guinan.  While Fay stayed in the background, content to flirt with showgirls (like Irene Delroy), Texas was doing the heavy lifting: booking talent, wooing VIPS and Broadways stars, courting nightlife reporters, and developing a routine of dealing with the Dry Agents and the New York City police, who dropped in to survey the scene. Thanks to their popularity, the El Fey was padlocked.

In 1925, she and Larry Fay hop-scotched to a different door on West 45th Street, christening it the Del Fey Club.

Texas Guinan started with stage dancers Peggy and Cortez as entertainment but soon realized she needed an orchestra and an array of specialty acts. Thanks to her prodding, Broadway hoofer George Raft did his fast Charleston and was soon in demand. And a bevy of underage, scantily clad female performers included Ruby Keeler, Ruby Stevens (Barbara Stanwyck), Drena Beach, Claire Luce, Patrice Gridiere, Alice Boulden, Doris Vinton, June Carroll, and others. No matter who was on the tiny stage, Texas Guinan would order the patrons to "give the little girl(s) a nice big hand."  

While the Del Fey was going strong, Texas began riding sidecar with her brother Tommy Guinan, opening the Texas-Tommy (across the street) in 1925, then Tommy Guinan's Playground (on West 52nd Street) in 1926. She was also accepting guest-star gigs and one-off engagements on panels, at fundraisers, at premieres. It is estimated that her annual salary was approximately $780,000.

Eventually, the Del Fey wore a padlock. Their next boite was the Texas Guinan Club -- until the police turned up.

As Texas Guinan would say:  "I'm nature's gift to the padlock makers."

In November 1925, she and Larry Fay flew to Miami to open a Florida Del Fey Club for Christmas. However, the partners had a permanent falling out. But Madden and De Mange noticed the ace of clubland was Miss Guinan. They decided to back the lady in her very own midtown nightspots such as the 300 Club, Salon Royale, Club Intime, Club Argonaut, Club Abbey, Salon Royale.

Whenever a club was raided once too often, it would vanish and another would rise at a new address nearby. For instance, there was the Salon Royale (310 W. 58th St.), and there was Club Intime (203-211 W. 54th St.). Finally, there was the Argonaut (back to 151 W. 54th St.).

She coined the term "butter and egg men" to refer to well-heeled Midwestern customers, and noted that "a man could get hurt falling off a bar stool." Texas liked to kid her audience by poking fun and the columnists often quoted her "bright sayings."

• • "A sucker is a guy who can afford to be trimmed."

• • “You may be all the world to your mother, but you’re just a cover charge to me.”

• • "He'll be happy — — 'til he sees the check."

When Wall Street crashed in 1929, the Roaring 20s boom became a bust and hit hardest at businesses dependent on disposable income -- such as speakeasies (also known as clip joints, where a glass of gingerale or a cup of ice could cost $25). At this point, Texas took the troupe and went on tour.