| Caricatures and Cartoons:
The Legend of the Palm Walls
The original Palm Restaurant at 837 Second Avenue is a virtual museum of cartoons and caricatures. Many of the familiar faces drawn on its walls date back to the 1920s when the restaurant was opened by Italian immigrants Pio Bozzo and John Ganzi. The Palm has an affiliation with the American Cartoon Association which holds its annual dinners at the Palm.
Back when the Palm opened, most of the caricatures were drawn using magic marker, charcoal, or pastels. Unfortunately, many of the original colors have faded over time. However, in 1995 the caricatures were professionally restored to preserve these legendary drawings. Presently, each of the walls in the New York flagship are insured for a half million dollars.
In The Beginning: Cartoons for a Meal
When Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi first started the Palm, they had no money to decorate. Luckily, their restaurant was located very close to the headquarters of King Features Syndicate, and attracted a large clientele of cartoonists. Often, to pay for a plate of spaghetti, the cartoonists would draw their own creations on the walls of the Palm.
—————————— • • ——————————
These cartoons can still be seen on the walls of the original Palm, most of which were created by the original artists:
Beetle Bailey - Mort Walker
Popeye - Matt Weil
Little Iodine - Al Scaduty
Noah Numskull - Mac Miller
Batman - Carmine Infantino
Family Circus - Bill Keane
Hi & Lois - Chance Browne
Hagar the Horrible - Chris Brown
Terry and the Pirates - Milton Caniff
Artist Russel Paterson also painted the many portraits of voluptuous women that can be seen throughout the restaurant.
—————————— • • ——————————
Honoring Thy Customer
The caricature tradition was started by King Features artist Jolly Bill Steinke. Legend has it that Jolly Bill spent so much of his free time at the Palm, he often was asked by other regulars to draw their caricatures. Since then, Palm customers from all over the globe have contributed their likenesses to the Palm’s 17 restaurants. Some regulars with heavy travel schedules have their caricatures at more than one Palm, like George Bush and Larry King.
—————————— • • ——————————
The oldest Palm caricatures can be seen in the New York flagship restaurant on Second Avenue. On a tour through both floors, you will see the likes of:
American Legends...
J. Edgar Hoover
Telly Savalas
Jackie Gleason
Apollo 13 astronaut James Lovell
France Ford Coppola
Arturo Toscanini
1940s photographer Vic Keppler
Conductor Mitch Miller
Jimi Hatlo
LeRoy Neiman
Hugh Hefner
Bill Cullen
——— • • ———
Political Notables...
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
George Bush
——— • • ———
Sports Heroes...
Tennis stars Pancho Segura and Bobby Riggs
Football legends
Phil Simms and Fran Tarkenton
Baseball greats
Tom Seaver and Ed Kranepool
Coach Yoggi Berra
Hank Greenwald
Boxer Rocky Graciano
Racing legend Jackie Stewart
—————————— • • ——————————
Mac Miller was the resident caricaturist at the Palm for more than 20 years, drawing all of the restaurant’s likenesses until he died in 1977. Nowadays, the caricatures are drawn by artists Howard Perlin and Bronwyn Bird.
(Each Palm’s walls become a “living mural” of thousands of regular and celebrity customers.)
A Palm regular who is asked permission to draw their caricature submits an 8x10 color and a few different facial shots to their local management. After a caricature is complete, the patron is asked to come in and sign his or her caricature. The number of caricatures added each year depends on the clientele. In the New York Palm, where space is limited, approximately five caricatures per year are added to the walls.
Many of the memorable moments at the Palm were made when celebrities visit to sign their caricature. Fred Astaire went so far as to tap dance on the bar at the Los Angeles Palm in celebration of his caricature unveiling!
|
Home Page
Legend of our Walls