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When the Stars Came to Moodus |
No other area
resort came close to the level of entertainment offered to Banner Lodge
guests. During the 1940s, 50s
and 60s the entertainment roster included popular bands, singers,
comedians and dancers. On Fridays and Saturdays, the playhouse would
host popular performers who traveled the country's resort and nightclub
circuits and later appeared on comedy, variety and talk television
programs. In the 40s and 50s, the Banner staff also provided
entertainment, in the form of goofy skits, sing-alongs and comedy.
There were three
stages at Banner Lodge. The large playhouse, which was built in the
1940s, could seat about 500 people. This main stage was bracketed by a
coffee shop, a den-like card room, a ping-pong room and an arcade space
with games and pinball machines. In the 1950s, a nightclub was built in the
basement, which extended the typical Banner day into the wee hours. A small stage was also situated at one end of the Olympic-size
swimming pool, where bands and other entertainers would entertain.
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Click
here for a fifties Banner brochure
Read users' stories of Banner summers |
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Irv
Jeffries and his band entertained guests nearly every night in the
nightclub and during shows in the Playhouse. |
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Late
nights after the 1950s took on a new style when the the low-ceiling
basement nightclub was built. |
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A view
from the back of the knotty-pine playhouse. |
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Song and dance acts were a staple
of Banner big-stage entertainment. |
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Zero Mostel,
a first cousin of Jack Banner, made
regular appearances at the playhouse through the years. |
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In 1959, Mostel, a popular Broadway
and Hollywood star, returned to Moodus for another show.
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Charlie Callas was a wild comedian
whose repertoire included strange sounds and mimicry. Now 77, he
appeared in "High Anxiety" and a number of TV shows. |
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Another Banner favorite was Morey
Amsterdam, who played "Buddy" on "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Amsterdam
died in 1996 at the age of 87. |
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Before he played the Emcee in
"Cabaret," Joel Grey, now in his early 70s, was a big headliner at
Banner Lodge. |
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The Hines Bros., Gregory and
Maurice, made several appearances at Banner's. They went on to great
success on TV, stage and in the movies. |
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Jack Gilford, who died in 1990,
might be best known for his Cracker Jack commercials, but he also
appeared in "Cocoon" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum." |
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Corbett Monica, a Banner headliner,
opened for Frank Sinatra and other big name acts. Monica, who died in
1998, appeared often on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and
many other programs. |
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Guests often would be able to
meet the performers. Here Joe E. Ross, who gained fame as Gunther Toody
on "Car 54, Where Are You?" poses with two Banner guests. He died in
1982. |
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Larry Storch, now 82, co-starred in
television's "F-Troop" and provided voices for many cartoons. |
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This accordion player
is really happy. ...We think that he might be Marty Allen, of the comedy
team Allen & Rossi. That could be Rossi on the left. |
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Pat Cooper. built his act around
his Italian-American heritage. |
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Comedienne Pearl Bower "struts her stuff' for Banner guests,"
on the Playhouse stage. |
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OLD MOODUS CENTER
BACK IN THE DAY |
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From the Early 1900s
to Its Teardown
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HISTORIC
VIEWS OF
MOODUS RESORTS |
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Ads &
Flyers
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Banner Lodge
Camp Wopowog
Cave Hill
Ted Hilton's
Other Resorts
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EARLY VIEWS
OF
EAST HADDAM |
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Goodspeed, Gelston, Vistas, Travel & More
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1913 BRIDGE
OPENING SOUVENIR |
Celebrating a
River Crossing
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