Piano Man

By playwright Eugene O'Neill had written almost twenty full length plays and twenty one one act plays. To call him prolific would have been an understatement. He was born and bred in New York and overcame tuberculosis in nineteen twelve, only to go on and write some of the most highly revered and well known plays ever performed on stage.

Often considered his magnum opus, ninety two's Long Day's Journey Into Night was a Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner, earning O'Neill legendary status and eventually a Broadway theater with his own name on it. But O'Neill had a long way to go before he'd reach his long day, and that road included one show so taboo it was banned in almost every city where they tried to stage a production.

It was called Strange Interlude. Written between nineteen six and nine, the show follows the main character of Nina Leeds, whose fiance is killed in World War One. Nina, grieving and in need of companionship, begins having affairs with several men before marrying a man named Sam Evans. Soon, Nina is with child, but Sam's mother informs her that insanity, which has befallen many Evans children over the years, could be

passed down to her own. All. Nina and Sam want is a child, but she didn't want to go through the pain of wondering if hers will fall victim to such an illness. Throughout the rest of the play, topics such as abortion and infidelity are discussed, Relationships are tested, regrets that had once been buried rise up to the surface through O'Neill's use of soliloquies long monologues where the

characters tell their deepest thoughts to the audience. The play opened on Broadway on January thirty nineteen twenty eight, and a London production was staged a few years later. But between nineteen twenty eight and nineteen thirty one, O'Neill tried to put on a version of the show in Boston, Massachusetts, and it didn't go well. Boston's mayor of the time, Malcolm Nichols, didn't appreciate the show's taboo nature, and in a nod to the city's puritan roots, refused to let

the show go on. Instead, the production was moved about ten miles away to the town of Quincy. Despite the complex story and delicate subject matter, Strange Interlude was a hit. Today, many theaters that produced the show tend to cut it down to a more manageable three hours, and Quincy, however, O'Neill's nine act play, ran unedited for over five hours long. A dinner break had to be scheduled that intermission, which meant Quincy theater goers needed somewhere to grab a quick

bite to eat before going back for Act two. Luckily, a new restaurant had opened across the street a few years before, and most of them headed there. It was a small operation, serving hot dogs grilled in butter, chicken pop pies, baked beans, fried clams, and hand cranked ice cream loaded with butter fat. Healthy it was not, but it gave hungry audience members something to fill up on as they prepared for the final few hours of the show. As the play gained steam and Quincy, so did the restaurant,

which welcomed hundreds of patrons throughout its run. The publicity was a godsend, as were the new highways being built over the next decade. The restaurant's popularity led to expansion all over New England. When the Pennsylvania Turnpike was completed in nineteen forty, the little restaurant from Quincy became the highways exclusive eatery for hungry motorists. World War Two brought all but twelve of the restaurants to a close, but after nineteen forty five, two hundred more open for business

in New Jersey, Ohio and beyond. The country was flooded with them, and by the nineteen seventies there were over a thousand in business. About half were tied to motor lodges, too, providing weary travelers with a warm meal and a warm bed, all in one convenient place. Sadly, the good times didn't last. Today,

only one of these restaurants remains. It's located in Lake George, New York, and can be recognized by its iconic orange roof and the sign outside, which bears the name of the man who ran that original restaurant, and, for over six decades was a household name for motorists all over America. Who was he? Howard Johnson. Childhood is a time for dreaming, a time when the future is as far away as

another planet, but still somehow within reach. When asked what we want to be when we grow up, we respond with words like astronauts, or firefighter or doctor. Whether those aspirational answers come to fruition, well that's another story. But one man had a dream that wasn't so far fetched. He might have gone on to pursue it too, had he been given the chance. His name was Harry and he was born in eighteen eighty four in Lamar, Missouri, a small town about four and a half hours southwest

to St. Louis. His family moved around a lot while he was very young. When he was six, his mother, Martha, and his father John moved Harry and his brother and sister over one miles away to Independence, Missouri. The town was a lot bigger than Lamar was six thousand residents, but it meant a fresh start for everyone. From a young age, Harry took a keen interest in the arts. Music was a particular passion of his. Every morning, at five o'clock, he would wake up and practice the piano.

He also studied privately twice a week until he was fifteen. Harry considered going to college to study music with the goal of becoming a concert pianist. His first choice had been West Point, but he was turned away due to his poor eyesight. His father is financial situation also made a four year college impossible. Instead, Harry enrolled at a business college in Kansas City for one year, after which he was forced to drop out to help his family.

Money had become tighter than ever, so Harry found himself at a job in a mail room at the Kansas City Star newspaper. He bounced around from job to job over the next several years, working for a construction company for a short time before taking a position as a bank clerk. He carried that knowledge with him in nineteen oh six, when he left the workforce to rejoin his brother and father on their farm. He was their bookkeeper for the next ten years. Still, Harry knew that there

was more out there for him. In nineteen seventeen, he joined the National Guard to serve in World War One, where he proved himself as a competent leader. His unit, which had been looked down on for their wild behavior and lack of direction, was quickly tamed like a difficult piece of music under Harry's fingers. They became a well regarded battery, taking on missions overseas towards the end of the war. After his service had ended, Harry and a

war buddy of his went into business together. The experience allowed him to keep in touch with the other men he served with, some of whom introduced him to powerful people who could help him move up the business letter. Harry worked his way up through different positions thanks to his fellow National guardsmen and their network of professional connections. Over the next two decades, Harry started a family and became a success, yet still remembered his days tickling the

ivories as a child. It wasn't until World War Two when his musical skills would come back to help him again. It was February oft and Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall had arrived at a lounge in Washington to perform for a group of US troops. At the time, Harry was there to give a speech, but a piano sitting off to the side gave him a better idea. He sat down and started playing. Bacall, egged on by her press agents, climbed on top of the piano and post for pictures

alongside him. The pictures have since become iconic, a truly viral moment in history, captured for all time. The idea of mounting that particular piano for a photo op became so common that would eventually collapsed and the piano had to be rebuilt. Even the room where it happened was renamed for the man who started it all, the Vice President who would go on to become the thirty third President of the United States, Harry Truman. I hope you've

enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore which is a podcast, book series, and television show and you can learn all about it over at the world of Lore dot come and until next time, stay curious.