Henry Sacks on his song writing - "I'll tell you right now, to be honest about it, everything write, I I make fun of people. But I do it with a smile on my face, and a smile in my heart. I don't try to hurt nobody, and people don't get mad at me." A Ockershausen: Hi. It's Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town. We're speaking with one of the great bonafide local characters of all time. A man I have known intimately for over 75 years. Henry, this goes back to the playgrounds. Sherwood for you and Rosedale for me in Northeast Washington, D.C. Henry Sacks, who most of the guys we grew up with called you Dave Sacks. How did this happen? Henry Sacks: Middle name. A Ockershausen: What middle name, Henry? Henry Sacks: David. A Ockershausen: Oh. I never knew that. Why are we all calling you Dave? Henry Sacks: Damn if I know. I never figured that out either. A Ockershausen: Why didn't you say something, Henry? What'd they say when you went in the Army? Henry or Dave? Henry Sacks: They said, "Wake up." Growing Up in Southeast DC A Ockershausen: Henry grew up, as I did in Washington, D.C. in the playgrounds because that was our lives and the Boys Club. Southeast Boys Club, Henry, where you were a member. Don't fall out of the chair please. Henry Sacks: No. No. No. Charlie Reynolds? A Ockershausen: Absolutely. We had a wonderful place that we both worked on called H Street Northeast, which is now a big industrial and restaurant place, Henry. Henry Sacks: Right. A Ockershausen: Have you been down to H Street recently? Henry Sacks: No, but Cully was telling me. He says he's going to pick me up. We're going to ride there. I want to see my old house on K Street. A Ockershausen: Well, you can see it all. Henry Sacks: Pop paid $2,800 for it. They're going for a million and a half now. A Ockershausen: Too bad you don't live there, but Henry worked ... I don't know whether he worked or hustled at a pool room on H Street. Henry Sacks: Three of them. A Ockershausen: I was working there, at a print shop that was folding. The Kiplinger Letter, I was reading that when I was in high school. I didn't know what Kiplinger meant, but I read the letter every Saturday night before people got it on Monday, and Henry, I found out more than you did at the pool room. Henry Sacks: Well, the pool room was a way of life then, Andy. You know what I mean? In fact, the main thing about Gus's pool room down at 9th and H Street Northeast, it had the greatest hamburger the planet has ever had. 15 cents. It had the big piece of hamburger meat, and all that stuff, and cole slaw on it. A Ockershausen: What were you doing with a hamburger in a pool room? Henry Sacks: Get some lunch, man. You've got to eat something at the little café up front. The guy, Sam, that run it, we used to call him Chewing Tobacco Sam. He chewed tobacco, and when you ordered hamburgers you'd say, "Give me a hamburger with everything, no tobacco juice." He's spitting all the time. Club Kavakos A Ockershausen: Henry, that's one block from Club Kavakos. Henry Sacks: One block from the most famous place that ever was. It was maybe the greatest nightclub in the history of Washington. Let me tell you how strong it was. When the New York Yankees won the world championship, it was either '54 or '55, I've got the picture of them on my wall. The big guys came down there to celebrate. Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, they were all at the table, and they came down there. A Ockershausen: To Kavakos? Henry Sacks: Yes. It was a hot place, Andy. Pete Generos was the biggest bookmaker in Washington. He used to own Rocky Marciano. The only way Marciano could get a shot at the title, which he kept for 49 fights, for Pete to get rid of him. So Al Weill, the big guy in the fight racket come down from New York. He had all them dunskis with him, with their hands in the furry coats with the pockets,
Henry Sacks on his song writing -
"I'll tell you right now, to be honest about it, everything write, I I make fun of people. But I do it with a smile on my face, and a smile in my heart. I don't try to hurt nobody, and people don't get mad at me."
A Ockershausen: Hi. It's Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town. We're speaking with one of the great bonafide local characters of all time. A man I have known intimately for over 75 years. Henry, this goes back to the playgrounds. Sherwood for you and Rosedale for me in Northeast Washington, D.C. Henry Sacks, who most of the guys we grew up with called you Dave Sacks. How did this happen?
Henry Sacks: Middle name.
A Ockershausen: What middle name, Henry?
Henry Sacks: David.
A Ockershausen: Oh. I never knew that. Why are we all calling you Dave?
Henry Sacks: Damn if I know. I never figured that out either.
A Ockershausen: Why didn't you say something, Henry? What'd they say when you went in the Army? Henry or Dave?
Henry Sacks: They said, "Wake up."
Growing Up in Southeast DC
A Ockershausen: Henry grew up, as I did in Washington, D.C. in the playgrounds because that was our lives and the Boys Club. Southeast Boys Club, Henry, where you were a member. Don't fall out of the chair please.
Henry Sacks: No. No. No. Charlie Reynolds?
A Ockershausen: Absolutely. We had a wonderful place that we both worked on called H Street Northeast, which is now a big industrial and restaurant place, Henry.
Henry Sacks: Right.
A Ockershausen: Have you been down to H Street recently?
Henry Sacks: No, but Cully was telling me. He says he's going to pick me up. We're going to ride there. I want to see my old house on K Street.
A Ockershausen: Well, you can see it all.
Henry Sacks: Pop paid $2,800 for it. They're going for a million and a half now.
A Ockershausen: Too bad you don't live there, but Henry worked ... I don't know whether he worked or hustled at a pool room on H Street.
Henry Sacks: Three of them.
A Ockershausen: I was working there, at a print shop that was folding. The Kiplinger Letter, I was reading that when I was in high school. I didn't know what Kiplinger meant, but I read the letter every Saturday night before people got it on Monday, and Henry, I found out more than you did at the pool room.
Henry Sacks: Well, the pool room was a way of life then, Andy. You know what I mean? In fact, the main thing about Gus's pool room down at 9th and H Street Northeast, it had the greatest hamburger the planet has ever had. 15 cents. It had the big piece of hamburger meat, and all that stuff, and cole slaw on it.
A Ockershausen: What were you doing with a hamburger in a pool room?
Henry Sacks: Get some lunch, man. You've got to eat something at the little café up front. The guy, Sam, that run it, we used to call him Chewing Tobacco Sam. He chewed tobacco, and when you ordered hamburgers you'd say, "Give me a hamburger with everything, no tobacco juice." He's spitting all the time.
Club Kavakos
A Ockershausen: Henry, that's one block from Club Kavakos.
Henry Sacks: One block from the most famous place that ever was. It was maybe the greatest nightclub in the history of Washington. Let me tell you how strong it was. When the New York Yankees won the world championship, it was either '54 or '55, I've got the picture of them on my wall. The big guys came down there to celebrate. Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, they were all at the table, and they came down there.
A Ockershausen: To Kavakos?
Henry Sacks: Yes. It was a hot place, Andy. Pete Generos was the biggest bookmaker in Washington. He used to own Rocky Marciano. The only way Marciano could get a shot at the title,