February 10

James Francis Durante 's Birthday

Jimmy Durante cuts Buster Keaton's hair in What! No Beer? (1933)

Jimmie Durante was a singer, pianist, comedian and actor, whose distinctive gravel voice, comic language butchery, j, and large nose – his frequent jokes about it included a frequent self-reference that became his nickname: ""Schnozzola" – helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s.

Jimmie became a vaudeville star and radio attraction by the mid-1920s, with a music and comedy trio called Clayton, Jackson and Durante. Jackson and Durante appeared in the Cole Porter musical The New Yorkers which opened on Broadway on December 8, 1930. By 1934, he had a major record hit, his own novelty composition" Inka Dinka Doo" and it became his theme song for practically the rest of his life. A year later, Jimmie starred on Broadway in the Billy Rose stage musical Jumbo in which a police officer stopped him while leading a live elephant and asked him, "What are you doing with that elephant?" Durante's reply, "What elephant?", was a regular show-stopper.

He made several successful films including The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) playing "Banjo" (a character based on Harpo Marx), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).

Jimmie made his television debut on November 1, 1950, though he kept a presence in radio as one of the frequent guests on Tallulah Bankhead's two-year, NBC comedy-variety show, The Big Show. He later stared in the popular The Jimmy Durante Show in which w was the venue of the last performance by Carmen Miranda. Carmen suffered a heart attack while dancing with Jimmy from which she died the next morning.

In 1963, Jimmie recorded an album of pop standards, September Song. The album became a best-seller and provided Durante's re-introduction, to yet another generation, almost three decades later. His gravelly interpretation of "As Time Goes By" accompanied the opening credits of the romantic comedy hit, Sleepless in Seattle, while his version of "Make Someone Happy" launched the film's closing credits. The former number appeared on the film's best-selling soundtrack.

To celebrate Jimmie's birthday, the less adventurous may simply have a bowl of the Kellogg's Corn Flakes that he hawked in the 1960s. For the more adventurous, there is the perennial Northwood's treat - Jellied Moose Nose. Enjoy either of these dishes with a viewing of The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Jellied Moose Nose

Ingredients
1 upper jawbone of a moose 1 large onion; sliced 3 garlic cloves 1 TB pickling spice	1 TB salt 2 TB black peppercorns 1/4 cup white vinegar

Instructions

Cut the upper jaw bone of the moose just below the eyes.
Place in a large kettle of scalding water and boil for 45 minutes. Remove and chill in cold water.
Pull out all the hairs from nose part of bone- these will have been loosened by the boiling and should come out easily Wash thoroughly.
Place the jawbone in a kettle and cover with fresh water. Add onion, garlic, spices and vinegar Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and
simmer until the meat is tender. Let cool overnight in the liquid.
When cool, take the meat out of the broth, and remove and discard the bones and the cartilage. You will have two kinds of meat,
white meat from the bulb of the nose, and thin strips of dark meat from along the bones and jowls.
Slice the meat thinly and alternate layers of white and dark meat in a loaf pan.
Reheat the broth to boiling, then pour the broth over the meat in the loaf pan. Let cool until jelly has set. Slice and serve cold.