Continuing with the story of meeting Jackie Gleason in a New York city poolroom when I was growing up.

Gleason has heard of me around Broadway, mainly as this young kid that was beating the comics and others out of their money.

One day I was in McGirr’s, the great Billiard room on the 6th floor of the Roseland building. This room owned and run by Bob McGirr was the favorite place for the 3-cushion players and those that looked on Billiards as a very proper game to be played with other gentleman of means.

Bob McGirr would let me hang out at times and make some money as long as I didn’t hustle anybody.

I walked in and cased the joint and could see that someone was already spotting me out to Gleason. He came up there a lot and was there every Saturday afternoon to relax before he did his TV show.

He literally walked up to me and challenged me to a game. In this very proper Billiard room, it was unusual for anyone to openingly challenge anyone to a money game. He wanted to see just how good I was. He said I didn’t look like a player. I told him to put his fucking money up. He smiled and said, “Let’s play.”

It would be 100 points straight pool, 2 out of 3 for a hundred.

I won the first game to be in proper position and then lost the second game as planned and we played out the third. I carried him for a while, but soon found out this son of a bitch could play. And he wasn’t nervous about playing for money. I was very impressed. He played and did it well. I mean he knew how to play the game. Most of the entertainers played at it but didn’t know the game well. I had to stop freestroking and concentrate and play well in the end to beat him. I had coasted too long and he almost got me. I worked hard to recover. He watched me do this and he knew that I was as good as he heard.

We played probable once a week for the next month or so. All the time he was doing the weekly TV show. He introduced me to people he knew and he knew everybody in the social world. Soon I was playing 3-cushion with Jackie and his friends like John Ringling North - owner of the big circus - and other wealthy people. They all loved to play with Gleason and he made me his partner and they gladly made friendly wages that Jackie and I split. Many times Gleason gave me all of it.

I would take some of them to the gambling joints on Park Avenue and if they would win they might give me something, if they lose, then the guys running the game took care of me. By the way, Gleason was the only one who knew that I did that. Played both sides, he respected it.

Gleason and I talked many times about Willie Mosconi. For those not familiar with him, he is the 15 times Pocket Billiard Champion of World. The greatest pool player that ever lived. All of the show business world knew him or had heard of him. Mosconi and Willie Hoppe were the elite of the Billiard world.

Gleason loved to brag about how well he knew Mosconi.

Gleason was a natural hustler. And very good at it.

But the great story told in those days, around the Automat and at Lindy’s and at the Brill building on Broadway, is how Gleason actually first met Willie.

I have heard both Mosconi and Gleason admit it is true.

In the 50s many of the entertainers hung around Toots Shore’s place. A bar they all went to, Sinatra included. Toots was a real character himself. Like an old Irish saloon keeper. He seemed to know everyone on a first name basis. He was a crusty good natured guy.

Toots knew that Jackie love to hustle guys. So one night they're all drinking and Jackie is making bets on stuff and it gets around to playing pool and who is the best, etc.

By this time, Jackie has a few drinks in him and can “beat anybody in the house” etc. At the bar, Jackie is challenging anyone who will listen. Toots is talking to a fellow who says he likes to play pool. Toots introduces him to Gleason as a rich dress manufacture from Philadelphia. (By the way, Toots and Willie go back a long way. Toots was originally from Philly).

So Gleason starts hustling this guy and they decide to play. They all march over to the Roseland building and up to McGirr’s to play. Gleason licking his chops wants to play 100 points for $50. The guy from Philly (Mosconi) says fine. Jackie plays well, but loses the first game by 30 points. Smart move by Willie who thought it best to make him look a bit bad and his ego will steam him. And it did. Gleason is now wanting to play for $300. And teach the guy from Philly how lucky he was. Willie beats him again and this time plays full out. Mosconi just pocketing everything, no trouble on the table he can’t handle. He runs the game out. Gleason doesn’t get a chance to even come to the table and now knows this is not some dress maker. Jackie has just seen the game played to perfection. Position play that was precise. Some shots hit in a way that only the very best could ever do or even try.

All the guys on Broadway love to tell how this all ended.

Gleason goes over to the the guy from Philly and says “Alright, alright, who the hell are you?”

Toots says “Let me introduce you to Willie Mosconi.”

Gleason had been hustled.

Gleason and Mosconi became good friends. Gleason considered Mosconi one of the greatest talents, in any field, he had ever met.

By the way it is Willie Mosconi who told Robert Rossen that Gleason would be perfect for the Minnesota Fats part in the movie “The Hustler.”

In Vegas years later, Gleason is holding court and bragging how good he was, especially after the movie “The Hustler” came out in 61, and just talking like he is the greatest hustler. The guys around him and the surrounding tables are taking it all in. Sinatra walks over to his table in the Garden Room and whispers something in his ear and Jackie goes silent. All around the room people wonder what Frank had said. He just said “Remember - ‘Let me introduce you to Willie Mosconi’ ”

Quite a few times Gleason and I have gone to see Mosconi play an exhibition. Gleason and I have seen Willie play Caras, Crane. It was always fantastic to watch him play. An artist.

From my observation, Sinatra and Gleason were very good friends. They had met in the 40s. There are stories of Gleason the struggling actor trying to make it in the movies and of course Sinatra becoming a big star. The stories of Sinatra “lending” girls to Gleason are great but too raw for this website.

Gleason would came to Vegas many times. He was here for many of the Sinatra shows and especially when Frank and Dean or Sammy did shows together. Mosconi also came in too. He usually stayed at the Stardust, those guys wanted him there. Willie of course had his pick of any hotel. Frank has told me to offer Mosconi a room and anything he wanted, but Willie still stayed at the Stardust but always came over to see and have dinner with Sinatra. Willie’s wife Flora, still living in Philly, will tell of the time Frank called the house to set up Willie stay in Vegas. Willie came to Vegas, stayed at the Stardust.

On one trip in for the Sinatra and Martin shows, Gleason and I are going to set up and hustle some wealthy business men at the golf course. We are at the Tropicana golf club, across from the Trop on the Strip, and were on the practice putting green getting it set up. Gleason is talking about betting on the two of them against us in a putting contest. By the way, if you don’t know, golf is another sport Gleason was pretty good at. As were talking, Dean Martin walks up to practice before he goes out. I am just about saying that I don’t have a putter with me. Dean hears this and offers his. Gleason turns to Dean and winks at him and says “No that’s all right, let Eddie find something to use.” Dean gets the drift and knows were up to something and walks away. Gleason continues, saying out loud to me “Go in the club house and find something to use.” I say “Like what?” He says “ I don’t care, listen, find a club or a broom or a shovel, anything.” He looks at the the businessmen and says “Right.” They agree. “So go find something, what ever you come back with, you have to use.” The businessmen agree and it’s decided we play a putting round for $300.

I go into the clubhouse but then go through it to the parking lot and to my car and I come back with, you guessed it -- my pool cue. And we took down the score, easily !!

By the way, it’s my opinion that Dean’s use of “Hey Pallie” comes from him hanging around Gleason. When Gleason was at the Sands on vacation, Dean was around him all the time and Gleason called everyone “Pallie.” I saw Dean start using it and after Gleason left town, Dean put it into the patter in his act. If you look carefully when he does it, you will see him go into a “Gleason-like” move. On the golf course Dean loves to say it. He liked the sound of it.

Sinatra had great respect of what Gleason achieved on TV. Sinatra and many other nightclub entertainers worked hard on getting a nightclub act to play well on TV. Sinatra would laugh when people in the casino would see Gleason and talk about seeing him on TV.

Sinatra would say “There all watching him, do they know he walks around in $1,000 handmade suits and eats the finest foods and drives the greatest cars and here he is on TV playing Ralph Cramden. Genius, fucking genius.”

Interesting thing is that both had something in common and I don’t know if they shared it to each other. Both has a secret love for great books and read them almost everyday. Sinatra, as I’ve told you before, read History and biographies of great people. Gleason, when at the Sands on vacation, would go to bookstores looking for books on Spirituality and past lives. Yet when these two are in the casino or the lounge with their friends all you hear is about “booze and broads.” All night long it’s “booze and broads.”

I’m glad to get a chance to say something about these guys.

When you look at the people mentioned here, it is apparent the quality of talent they represent. And I do like talented people. I am asked a lot about who is the greatest talent I have ever seen. As the FrankFests, each year, I answer that question with the name -- Frank Sinatra, because I feel you are asking about singers and the like.

But I’ll tell you, and don’t get mad at me, the greatest talent and most professionally skilled person I have ever seen was Willie Mosconi.

Of course all those mentioned here are special. Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason, Willie Mosconi.

I have been told many times that I have been very lucky to have been where I have been and had a chance to meet who I have met.

As I get older, I’m starting to believe they’re right.