History of the Brazilian Court Hotel

Chapter 4 Bright Williamson Johnson—The War Years

1937 - 1938

One of his favorite tales of Montauk concerned a rich New York playboy by the name of Serge Rubinstein Rovella who stayed at the hotel. He was widely re- garded as “ bad news ” and impossible to please. He was murdered in New York and when authorites in- terviewed the hotel staff about who would have rea- son to kill him. Everyone answered, “ who wouldn ’ t might be a better question ”. By 1938 Vincent Mulford and his wife were living in the Brazilian Court as evidenced by the Palm Beach Post article dated February 2, 1938, page 9:

Palm Beach Daily News, February 27, 1937: Brazilian Court Hotel The cloister and patio of the Brazilian Court is particularly attractive at the din- ner hour and congenial parties gather there nightly. Last evening Mr. and Mrs., Gustavus F. Swift of Chicago, who

are passing a month at the hotel, had several guests for dinner and later took them to the Paramount Theater to see “ The Good Earth ”.

PALM BEACH NOTES - Brazilian Court Hotel - Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Mulford who are occupying a pent- house at the hotel, gave a dinner there on Monday night having among their guests .......

A number of advertisements for the Brazilian Court Hotel appeared in The Daily Princetonian , the Princeton college news. One in March 1937 featured a photo of the new southern courtyard and pro- claimed it the "ideal setting for entertaining by day or night; The Cloister, the new Bamboo Dining Room, Knotty Pine Bar." And "Dancing and Dinner Music by Dudley Doe's Orchestra." The published rates in the advertisement were "Single $6.00 to $9.00 - Double $10.00 to $16.00 - Meals $4.00 Day or Optional." The day before opening for the 1937 season Everitt Winkler, the assistant manager of the BC, had all of the toilet seats repainted. The first guests found the paint still wet. Fortunately there were only a few ear- ly arrivals. When Bright Johnson first worked at the BC in the late 1930s there were three slot machines operating in a small room adjacent to the bar. Gambling was legal in the early 30s, but made illegal later. The law was highly ignored in Palm Beach until after the war in 1945. Bright worked not only the Brazilian Court in Palm Beach, but traveled north to Long Island with Mr. Bishop for the summer months to work at the Mon- tauk Manor. One day he was approached by several men who were taking photos in the lobby for a cigarette com- mercial. Bright was asked to pose in the photo.

Palm Beach Daily News, February 24, 1938: Accommodations at the Brazilian

Court Hotel are still at a premium dur- ing the mid - season and for every de- parting guest, others are waiting to take their place. At this time of the year many annual visitors are returning to Palm Beach for a brief winter holi- day.

Pooshee Pooshee, master of legerdemain (ed: tricks) will make his initial appearance tomorrow on the cloister.

Palm Beach Daily News , March 8, 1938: Brazilian Court

Perfect Palm Beach weather, with a starlit sky and a new moon, were fac- tors in the success of the Sunday night buffet supper at Brazilian Court, where more than three hundred residents and hotel guests assembled on the cloister and in the attractive patio. Pooshee, Pooshee, with his amazing card tricks, Le Hola, palmist and hand- writing analyst, are entertaining daily on the cloister during the cocktail hour and early evening.

Palm Beach Daily News, Sunday April 24, 1938:

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