What Was It Like to Visit Ray Bourbon’s Nightclub?

While we have about ten hours of Ray’s recordings and some first-hand accounts from people who knew or worked with him, we don’t know much about the experience of seeing Ray in person at a nightclub. In this post, we one brief account I stumbled into at archive.org. The “Argonauts” is an obscure travel book … Continue reading What Was It Like to Visit Ray Bourbon’s Nightclub? →

Ray Bourbon’s “Mop Lady” and Carol Burnett’s “Charwoman”

I’m probably going to get into trouble with some Carol Burnett fans with this post, but there’s a persistent story about Ray Bourbon’s connection to an iconic Burnett character that is worth exploring. Just about everyone who was around in the sixties and seventies was familiar with Carol Burnett’s famous “Charwoman” character. Carol, dressed in … Continue reading Ray Bourbon’s “Mop Lady” and Carol Burnett’s “Charwoman” →

Have a Drink With Ray at Auby’s Lagoon and the Rendezvous

From late 1934 through the summer of 1935, Ray was a fixture at Auby’s Lagoon, a nightclub in Miami Beach, Florida. In the Miami Tribune, I found dozens of ads and mentions in columns about area nightlife of Ray acting as an MC and performer at the club during that period. One column, from the … Continue reading Have a Drink With Ray at Auby’s Lagoon and the Rendezvous →

Robert Mitchum Wrote for Ray Bourbon

One of the odd little things that pops up in lore about Ray is that Hollywood legend Robert Mitchum wrote songs and perhaps routines for him. Turns out that little legend is true. Mitchum discussed his work for Ray and other “blue” nightclubs acts on page 94 of “Man With the Immortal Face - Bob Mitchum” … Continue reading Robert Mitchum Wrote for Ray Bourbon →