We watched the circus parade from Aunt Hannah’s fire escape in Bridgeport, CT.
Hannah Leber Zucker
Hannah was born about 1891 in New York to Taube Binder and Max Leber. She completed 8th grade in school. Hannah married Aaron (aka Harry) Zucker at about age 20 and they had 2 daughters and one son.
Hannah and Aaron lived ithe their son, daughters and sons-in-law in one apartment in New York City on W. 82nd Street. Their son-in-law, Max Rudnick (Millie’s husband) gave everyone in the family jobs in his theater.
part of a 1940 time sheet for the Eltinge Theater
By 1952, their son, Wilton M. moved to Bridgeport, CT and was working as a Notary Public, amongst other things
In 1953, Hannah and Aaron moved to Bridgeport, CT, where their son Wilton was living.
They lived at 1337 Main Street near the Savoy Hotel and the Majestic Theater. Here is what the area looks like in 2018.
Aaron, aka Harry, died in in 1956 at age 68, as seen in the city directory listing.
Hannah appears in the directory listings through 1965. At some point after that, Hannah moved to Norfolk, VA, to be near her daughters. She died in 1971.
Hannah and Aaron’s Children:
Millie (Mildred) | Billie Shaw
- Millie was born Dec. 8, 1911, in Brooklyn, NY
- She worked as a burlesque dancer with the stage name of Billie Shaw
- She married Max Rudnick who owned the theater where she was a dancer
- He fell in love with Millie and after they were married, he gave everyone in the family jobs in his theaters
- Millie, either right before, or right after she married, was in a terrible car accident
- They had one adopted son
- He operated the Eltinge Theatre, a burlesque theatre, in Brooklyn in 1931 – 1932 and had produced the “Folies Bergere” and other shows. According to a NY Times article, in 1937, New York was shutting down all Burlesque shows.
(From the New York Daily News, circa 1932) The Elthinge Theater on 42nd Street, NYC
- Max died young at age 46
Max Rudnick Obituaries from the NY Times, Burlesque Notes, The Final Curtain, and more
- After her husband died, Millie’s had a glamorous, but troubled life. She moved to a penthouse suite in the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, FL. One night when she was downstairs for dinner, her suite was robbed and all of her jewelry was stolen. She was never the same after that.
- She had a difficult relationship with her son and had minimal contact with him
- She died in DePaul Hospital, Norfolk, VA
Wilton M
- Born Jan 27, 1915 in Brooklyn, NY
- He servied in the military from 1943 – 1946
- Opened Wilton’s Men’s Store in Bridgeport, CT, in Nov. 1960. In the 1965 Bridgeport City Directory he is listed as the manager of the Hotel Savoy, which was probably run by his brother-in-law Max Rudnick.
(picture from the Bridgeport Post, Nov. 18, 1960)
- Died Sept. 12, 1981 in Broward County, FL
Mollie
- Born 1918 in NYC
- Married William Howard who worked as a clerk in the theater that Millie performed in. It was William who introduced Bernie to May. William became a professional gambler. Mollie married Billie Howard when she was 19 and he ws 21.
William, aka Billie, Howard, age 21
- They had 2 sons
- Mollie died in Norfolk, Va, on May 15, 2007, leaving behind her two sons, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren
My Memories:
Hannah and Aaron moved to Bridgeport, CT, and lived on in an apartment on a main street. I remember visiting there when my mother’s cousin, Mollie, was also visiting from VA with her 2 sons. There was a circus parade that day and we watched it from the fire escape. We crawled out of the apartment window to sit on the fire escape to watch. After the parade, I remember my cousins chasing me all over the apartment building, through the hallways and up and down the stairs until we got yelled at to calm down!
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