Polly Adler

Pearl "Polly" Adler (April 16,1900 - June 11,1962) was a Russian-born madam and author.

The oldest child of a large family, Polly Adler emigrated to America from Yanow, Russia, near the Polish border at the age of 14 just before World War I. The war stopped her family from joining her. She worked in clothing factories and sporadically attended school. At 19, she began to enjoy the company of theater people in Manhattan, and moved into the apartment of an actress and showgirl on Riverside Drive in New York City.

She opened her first bordello in 1920, under the protection of mobster Dutch Schultz and a friend of mobster Charles "Lucky" Luciano. One building in which she plied her trade was The Majestic at 215 West 75th Street, designed by architects Schwartz and Gross and completed in 1924 with hidden stairways and secret doorways. [http://www.215w75.com/html/1920s_history.html Jacobs, Lisa. "Majestic Towers’ Dirty Little Secret"] , 215 West 75 Street building newsletter, Winter 2002] Her brothel there boasted such patrons as Robert Benchley, New York City mayor Jimmy Walker, and mobster Dutch Schultz. [http://dorothyparker.com/dot32.htm Dorothy Parker Society, "Polly Adler's Brothel"] , Dorothy Parker Society]

In the early 1930s, Adler was a star witness of the Seabury Commission investigations and spent a few months in hiding in Florida to avoid testifying. She refused to give up any mob names when apprehended by the police. She survived by providing half of her income to her underworld safety net. For over 20 years, Adler kept active by moving her brothel from apartment to apartment. She retired in 1944.

Adler attended college at age 50, and wrote a bestselling book, ghosted by Virginia Faulkner, "A House is Not a Home" (1953), allowing her to live off the proceeds. She died in Los Angeles, California in 1962. "A House Is Not a Home" was made into a movie two years later, starring Shelley Winters as Adler.

The 1989 "Perry Mason" TV-movie "Musical Murder" revolved around a faux-musical based on Adler.

Footnotes

References

* "A House is Not a Home" - autobiography - 1953 Rinehart & Co. Inc. N.Y. Toronto. L.C. 52-12195
* [http://www.google.com/url?q=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/178397572.html%3Fdids%3D178397572:178397572%26FMT%3DABS%26FMTS%3DABS:FT%26date%3DJUN%2B11%252C%2B1962%26author%3D%26pub%3DThe%2BWashington%2BPost%26desc%3DPolly%2BAdler%2BDead%253B%2BWrote%2B%27A%2BHouse%2BIs%2BNot%2Ba%2BHome%27%26pqatl%3Dgoogle&sa=X&oi=archive&ct=result&cd=1&usg=__KEWzRsHdVg4VeIIdtWY6mBXzOrk= Link to Polly Adler's June 11, 1962 obituary in "Washington Post"]