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Jack Kerouac’s Beer Prank

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Today is Jack Kerouac’s birthday, one of the original beat writers, whose most famous work, On the Road, provided the voice for an entire generation. By all accounts he favored margaritas when drinking, and was quoted as saying “Don’t drink to get drunk. Drink to enjoy life.” After his premature death at 47, he’s continued to be hailed as a great writer. In 1987, John Montgomery compiled and published (through Fels & Firn Press), The Kerouac We Knew, of which only 1500 copies were printed.

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It’s a collection of remembrances, essays and photographs about Kerouac, one of which was entitled “Footnotes from Lowell.” It’s apparently written by the Kerouac family’s paperboy, who was only in his teens when Kerouac died. His (or possibly her) mother worked at the local newspaper, the Lowell Sun, and apparently when she worked the night shift, would occasionally give Kerouac a ride home. The author reminisces with the following tale about one of Kerouac’s beer pranks.

One evening, he persuaded them to stop off at Droney’s Pub on Broadway, his favorite, prior to Nicky’s: maybe in December, 1953. At one point he got off a stool and collected all the empty Harvard Ale bottles (brewed in Lowell, now defunct: Kerouac’s favorite beer, in green bottles with a cork). When he had gathered an armful, he re-stoppered them and one by one and slipped them into the old wood-burning Franklin stove in the center of the floor. The few people who did notice him figured he was just stoking the fire (the only source of heat). After he had filled the stove with 15 or 20 bottles he left the lid off and resumed his silent seat at the bar. Within minutes the pub was transformed into a diminutive Pearl Harbor. Kerouac just sat on his stool, surveying his work, laughing like a madman. This is the kind of escapade for which Jack is remembered in Lowell; escapades that poked fun at Lowell people in a loving way.

Apparently Jack Kerouac was known for his pranks, and this was a favorite one. The author speculates that this was his favorite beer, too, but I can’t find any other evidence for that, so who knows? Still, a fun little story.

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Beer In Ads #2576: My Beer Is Rheingold Says Beatrice Lillie

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Sunday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1953. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer Beatrice Lillie. “She made her West End debut in 1914 and soon gained notice in revues and light comedies, becoming known for her parodies of old-fashioned, flowery performing styles and absurd songs and sketches. She debuted in New York in 1924 and two years later starred in her first film, continuing to perform in both the US and UK. She was associated with revues staged by André Charlot and works of Noël Coward and Cole Porter, and was frequently paired with Gertrude Lawrence, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. During World War II, Lillie was an inveterate entertainer of the troops. She won a Tony Award in 1953 for her revue An Evening With Beatrice Lillie.” In this ad, Lillie talks about her award-winning show, “An Evening With Beatrice Lillie,” where she promises to “sing your favorites songs, tell my favorite jokes, [and] serve our favorite beer,” which you won’t be surprised to learn is Rheingold Extra Dry.

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Beer In Ads #2575: My Beer Is Rheingold Says Don Budge

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Saturday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1941 and 1950. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” This ad features American tennis champion Don Budge. “He was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional. He is most famous as the first player, male or female, and only American male to win in a single year the four tournaments that comprise the Grand Slam of tennis and second male player to win all four Grand Slams in his career after Fred Perry, and is still the youngest to achieve that feat. He won 10 majors, of which six were Grand Slams (consecutively, male record) and four Pro Slams, the latter achieved on three different surfaces. Budge was considered to have the best backhand in the history of tennis, at least until the emergence of Ken Rosewall in the 1950s and 1960s.” In this ad from 1941, Don Budge discusses how thirsty he gets after playing multiple sets of tennis, giving him “a man-size thirst!” So after a match he heads for the nearest bar for a bottle of Rheingold Extra Dry.

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In this later ad from 1950, he doesn’t want to list the other tennis players he considers the “all-time best players,” but he will reveal his favorite beer, which of course is Rheingold Extra Dry.

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He also did another Rheingold ad in 1946.

Beer In Ads #2574: My Beer Is Rheingold Says Marguerite Piazza

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Friday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1955. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” In this ad, it features American soprano, entertainer and philanthropist Marguerite Piazza. In this ad, Piazza says she enjoys singing for her supper (she spent her later career working in supper clubs) and that on most tables as she performs she sees Rheingold Extra Dry.

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Beer In Ads #2573: My Beer Is Rheingold Says Vic Damone

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Thursday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1957. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” In this ad, it features American traditional pop and big band singer, actor, radio and television presenter, and entertainer Vic Damone. “He is best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit “You’re Breaking My Heart”, and “On the Street Where You Live” (from My Fair Lady) and “My Heart Cries for You” which were both the number four hits.” In this ad, an odd one, Damone explains that he’s “at sea when it comes to navigation,” which I think means he doesn’t know anything about it, but he’s “on course” when doing a variety of other tasks, such as choosing the finest beer, Rheingold Extra Dry.

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Beer In Ads #2572: My Beer Is Rheingold Says Nanette Fabray

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Wednesday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1948. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” In this ad, it features American actress, singer and dancer Nanette Fabray. “She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical theatre actress during the 1940s and 1950s, winning a Tony Award in 1949 for her performance in Love Life. In the mid-1950s, she served as Sid Caesar’s comedic partner on Caesar’s Hour, for which she won three Emmy Awards, as well as co-starring with Fred Astaire in the film musical The Band Wagon. From 1979 to 1984, she appeared as Katherine Romano on the TV series One Day at a Time.” In this ad, Fabray claims the most fun she’s had on stage is “playing in ‘high button shoes'” but off stage, it’s drinking Rheingold Extra Dry.

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Beer In Ads #2571: My Beer Is Rheingold Says Lauritz Melchior

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Tuesday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1953. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” In this ad, it features Danish-American opera singer Lauritz Melchior. “He was the pre-eminent Wagnerian tenor of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s and has since come to be considered the quintessence of his voice type. Late in his career, Melchior appeared in movie musicals and on radio and television. He also made numerous recordings.” In this ad, Melchior is showing off his unusual dogs, German Drahthaars, which are hard to identify, unlike his favorite beer, Rheingold Extra Dry.

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Beer In Ads #2570: My Beer Is Rheingold Says Merle Oberon

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Monday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1949. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” In this ad, it features Anglo-Indian actress Merle Oberon. “She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). After her success in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), she traveled to the United States to make films for Samuel Goldwyn. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Dark Angel (1935). A traffic collision in 1937 caused facial injuries that could have ended her career, but she recovered and remained active in film and television until 1973.” In this ad, she says that she’s very superstitious and that most people she knows don’t agree with her superstitions, although they all do agree to drink Rheingold Extra Dry.

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Beer In Ads #2569: My Beer Is Rheingold Says Thomas Mitchell

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Sunday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1947. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” In this ad, it features American actor Thomas Mitchell. “Among his most famous roles in a long career are those of Gerald O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, Doc Boone in Stagecoach, Uncle Billy in It’s a Wonderful Life and Mayor Jonas Henderson in High Noon. Mitchell was the first male actor to win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony Award.” In this ad, he makes a pun about opening night and opening bottles of Rheingold Extra Dry, and it’s about as funny as you’d expect.

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Beer In Ads #2568: My Beer Is Rheingold Says Maria Riva

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Saturday’s ad is for Rheingold, from 1955. In the 1940s and 1950s, Rheingold recruited a number of prominent celebrities to do ads for them, all using the tagline: “My beer is Rheingold — the Dry beer!” In this ad, it features American actress, film historian, biographer, and activist Maria Riva. “She worked on television at CBS in the 1950s. She is the daughter of actress Marlene Dietrich, about whom she published a memoir in 1992.” In this ad, Riva floats the creepy idea that she’d like it if she could see the people watching her on television the same way we see her when we’re watching her on television. And for some reason, she thinks what she’ll looking out into TV Land is lots of Rheingold Extra Dry.

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