april 25, 1937 The Fiddler and the Blonde HatCheck Girl1937.the case of Garcia vs. Rubi-noll. in...
1
april 25, 1937 11 The Fiddler and the Blonde Hat Check Girl AHang-Over from Golden Age of Heart Balm By CHARLES COLLINS A DEADsnake will continue to wriggle its tail until after sun dow n, according to American folklore. The same vital- ity, even more protracted. seems to be a characteristic of suits for breach of promise to marry. On March 29. 1935, Governor Lehman of the state of New York signed a bill abolishing the tradi- tional ..heart balm" case; other states of the Union, including 11Ii- nois, have pas<:~d similar laws. Nevertheless, late in February, 1937. the case of Garcia vs. Rubi- noll. in which damages of $500,000 were asked by the blonde plaintif, provided the five boroughs of New York City and the rest of the na- tion with a flagrant example of this form of litigation. fortunately unsuc- cessful. It was a hang-over from the golden age of bruised hearts seeking financial soothing. techni- cally admissible to trial; and, like the tail of the aforesaid snake, it wriggled furiously for a few days. David Rubinoll, generally known as Dave, was the defendant; he is the most popular violinist in the field of radio entertainment, and room costume and looking as dewy and innocent as the art of street makeup permits, informed the jury that she became acquainted with Rubinoff when she guarded hats and wraps in the Cotton club, and that after a few meetings he invit- ed her to visit him in his apartment at 6 West 59th street-" to see his etchings," Instead of masterpieces "by Whistler and Meryon, however. he showed her his violin-a Stradi- varius which is insured for $100,000 and bears the jeweled emblem of the ancient family of Rubinolf. for- mer barbers and launderers in the Polish city of Grodno. upon its tail- piece. Furthermore, he played this classic instrument for her. sawing out with radio program fervor his favorite number. .. Play, GYPsies, Play," from Kalman's operetta. "Countess Maritza," This private concert lasted until early in the morning. Not long afterward, she testified. Rubinoff enticed her into making an expedition to Philadelphia, where he was her host in a hotel suite. (..Why not? We are just as good as married," were the Th. fiddler, David RubiDoff of radio fame, with hill aobbing YioliD. when he pours his emotional soul into his Stradivarius millions listen and are moved. He has no lofty position among the acknowledged virtuosi of the concert halls; he has been correctly labeled a .. mob artist." But when his violin sobs and moans and purrs with overt sentimentality the vast radio audi- ence is thrilled to the depths of its innocent, untutored soul. Conse- quently Dave's income is Impres- sive, and a certain Poggy Garcia, whose right name is Pauline Mich- eline Taylor. plus two other names acqufred by marriage, thought that she deserved a large slice of the Rubfnoff earnings because she nad bestowed (so she said) a few intimate favors upon him in 1933. •e• This so-called Miss Garcia has served in the ranks of the large army of New York's amusement blondes. She took her name off the lid of a cigar box when she was a tobacco-selling and hat- chl:!cking siren in the Cotton club of Harlem. where she met the im- pulsive Rubinolf. Before that she held been a chorus girl in a few Broadway shows. a hat check girl in Connie's inn. a taxi dancer in the Blue Bird hall, a beaming blue-eyed hcstess here and there in the razzle-dazzle zone of Man- hattan cafes. In February, 1934, Miss Garcia filed suit for $100.000against Rubi- noff. alleging seduction un d e r promise of marriaqe. Thus the suit emtedcted the passage of the McNaboe at.' banning all such liti- gation and therefore had to come to trial unless withdrawn. Peggy refused to yield to public opinion in the metter, in fact. after the bill became law she raised her claim for damages to $500,000, thinking. perhaps. that this was her last chance. Rubinoff refused to settle or compromise out of court. like many other ..heart balm" victims of the past; his attorneys put their noses to the ground like relentless hunting dogs and followed Miss Garcia's !lui! back to her child- hood, with surprising results Peggy. dressed in her best court- words, according to Peggy, with which Rubinoff urged this adven- ture.) There the violinist wore l<Xvender pajamas and spoke of etchings again; and there in his room Peggy fell asleep in the gray dawn with one oye open. Entered then, as cynical intruders upon the idyllic scene, Herman Rubinoff, brother of the defendant; also Phil- ip Rubinstein. another brother. and Bernice Strangler, a secretary. Said Herman: ..How pretty she looks even when she is asleepl .. Said Miss Strangler: .. This will not be so good if the radio public hears about it. Let's get her out of here. ' So they all went out and had breakfast together at the Automat Miss Garcia also testified that Rubinoff gave her as tokens of his esteem a gold watch with a $65 price tag attached and his photo- graph, autographed, .. To Peggy, (] wonderful girl," But his affection cooled rapidly. Several months later, meeting him by chance on Broadway, she reproached him for having absented himself from her company and, was answered cold- ly. Then, according to her story, she asked him: ..Doesn't it interest you to know that I am going to have a baby? " Apparently it didn't. for he walked away. She did not become a mother. Rubinoff's lawyers immediately began to bear dov-n upon the point that in their opinion the charge of seduction was contradicted by Peggy's past, Embarrassing ques- tions were asked of her and de- nied. A tall, sleek. wasp-waisted young man named Armand Ro- lando was brought into the court- room. O.-Do you know anyone ~amed Armand Rolando? A.-No. O.-Do you remember liVing with Armand Rolando at 51 West 48th slreet late In December. 1932, or early in 19331 A-I do not I don't remember ever knowing such a man. But when Rolando was pointed out to her she said. .. Yes. I know him He used to Th. blonde hat check vtrL Peg9Y Garcia (bom PauliD. Mich.Une Taylor), who took the name Garc:la from a cigar box. (Tribune photo.) hang around a dance hall where I worked." O.-Did you ever tell him that you were going out with Rubinoff and' were going to cllp him? A.-I most certainly did not. Then the defense proceeded to show that Peggy had married after her alleged aUair with Rubinoff She wept and begged the judge to keep her husband's nmne out of the case,- but It was presently established that she was the wife of one Michael La Rocca. a sales- man for a granite firm. ••e Then the unveiling of Peggy's past came to its grand climax The defense announced that she had been married In Roanoke, Va.. in 1925, when she was 12 years old. She denied this furiously; attorneys for both sides of the case hurried to the scene of her childhood. and in a few days an incident of .. To- bacco Road" atmosphere was re- vealed. The county clerk's records at Roanoke proved thai on March 6, 1925, Pauline Micheline Taylor had been married to Taylor Vance Guinn, a taxi driver; that an appli- cation for a divorce had been filed on Sept. 20. 1925, and had appar .. ently been dropped, for there was no entry regarding a decree. Her father, aged 64. employed as a water corrier by the WPA con- firmed this juvenile marriage. Faced with these findings and warned against perjury. Peggy finally admitted that she had been a ..Tobacco Road" bride. She had run awa\ from her father's cabin in Roanoke to her mother's home in Newport News; her father had brought her back to put her to work in the cotton ml1ls; and that one day, when she was weep- ing over the bitterness of her lot. a man stopped her in' the street and asked what the trouble was She told him, and he said that it would be easy to free herself from parental control by getting mar· ried. So she toddled along with this fellow and within an hour or two had promised to love. honor, and obey him. A notation on the marriage license reads:"The glr1 and her brother, John Taylor. both swore as to her age." This ..brother," Peggy stated, was a fraud-a friend of the taxi driver's picked up on the way to the court- house. But instead of nnding a new free- dom as a child wife she had walked into a trap. ThiE taxi driv- er was apparently a pander of the most loathsome type, for Peggy told the court: ..He wanted me to stay at dis- reputable hotels and houses of 111 fame and become a prostitute. I refused, and he beat me. In a few days I ran away from him. We never lived together as hus- band and wile." Nevertheless the defense pro- duced testimony of cohabitation and Peggy's claim of phy~ical in- Unpretentioua ia the VirlJin,ia home iD which P.V91' was hom. upon the porch of which ahe poa.s with three Neqro boy•• nocence until she met Rubinoff was discredited. After the ..Tobacco Road" phase of her story had be~n aired, Peg- gy's current husband, Michael La Rocca, came roaring into the story with complaints that she had de- ceived him about her past life. He told the world that he was through with her forever. Whereupon his first wife, Mrs. Kathleen Murray La Rocca, with three children. swore out warants against him and Peggy, charging bigamy. •ee Peggy's lawyer wanted to with- draw from the case; Peggy said she was ready to drop it; and the judge, who had frequently warned her about the gravity of witness stand lies, threw it out of court. Moreover, he turned the records over to the district attorney to be examined for possible extortion. The next day Peggy and her hus- band were in jail on the bigamy charge and seeking $2,500bail. (Tribune photo.) . Off with h.r father to fight her legal battle iD N.w York. Peg9Y wav •• good-by to Rocmoke, Vcz... fri.nda cmd neighbol'l. David RublnoH's reputation as a radio celebrity may be illustrat.d by an anecdote that is current In the profession, especially around Radio City, New York. Jallcha Heifetz, the violin virtuoso of inter- national reputation. seeltlnlll the studios of the National Broadcast- ing company with his fiddle case under his arm, innocently attempt- ed to enter one of the public ele- vators. He was told by the eleva- tor man that musicians carrying Instruments were not permitted to ride in his car; such was the rule of the building management. The Case of Garcia Vs. Rubinoff .. But I am Heifetz," the eminent artist protested, expecting to be shown some consideration. .. It wouldn't make any differ- ence if you were Ruhinoff." the ele- vator man answered ... You'd have to take the other elevator," Rubinoff'lI career began as a boy street musician in Grodno, then in Russian, now in Polish. territory. He played the balalaika, and soldiers of the garrison would toss him an occasional copper. His father planned to epprenttee him to a barber, but his mother, sym- pathetic toward his musical ambi- tions. took in extra bundles of laun- dry and worked overtime for fix months in order to buy him a vio- lin-the cheapest 'kind of instru- ment. costinq three and a half rubles. He scraped away at it in his basement room, trying to teach himself, until a humble musician named Max Gottfried volunteered to give him lessons. David's sister (Trlbun. photo.) Peg9Y with her fath.r. cr WPA water carrier of Vhv1Dia, (A-'-ted P•.••• photo.) Peg9Y t.atified on witae •• atcmd that RubiDoff ClUed her to marry him. Rose made and mended clothes for the Gottfrie~ children in order to square the account. The boy progressed rapidly . Presently he had secured a place in the garrison band and had won a scholarship in the Warsaw music conservatory. When he was 13 years old the family emigrated to the United States, and as a fare- well gift Maestro Gottfried present- ed his pupil with his own much- treasured violin - a Klotz, valued at $500. Rubinoff's youthful prog- (A_lated P•.••.•photo.) It ccnn. to Ugbt during the hear- ing of her breach of promise ca•• -the marricrg. UC.1lM i••u.d In 1925 to Pev9Y cmd Taylor V. Guinn. ress as a musician in this country was acc,omplished with this instru- ment, which he used until he was well advanced in his profession. It is now in use by his nephew, e•e The famUy settled in Pittsburgh. and there young Rubinoff had hi$ flrst experience as an orchestra leader, directing a group of 10- year-old boys. A few years later he organized a dance band for a professional tour. This carried him to Minneapolia, where he sflttl.d, earning his living as a musician and studyi.:lg diligently between jobs. Improvement In his financial condition enabled him to buy a Guadlgnini violin, a virtuoso's in- strument, on the instalmer.t plan. Hill career as a feature in the motion picture theaters started with a tour of the Loew circuit. His popularity :ook him to Broad- way, where his audilmce appeal w~s signalized by the word. .. Ru- binof( and Hia Violin" in electric lightl over the entrcnee to the Capital theater. He then became the musical director of the Para- mount theater and remained lherE! for five years. He made his radio debut in 1931, with Rudy Vallee as his in- troducer. and transferred his musi- cal affections lrom the Guadignini to his present Stradivarius. Two or three years ago he en- tered the concert field as soloist and guest conductor with various symphony orchestras of the popu- lar type. Last summer he ap- peared with the Chicago Philhar- monic orchestra at a free concert in Grant park. A vast audience estimated at 100,000heard him. Edward Barry, music critic 01 The Tribune, wrote on that occa- sion: ..Rubinoff knows how to charqe his strings' with such power that they seem about to snap under the pressure, not of his bow but of the emotional drive behind it. He knows, too, how intOXicating ':J rhythmic fillip you can give to a tune by a moment's suspense at its beginning and a gradual accel- ercmdo during its course... . As a conductor he is a master of the arts of pantomime and grimace." When asked to analyze Rubi- r.ofl's technique as a violinist and to explain his appeal to the masses Mr. Barry added this comment: ..Basically he has a good tech- nique and a canny grasp of the musical and emotional effects of which his instrument is capable His playing is characterized by exces&ive use of a few devices which are legitimate enough but which are cultomarily employed by other fiddlers only for contrast and special effects. These devices are: ... First, extreme richness and vo- luptuousne81 of tone-not a pure, classical tone, but feverilh and vivid. ..Second, use of rhythmic sus- pense In pauses before launching Into a melody and sensual linger- ings over a phrase, and effects of extreme piquancy. such as an .x- aggerated pizzicato and extreme delicacy of high notes on the E string. ..In brief, everything in Rubi- noU's playing Is exaggeratad-ef· fects of softness, rhythmic pulses, roundnesl of tone. He always strives to dramatize the music and to make the obvioul emotional states in which he deals aeem tre- mendously important,"
Transcript of april 25, 1937 The Fiddler and the Blonde HatCheck Girl1937.the case of Garcia vs. Rubi-noll. in...
april 25, 1937 11
The Fiddler and the Blonde Hat Check GirlA Hang-Over from Golden
Age of Heart BalmBy CHARLES COLLINS
A DEAD snake will continue towriggle its tail until aftersun dow n, according to
American folklore. The same vital-ity, even more protracted. seems tobe a characteristic of suits forbreach of promise to marry.On March 29. 1935, Governor
Lehman of the state of New Yorksigned a bill abolishing the tradi-tional .. heart balm" case; otherstates of the Union, including 11Ii-nois, have pas<:~d similar laws.Nevertheless, late in February,1937. the case of Garcia vs. Rubi-noll. in which damages of $500,000were asked by the blonde plaintif,provided the five boroughs of NewYork City and the rest of the na-tion with a flagrant example of thisform of litigation. fortunately unsuc-cessful. It was a hang-over fromthe golden age of bruised heartsseeking financial soothing. techni-cally admissible to trial; and, likethe tail of the aforesaid snake, itwriggled furiously for a few days.David Rubinoll, generally known
as Dave, was the defendant; he isthe most popular violinist in thefield of radio entertainment, and
room costume and looking as dewyand innocent as the art of streetmakeup permits, informed the jurythat she became acquainted withRubinoff when she guarded hatsand wraps in the Cotton club, andthat after a few meetings he invit-ed her to visit him in his apartmentat 6 West 59th street-" to see hisetchings," Instead of masterpieces"by Whistler and Meryon, however.he showed her his violin-a Stradi-varius which is insured for $100,000and bears the jeweled emblem ofthe ancient family of Rubinolf. for-mer barbers and launderers in thePolish city of Grodno. upon its tail-piece. Furthermore, he played thisclassic instrument for her. sawingout with radio program fervor hisfavorite number. .. Play, GYPsies,Play," from Kalman's operetta."Countess Maritza," This privateconcert lasted until early in themorning.Not long afterward, she testified.
Rubinoff enticed her into makingan expedition to Philadelphia,where he was her host in a hotelsuite. (..Why not? We are justas good as married," were the
Th. fiddler, David RubiDoff of radio fame, with hill aobbing YioliD.
when he pours his emotional soulinto his Stradivarius millions listenand are moved. He has no loftyposition among the acknowledgedvirtuosi of the concert halls; hehas been correctly labeled a ..mobartist." But when his violin sobsand moans and purrs with overtsentimentality the vast radio audi-ence is thrilled to the depths of itsinnocent, untutored soul. Conse-quently Dave's income is Impres-sive, and a certain Poggy Garcia,whose right name is Pauline Mich-eline Taylor. plus two other namesacqufred by marriage, thoughtthat she deserved a large slice ofthe Rubfnoff earnings because shenad bestowed (so she said) a fewintimate favors upon him in 1933.
• e •This so-called Miss Garcia has
served in the ranks of the largearmy of New York's amusementblondes. She took her name offthe lid of a cigar box when shewas a tobacco-selling and hat-chl:!cking siren in the Cotton clubof Harlem. where she met the im-pulsive Rubinolf. Before that sheheld been a chorus girl in a fewBroadway shows. a hat check girlin Connie's inn. a taxi dancer inthe Blue Bird hall, a beamingblue-eyed hcstess here and therein the razzle-dazzle zone of Man-hattan cafes.In February, 1934, Miss Garcia
filed suit for $100.000against Rubi-noff. alleging seduction un d e rpromise of marriaqe. Thus thesuit emtedcted the passage of theMcNaboe at.' banning all such liti-gation and therefore had to cometo trial unless withdrawn. Peggyrefused to yield to public opinionin the metter, in fact. after the billbecame law she raised her claimfor damages to $500,000, thinking.perhaps. that this was her lastchance. Rubinoff refused to settleor compromise out of court. likemany other .. heart balm" victimsof the past; his attorneys put theirnoses to the ground like relentlesshunting dogs and followed MissGarcia's !lui! back to her child-hood, with surprising resultsPeggy. dressed in her best court-
words, according to Peggy, withwhich Rubinoff urged this adven-ture.) There the violinist worel<Xvender pajamas and spoke ofetchings again; and there in hisroom Peggy fell asleep in the graydawn with one oye open. Enteredthen, as cynical intruders upon theidyllic scene, Herman Rubinoff,brother of the defendant; also Phil-ip Rubinstein. another brother. andBernice Strangler, a secretary.Said Herman:.. How pretty she looks even
when she is asleepl ..Said Miss Strangler:..This will not be so good if the
radio public hears about it. Let'sget her out of here. 'So they all went out and had
breakfast together at the AutomatMiss Garcia also testified that
Rubinoff gave her as tokens of hisesteem a gold watch with a $65price tag attached and his photo-graph, autographed, .. To Peggy, (]wonderful girl," But his affectioncooled rapidly. Several monthslater, meeting him by chance onBroadway, she reproached him forhaving absented himself from hercompany and, was answered cold-ly. Then, according to her story,she asked him:.. Doesn't it interest you to know
that I am going to have a baby? "Apparently it didn't. for he
walked away. She did not becomea mother.Rubinoff's lawyers immediately
began to bear dov-n upon the pointthat in their opinion the charge ofseduction was contradicted byPeggy's past, Embarrassing ques-tions were asked of her and de-nied. A tall, sleek. wasp-waistedyoung man named Armand Ro-lando was brought into the court-room.O.-Do you know anyone ~amed
Armand Rolando? A.-No.O.-Do you remember liVing
with Armand Rolando at 51 West48th slreet late In December. 1932,or early in 19331 A-I do not Idon't remember ever knowing sucha man.But when Rolando was pointed
out to her she said...Yes. I know him He used to
Th. blonde hat check vtrL Peg9Y Garcia (bom PauliD. Mich.Une Taylor), who took the name Garc:la from acigar box. (Tribune photo.)
hang around a dance hall where Iworked."O.-Did you ever tell him that
you were going out with Rubinoffand' were going to cllp him? A.-Imost certainly did not.Then the defense proceeded to
show that Peggy had married afterher alleged aUair with RubinoffShe wept and begged the judge tokeep her husband's nmne out ofthe case, - but It was presentlyestablished that she was the wifeof one Michael La Rocca. a sales-man for a granite firm.
• • e
Then the unveiling of Peggy'spast came to its grand climax Thedefense announced that she hadbeen married In Roanoke, Va.. in1925, when she was 12 years old.She denied this furiously; attorneysfor both sides of the case hurriedto the scene of her childhood. andin a few days an incident of .. To-bacco Road" atmosphere was re-vealed. The county clerk's recordsat Roanoke proved thai on March6, 1925, Pauline Micheline Taylorhad been married to Taylor VanceGuinn, a taxi driver; that an appli-cation for a divorce had been filedon Sept. 20. 1925, and had appar ..ently been dropped, for there wasno entry regarding a decree. Herfather, aged 64. employed as awater corrier by the WPA con-firmed this juvenile marriage.Faced with these findings and
warned against perjury. Peggyfinally admitted that she had beena .. Tobacco Road" bride. Shehad run awa\ from her father'scabin in Roanoke to her mother'shome in Newport News; her fatherhad brought her back to put herto work in the cotton ml1ls; andthat one day, when she was weep-ing over the bitterness of her lot.a man stopped her in' the streetand asked what the trouble wasShe told him, and he said that itwould be easy to free herself from
parental control by getting mar·ried. So she toddled along withthis fellow and within an hour ortwo had promised to love. honor,and obey him. A notation on themarriage license reads: "The glr1and her brother, John Taylor. bothswore as to her age." This.. brother," Peggy stated, was afraud-a friend of the taxi driver'spicked up on the way to the court-house.But instead of nnding a new free-
dom as a child wife she hadwalked into a trap. ThiE taxi driv-er was apparently a pander of themost loathsome type, for Peggytold the court:.. He wanted me to stay at dis-
reputable hotels and houses of 111fame and become a prostitute. Irefused, and he beat me. In afew days I ran away from him.We never lived together as hus-band and wile."Nevertheless the defense pro-
duced testimony of cohabitationand Peggy's claim of phy~ical in-
Unpretentioua ia the VirlJin,ia home iD which P.V91' was hom. uponthe porch of which ahe poa.s with three Neqro boy••
nocence until she met Rubinoffwas discredited.After the ..Tobacco Road" phase
of her story had be~n aired, Peg-gy's current husband, Michael LaRocca, came roaring into the storywith complaints that she had de-ceived him about her past life. Hetold the world that he was throughwith her forever. Whereupon hisfirst wife, Mrs. Kathleen MurrayLa Rocca, with three children.swore out warants against himand Peggy, charging bigamy.
• e e
Peggy's lawyer wanted to with-draw from the case; Peggy said shewas ready to drop it; and thejudge, who had frequently warnedher about the gravity of witnessstand lies, threw it out of court.Moreover, he turned the recordsover to the district attorney to beexamined for possible extortion.The next day Peggy and her hus-band were in jail on the bigamycharge and seeking $2,500 bail.
(Tribune photo.).Off with h.r father to fight herlegal battle iD N.w York. Peg9Ywav •• good-by to Rocmoke, Vcz...
fri.nda cmd neighbol'l.
David RublnoH's reputation as aradio celebrity may be illustrat.dby an anecdote that is current Inthe profession, especially aroundRadio City, New York. JallchaHeifetz, the violin virtuoso of inter-national reputation. seeltlnlll thestudios of the National Broadcast-ing company with his fiddle caseunder his arm, innocently attempt-ed to enter one of the public ele-vators. He was told by the eleva-tor man that musicians carryingInstruments were not permitted toride in his car; such was the ruleof the building management.
The Case ofGarcia Vs.
Rubinoff.. But I am Heifetz," the eminent
artist protested, expecting to beshown some consideration... It wouldn't make any differ-
ence if you were Ruhinoff." the ele-vator man answered ... You'd haveto take the other elevator,"Rubinoff'lI career began as a
boy street musician in Grodno,then in Russian, now in Polish.territory. He played the balalaika,and soldiers of the garrison wouldtoss him an occasional copper. Hisfather planned to epprenttee himto a barber, but his mother, sym-pathetic toward his musical ambi-tions. took in extra bundles of laun-dry and worked overtime for fixmonths in order to buy him a vio-lin-the cheapest 'kind of instru-ment. costinq three and a halfrubles. He scraped away at it inhis basement room, trying to teachhimself, until a humble musiciannamed Max Gottfried volunteeredto give him lessons. David's sister
(Trlbun. photo.)Peg9Y with her fath.r. cr WPA
water carrier of Vhv1Dia,
(A-'-ted P•.••• photo.)Peg9Y t.atified on witae •• atcmd that RubiDoff ClUed her to marry him.
Rose made and mended clothes forthe Gottfrie~ children in order tosquare the account.The boy progressed rapidly .
Presently he had secured a placein the garrison band and had wona scholarship in the Warsaw musicconservatory. When he was 13years old the family emigrated tothe United States, and as a fare-well gift Maestro Gottfried present-ed his pupil with his own much-treasured violin - a Klotz, valuedat $500. Rubinoff's youthful prog-
(A_lated P•.••.•photo.)It ccnn. to Ugbt during the hear-ing of her breach of promise ca ••-the marricrg. UC.1lM i•• u.d In1925 to Pev9Y cmd Taylor V.
Guinn.
ress as a musician in this countrywas acc,omplished with this instru-ment, which he used until he waswell advanced in his profession.It is now in use by his nephew,
e • eThe famUy settled in Pittsburgh.
and there young Rubinoff had hi$flrst experience as an orchestraleader, directing a group of 10-year-old boys. A few years laterhe organized a dance band for aprofessional tour. This carried himto Minneapolia, where he sflttl.d,earning his living as a musicianand studyi.:lg diligently betweenjobs. Improvement In his financialcondition enabled him to buy aGuadlgnini violin, a virtuoso's in-strument, on the instalmer.t plan.Hill career as a feature in the
motion picture theaters startedwith a tour of the Loew circuit.His popularity :ook him to Broad-way, where his audilmce appealw~s signalized by the word. .. Ru-binof( and Hia Violin" in electriclightl over the entrcnee to theCapital theater. He then becamethe musical director of the Para-mount theater and remained lherE!for five years.He made his radio debut in
1931, with Rudy Vallee as his in-troducer. and transferred his musi-cal affections lrom the Guadigninito his present Stradivarius.Two or three years ago he en-
tered the concert field as soloistand guest conductor with varioussymphony orchestras of the popu-lar type. Last summer he ap-peared with the Chicago Philhar-monic orchestra at a free concertin Grant park. A vast audienceestimated at 100,000heard him.Edward Barry, music critic 01
The Tribune, wrote on that occa-sion:.. Rubinoff knows how to charqe
his strings' with such power thatthey seem about to snap underthe pressure, not of his bow butof the emotional drive behind it.He knows, too, how intOXicating ':J
rhythmic fillip you can give to atune by a moment's suspense atits beginning and a gradual accel-ercmdo during its course. . . . Asa conductor he is a master of thearts of pantomime and grimace."When asked to analyze Rubi-
r.ofl's technique as a violinist andto explain his appeal to the massesMr. Barry added this comment:.. Basically he has a good tech-
nique and a canny grasp of themusical and emotional effects ofwhich his instrument is capableHis playing is characterized byexces&ive use of a few deviceswhich are legitimate enough butwhich are cultomarily employedby other fiddlers only for contrastand special effects. These devicesare:... First, extreme richness and vo-luptuousne81 of tone-not a pure,classical tone, but feverilh andvivid... Second, use of rhythmic sus-
pense In pauses before launchingInto a melody and sensual linger-ings over a phrase, and effects ofextreme piquancy. such as an .x-aggerated pizzicato and extremedelicacy of high notes on the Estring... In brief, everything in Rubi-
noU's playing Is exaggeratad-ef·fects of softness, rhythmic pulses,roundnesl of tone. He alwaysstrives to dramatize the music andto make the obvioul emotionalstates in which he deals aeem tre-mendously important,"
