Word: geste
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Died. Morris Gest, 61, veteran impresario, spectacular theatrical producer; of a heart attack following pneumonia; in Manhattan. Born Moses Gershonovich in Russia, he was shipped to the U.S. by his parents when he was nine, was managing actors at 17. In his early years as a co-producer with F. Ray Comstock he presented some 50 shows, among them the fleshly Aphrodite, the gaudy Chu-Chin-Chow and Mecca. Wild-eyed, wild-dream-ing, moody, self-dramatizing (he affected long hair, curvaceous hats, a Windsor tie), he was famed for damning the expense (he spent more than $600,000, most...
...their money to invest and sent others to him. His church affiliations were helpful too; several ministers advised members of their flock to put their worldly goods in his care. All in all, he acquired over 160 clients, among them such distinguished old Philadelphia names as Biddle. Chew, Bullitt, Gest, Truitt, Pilling. During the parlous days of New Deals I and II they were gratified at their lucrative returns from "Honest Bob" Boltz's private...