Jan. 5, 1965 - Singer Billy Eckstine (pictured today), after missing his opening night at New York’s Americana Hotel, turned up today as mysteriously as he had vanished Sunday night.
He said he was beaten, kidnapped, robbed, and fed knockout drinks by three armed men who waylaid him in Harlem.
His doctor said the 50-year-old singer suffered three bruised ribs and one broken rib.
Michael Vallon, lawyer for Eckstine’s manager, said the 26-hour disappearance was not a hoax or a publicity stunt. He said Eckstine got home about 1 o’clock this morning after coming to his senses in a park two blocks from his Harlem apartment.
Later, Eckstine told newsmen he was beaten and dragged into a car outside his apartment by three Negroes. He added that he believed he was a chance victim. The singer declared: “They asked me if I had any money, and I said, ‘Here, take it.’ They took $600 and my wristwatch.
“The man in front had a gun which he pointed at me, and the one who sat in the rear had a knife. The other man in front said, ‘Here, take a drink.’ I said I don’t drink.
“I wasn’t belligerent or anything — not with a man with a gun. So, when he again said, ‘Come on, take a drink,’ I took one. After drinking, I felt kind of woozy, and they told me to take another one. After that one — complete oblivion. I came to sitting on a bench in Mt. Morris Park. It was like I had amnesia.”
Eckstine was scheduled to open at the Americana’s Royal Box Supper Club in two shows last night. The opening of a three-week engagement at $5,500 a week was hailed as the return of Eckstine — “Mr. B” to his fans — to Broadway after a six-year absence.
When he failed to show up for the 9:30 show, entertainers Robert Goulet, Tony Bennett, and Nipsy Russell left the audience to fill in. Similarly, the fill-ins for the 12:30 a.m. show were Sammy Davis Jr., Buddy Hackett, Red Buttons, Jack E. Leonard, Woody Herman, Dick Shawn, and Peter Lawford.
Friends of Eckstine expressed concern over his absence. He enjoys a “show must go on” reputation. Davis said: “He doesn’t drink. His only sin is golf — and there aren’t any golf courses open now.”
Eckstine’s manager, Milton Deutch, walked to the W. 54th St. Police Station to report the singer missing. He was told to make the report in Eckstine’s home precinct in Harlem. However, the report never was made.
It was not until this afternoon that Eckstine allowed newsmen into his apartment at 125th St. and 5th Ave. The singer, in pajamas, was in bed.
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments