Magic City

Magic City is so like the 50's and the life I witnessed, as a 19 year old, in Galveston, TX, with Sam Maceo, the mobster running the elegant Balinese Room and the downtown Turf Grill, gambling and many other establishments. Smiling, handsome and personable, Sam was the face of the Maceo operation and had ties to politicians, hoodlums, entertainers and gamblers stretched far beyond the borders of Texas. Gambling was illegal in Texas, but there were slots in oyster bars; and when the Texas Rangers staged a raid, as soon as they crossed the causeway to Galveston, one phone call and every gambling wall in the Balinese room inverted. As a new employee at radio station KGBC, I heard about bodies washing up on the beaches, crimes never solved, and I rubbed shoulders with celebs including Frankie Laine, Xavier Cugat, Jack Fina, and the guy that always played the British butler in the '50 movies. Magic City is so true in style, decor, and a delight for me to watch. Luckily I survived. My boyfriend was an announcer for the big bands that played the Balinese Room. And there was a beauty contest with Kathryn Grandstaff, a contestant. She later was known as Kathryn Grant and Mrs. Bing Crosby. I later worked as a legal secretary for her uncle at Dow Chemical. I vouch for the authenticity of Magic City. Been there, but didn't do "that".