A Shor Thing

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky

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Most people spend New Year’s looking toward the future. But a new film opening this Friday provides viewers with a glance at the past — one perhaps more exciting, and worthy, than your average sermon.

“Toots,” Kristi Jacobson’s new film about her grandfather, famed New York City “saloon-keeper” Toots Shor, reveals how a poor Philadelphia boy born to Orthodox Jewish parents went on to run a legendary New York City bar in the 1940s and 1950s — one frequented by ballplayers, actors, politicians and mobsters.

A new era eventually dawned, dragging Toots and his beloved city into decline. Thankfully, Jacobson has unearthed his legacy. In this beautiful new film, she tells the story of a man who, at least for a brief time, became exactly what he wanted to become. For more information, please visit: www.tootsthemovie.com.