Weegee Daily

PM, December 23, 1940, p.1

Boy Meets Girl – and that’s no posed meeting as he came home last night on Christmas furlough with 5000 other soldiers. That’s not anguish you read in the face of the woman at the right. The Christmas package in her hand as she waits for her soldier is the tip-off. She too, is overcome with joy. (See page 15.) Photo by Weegee
PM, December 23, 1940, p.1

PM, December 23, 1940, p15. PM photos by Weegee

Home For Christmas Are the Soldiers From Alabama.
For nearly seven hours wives, girl friends, mothers and fathers swarmed into Pennsylvania Station to greet 5000 men returning from Fort McClellan, Anniston, Ala., on Christmas furlough. The special sections ran far behind schedule but the festive spirit of the crowd overwhelmed any feeling of boredom at the delay. The off schedules were caused by heavy traffic on southern routes of other trains distributing the new trainees throughout the country for the holidays. Then, too, special stops had to be made to take aboard more drinking water and sandwiches. Here, part of the crowd waits.

Marie Buoragura of 69 Marcy Ave., Brooklyn, trusts that there are not too many soldiers named John but the signal, written in lipstick on a newspaper carries her message.

What their names are is not particularly important. The picture of Him meeting Her is eloquent enough in its bliss and perfect obliviousness to thousands of others who gave and received similar greetings at the station. The soldiers will remain here for none days, then entrain back to Alabama.
PM, December 23, 1940, p.15.

Grand Central Station, December 23, 2012

…People swarmed Grand Central Station… the Apple store overwhelmed any feeling of boredom. (Weegee, a wartime photographer…) Here, part of the crowd walks, waits, and photographs…

Grand Central Station, December 24, 2020

PM, December 23, 1940

These Pictures Are PM’s Gift to You…
They are being given to readers who give PM Christmas gift subscriptions. Page 7 gives details.

Weegee Daily… January 2, 1942… “Auto Crashes Marred New Year – As Usual…”

January 1, 2016

1942, Weegee Daily

PM Daily, January 2, 1942,
Auto Crashes marred New Year-as usual. When this car struck El pillar at 48th At. and Third Ave. driver was injured.
Bus crashed into doctor’s car parked in front of his office at 232 East 79th St…
Three were removed to Bellevue when, at Second Ave. and 39th St., this car collided with a taxi…
Driver of wrecked cab, John Delany, 559 Second Ave., was removed by cops, later went to hospital.
PM Photos by Weegee.

Weegee Daily, January 2, 2013
Auto Crashes Not Seen
This car at 48th St. and Third Ave.
Cars in front of 240 East 79th St… There is no 232 East 79th St. anymore…
This car was resting comfortably at Second Ave. and 39th St…
Weegee Daily Photos by Ceegee.

Weegee Daily… February 9, 1941… Murder in the Rain… Hell’s Kitchen Style…

February 9, 2015

1941, Weegee Daily

PM Daily, February 9, 1941
Murder in the Rain… Hell’s Kitchen Style
This is the picture story of the careful man who remembered to put on his rubbers but failed to watch out for death. Weegee took the photo and wrote the title… Weegee said: “He was going into his home on W. 48th Street when an unknown man fired three shots and ran toward 10th Avenue. Nobody saw or heard any shots… so they said.”

Weegee Daily, February 9, 2013
No Murder… No Rain… No Snow… Hell’s Kitchen Style
Weegee as photographer and reporter (and poet!)… We recently saw a horizontal version of this image (the printed version is perhaps a third of the un-cropped image) and the legs in the upper left corner are more obvious… Perhaps the square in the foreground, in the sidewalk, is the same in both of the above photos… Perhaps coincidentally, Weegee’s future home was behind and a few doors west of this location…

This is the picture story of a careful man who remembered to make this photo before the blizzard arrived. Ceegee took the photo and wrote the title. About the photo of a 74 year old crime scene, in what critics call a continuation of a boring and profoundly unoriginal blog, Ceegee said: “I was gradually going home, walking past W. 48th St., before going to B&H Photo, and perhaps an old bakery, when I fired about ten shots and walked toward 10th Avenue. A few people, walking home, walking dogs and/or children, saw the shots… if so, they didn’t say.”

(A few easily google-able news clippings…)

Weegee Daily Map!

Weegee Daily… December 26, 1943

December 26, 2014

1943, PM, Weegee Daily

PM Daily, December 26, 1943, p. 13.
Fatal Fire on 42nd Street.
Firemen try to rescue some of the men trapped in the flaming W. 42nd St. lodging house in which 16 perished.
A chaplain performs the last rites for one of the men burned to death. Bodies were taken to the next door garage.
They spent their Christmas in the Bellevue Morgue. These are some of the 16 bodies removed from the Standard Hotel, which was gutted by the fire Friday.

16 Men Killed in 42d St. Fire
“…a fire in the Standard Hotel, rooming house for night workers at 439 W. 42d St., which took the lives of 16 men and sent 20 to hospitals Friday.
The fire broke out suddenly after it had apparently been smoldering for several hours. Most of the 200 men estimated to have been in the place were asleep at the time…
Commissioner of Building and Housing William Wilson, who was at the scene, said the city had no control over this type of building.
He said that he and Mayor La Guardia had asked for legislation requiring greater safety devices at the last session of the State Legislature but were turned down.
Thousands of persons gathered along 42d St. to watch the horrible scene.” PM Daily, December 26, 1943, p. 13.

Weegee Daily, December 26, 2012. Photos by Ceegee.
One of the least attractive, (and least pedestrian friendly) areas of Manhattan, West 42d. St., saw snow and wind and too many cars…

“These published photos are a small discovery: One of the three uncredited photos, made by Weegee, of a ‘Fatal Fire on 42d Street’ in 1943, is the well-known ‘Smiling Irishman’ photo, tastefully and respectfully cropped…” Published 28 years to the day, before the Weegee’s Death…

Weegee Daily… December 26, 1940

December 26, 2014

1940, PM, Weegee Daily

PM Daily, December 26, 1940.
First Aid fails to revive Paul Ryan, killed by a gas explosion in his apartment at 865 First Ave. Police said it was apparently suicide. The Christmas night blast shock the 17-story building and injured two house employes. PM photo by Weegee.

Weegee Daily, December 26, 2012
Boring photos fail to revive pedestrian… One of the eight million stories in the Naked City… And this 17-story building remains surprisingly intact, near the UN… WD photos by Ceegee.

Weegee Daily… November 24, 1941… Weegee Daily… November 24, 2012…

November 24, 2014

1941, Weegee Daily

Weegee, PM, November 24, 1941, p. 13

Cop Kills Holdup Man: A few minutes after he had held up an Essex Street lunchroom on the Lower East Side and shot a patron, Vincent Mannuzza, 31, was lying dead at the feet of the cop who shot him. Patrolman Laurence Cramer, right, shot and killed Mannuzza, after a two-block chase and is shown handing the gunman’s revolver to Sgt. Eugene Morland. The $20 loot taken from the restaurant lies in Mannuzza’s hat at his side. An ambulance surgeon crouches over the dead man who was shot in he head and back. Mannuzza shot a customer, Adam Zayko, 50, when he refused to go into the back room with two other customers and the mangaer of the lunchroom.
PM Photo by Weegee

Weegee Daily, November 24, 2012, – Approximate location
WD Photo by Ceegee

Footnote, or, after a few minutes of Googling, two similar, yet slightly different accounts:

The Herald Statesman, Yonkers, N.Y., Monday, November 24, 1941, p. 5

The Niagara Falls Gazette, Monday, November 24, 1941, p. 22

Weegee Daily, November 24, 2012 – Approximate location
WD Photo by Ceegee

Weegee Daily… November 24, 1940… Weegee Daily… November 24, 2012

November 24, 2014

1940, Weegee Daily

Weegee, PM, November 24, 1940

2 Die in Wrecked Car
Dr. Albion O. Bernstein, 28, interne, and Miss. Helen Ayers, nurse at Beth Israel Hospital, were drowned early yesterday when his car plunged over the string piece and into the East River at Pier 60, East 21st St. Picture shows emergency squad men lifting Miss Ayers from the car. Photo by Weegee

Ceegee, Weegee Daily, November 24, 2012 – approximate location…

0 Die in Wrecked Car…Picture shows the remnants of what was perhaps, Pier 60, East 21st St. and the East River… Photo by Ceegee

Footnote, or, after a few minutes of Googling:
“The Bernstein Award
This national award, endowed by the late Morris J. Bernstein in memory of his son, a physician who died in an accident while answering a hospital call in 1940, is given to a physician or scientist who has made a significant contribution in medicine, surgery, or disease prevention during the previous calendar year.
The award consists of a check for $2000.00 and a citation. Information on the MSSNY Continuing Medical Education Program can be obtained here…”

(from the Internet… Albion O. Bernstein memorial Volume, 1943)

Ceegee, Weegee Daily, November 24, 2012 – approximate location…

Weegee Daily… Mongrel Pup… November 17, 1941…

November 17, 2014

1941, Weegee Daily

PM, November 17, 1941
Mongrel Pup Almost Dies Saving 16 Families in Fire
“Jerry, mongrel collie, was overcome by smoke in a fish store at 210 E. 10th St., but not before he attracted the attention of a passerby.”
“When the ambulance arrived an intern gave the unconscious pup an injection and continued treatments until he regained his senses. Sixteen families made their escape from apartments above the store, due to Jerry’s warning.”
“John Lamanna, Jerry’s owner, tenderly carries him off wrapped in a blanket. The intern said the dog would recover.”
PM Photos by Weegee”

Weegee Daily, November 17, 2014
No Pups, No Fire, No Fish Store…

Sarcastically he writes: Weegee’s crime scene photos published in the TABLOID above are typically “grim” and bloody…

(To be continued…)

Weegee Daily… Balcony Seats At A Murder… November 17, 1939

November 17, 2014

1939, murder, New York Post, Weegee Daily

New York Post, November 17, 1939
“Street Scene in New York
After the guns ceased barking and the gunmen fled, neighbors peered from the fire escape and almost every window last night for a glimpse of the body of Anthony Greco, slain in front of his own cafe at 10 Prince Street.
Associated Press Photo”

Ceegee, November 17, 2014
Balcony Seats At A Brunch… Balcony Seat While Shopping in Noho…

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New York Post, November 17, 1939
“Street Scene in New York
After the guns ceased barking and the gunmen fled, neighbors peered from the fire escape and almost every window last night for a glimpse of the body of Anthony Greco, slain in front of his own cafe at 10 Prince Street.
Associated Press Photo”

LIFE, November 27, 1939
Murder in New York
“After dusk on Nov. 16, Angelo Greco stood smoking outside his cafe in Manhattan’s Little Italy. Emerging from the darkness, a man drew a gun, fired four shots, fled into the night. Greco tumbled dead in his doorway. From windows above, heads popped out. Police cars screamed into the street. Close in their wake arrived Arthur Fellig, famed free-lance photographer (LIFE, April 12, 1937) who sleeps behind police headquarters, has a short-wave radio in his car. He listened briefly while neighborhood folk stolidly disclaimed knowledge of the murderer, then stepped back and photographed this dramatic street scene.”

Weegee, Naked City, pp. 78-79, 1945
“Balcony Seats At A Murder
This happened in Little Italy. Detectives tried to question the people in the neighborhood… but they were all deaf… dumb… and blind… not having seen or heard anything.”
Weegee, Naked City, p. 79

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“Street Scene in New York
After the guns ceased barking and the gunmen fled, neighbors peered from the fire escape and almost every window last night for a glimpse of the body of Anthony Greco, slain in front of his own cafe at 10 Prince Street.
Associated Press Photo”
New York Post, November 17, 1939

Murder in New York
“After dusk on Nov. 16, Angelo Greco stood smoking outside his cafe in Manhattan’s Little Italy. Emerging from the darkness, a man drew a gun, fired four shots, fled into the night. Greco tumbled dead in his doorway. From windows above, heads popped out. Police cars screamed into the street. Close in their wake arrived Arthur Fellig, famed free-lance photographer (LIFE, April 12, 1937) who sleeps behind police headquarters, has a short-wave radio in his car. He listened briefly while neighborhood folk stolidly disclaimed knowledge of the murderer, then stepped back and photographed this dramatic street scene.”
LIFE, November 27, 1939

“Balcony Seats At A Murder
This happened in Little Italy. Detectives tried to question the people in the neighborhood… but they were all deaf… dumb… and blind… not having seen or heard anything.”
Weegee, Naked City, 1945, p. 79

“One of the best pictures I’ve made… I got up nine o’clock one night, and I says to myself, I’m going to take a nice little ride and work up an appetite. I arrive right in the heart of Little Italy, 10 Prince St…. This was a nice balmy hot summer’s night… Some of the kids are even reading the funny papers and the comics… To me this was drama, this was like a backdrop. I stepped all the way back around 100 feet, I used flash powder… Of course the title was “Balcony Seats at a Murder”… That picture won me a gold medal [see below]… I try to humanize the news story. Of course I ran into snags with the dopey editors…”
Famous Photographers Tell How… ca. 1955
(Weegee talking about how he made his amazing photo can be heard on the Weegee’s World website.)

“At 6:45 P.M., on November 16, 1939, A Lone Gunman Shot Angelo Greco in the doorway of his candy store at 10 Prince Street in Little Italy. Greco who had a long history of arrests, fell dead with four bullets to the head. The gunman dropped his weapon beside the victim and disappeared into the panicked sidewalk crowd… police dutifully recorded the interior of Greco’s poorly stocked store and the location of the body…”
Murder Is My Business, p. 72

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Weegee Dans Ls Collection Berinson, pp. 188-189

Murder Is My Business, pp. 72-75

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A few years ago we made this related post, that pointed out the Editor and Publisher News Photo Contest prize award on the wall above his bed, in his home:
Balcony Seats at a Prize… Freelancer Fellig’s a Winner!

Popular Photography, May 1940, pp. 44-45
Freelance cameraman Arthur Fellig’s a Prize Winner! (Perhaps not surprisingly, Fellig’s the only freelancer, and May 1940 is before he was widely known as Weegee…)
“Balcony Seats at a Murder” is included in the 5th Annual Exhibition of the Press Photographers’ Association of New York and Editor and Publisher News Photo Contest…
(You won’t see this one on too many bibliographies…)
Is that the Alan Fisher? A future colleague at PM? And the William Klein? And the Joseph Conrad?
A pre-PM free-lancing Fellig was understandably proud of winning the Editor and Publisher Prize… In February 1941, the beginning of his most productive year as a photographer, the award was still on his wall…

Weegee, [self-portrait], 1941

Several years ago we made this related post:
Balcony Seats at a Blog…

Weegee, Naked City, 1945
Balcony Seats at a Murder…
10 Prince St. New York, N.Y. ca. 1939