Algonquin Round Table History,News Frank Sullivan of Saratoga Springs

Frank Sullivan of Saratoga Springs

Frank Sullivan Place

Frank Sullivan Home, Saratoga Springs

Frank Sullivan Home, Saratoga Springs


After the demise of the New York World in 1931, Algonquin Round Table member Frank Sullivan moved home to Saratoga Springs and became the ultimate freelancer. In a small clapboard house shared with his sister at 135 Lincoln Avenue, he turned out marvelous humor pieces for the rest of his career. “Once I visited New York for twenty years but I wouldn’t live there if you gave me Philadelphia,” he wrote. “A small town is the place to live. I live in a small town 180 miles from New York and while I would not say it has New York beat by a mile I would put the distance at six furlongs.”

Over the years, New Yorkers such as Harold Ross and Marc Connelly visited Sullivan, who took them to the racetrack, two blocks from his house, which treated him like royalty. He picked up the nickname “The Sage of Saratoga” and worked until his early eighties. He wrote for The New Yorker for fifty years as well as the Times sports section, the Saturday Evening Post, and Town & Country, his work collected in half a dozen books.

Sullivan suffered a series of falls in his home, and his health deteriorated. He died in Saratoga Hospital on February 19, 1976, at age 83. He is buried in the family plot St. Peter’s Cemetery in Saratoga Springs.

Frank Sullivan Place

Frank Sullivan Place

Today he is immortalized with a street sign nearby the racetrack, Frank Sullivan Place. His house was named a literary landmark, and is privately owned.

Adapted from The Algonquin Round Table New York, A Historical Guide (Globe Pequot Press) available here.

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Kudos to David Leopold and Katherine Marshall-Eastman, co-hosts of the excellent Al Hirschfeld Century Podcast. The new episode celebrates the centennial of the Algonquin Round Table, which began in June 1919. There is currently the third annual Hirschfeld gallery of art on display in the Algonquin Hotel lobby. David and Katherine, who run the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, review most of the names in the famous drawing of the Vicious Circle from 1962. David has an encyclopedic knowledge of old shows and stars, and ticks off the history of all the members. Katherine displays an excellent knowledge of people who have been dead for 75 years, and gamely plays along while David schools her in Algonquin trivia. It’s a fantastic podcast. Be sure to visit the hotel while you can to see the artwork on display.

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On This Date October 19, 1942: The FBI file on Donald Ogden Stewart is more than 1,000 pages. I conducted a Freedom of Information request several years ago to get it all. The government kept tabs on him for 30 years. I have some of it in the new book. Of all the Algonquin Round Table members, Stewart paid the biggest price for his political beliefs and convictions.

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The Round Table Centennial SummerThe Round Table Centennial Summer

The Algonquin Hotel is not going to let the centennial of the first luncheon of the Algonquin Round Table pass without notice. The national literary landmark has planned an entire summer of events to celebrate the Vicious Circle, which began as a welcome home roast for critic Alexander Woollcott in June 1919.

To mark the occasion, the hotel is having a special $19.99 lunch menu every day until Labor Day, live music on Thursdays and Saturday nights, and a poet in residence in the lobby on Fridays. You can also attend, and participate in open mic poetry readings. The full hotel schedule is here. There will be weekly history walking tours at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, meeting in the lobby, the schedule and advance ticket link is here.

The hotel is hosting five evening curated dinners on Wednesday nights at 6:00 p.m. in June and July. Each week a different New York expert will be featured that is in keeping in the spirit of the Algonquin Round Table and its members. Book your spot in advance on Open Table for cocktails and dinner, noting the night you wish to attend.

Wednesday Night Schedule for the Round Table Room Restaurant
6:00 p.m. cocktails at the Round Table
6:30 p.m. seat for dinner
7:30-8:00 p.m. dessert and Round Table talk.
Guests must have dinner reservations. Reserve your seat in the Round Table Room here (note the date & time at 6:00).

These experts are in the spirit of the Vicious Circle and will be talking about topics in the vein of the legendary members of New York’s most famous group of friends. Come for cocktails and dinner and enjoy a look at the worlds of current New York City through writing, music, comedy, and the most-beloved pastime of the group: high-stakes poker.

Laurie Gwen Shapiro

June 12
Laurie Gwen Shapiro – Writing

Laurie Gwen Shapiro is a native of New York City’s Lower East Side. She has most recently written articles for publications including The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, Lapham’s Quarterly, Slate, Aeon, Los Angeles Review of Books, and has her own history column focusing on unsung heroes for The Forward. Laurie is also a documentary filmmaker who won an Independent Spirit Award for directing IFC’s Keep the River On Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale and an Emmy nomination for producing HBO’s Finishing Heaven. The Stowaway is her first non-fiction book. It’s the spectacular, true story of a scrappy teenager from the Lower East Side who stowed away on the Roaring Twenties’ most remarkable feat of science and daring: an expedition to Antarctica.

Book your spot in advance here.

Michael Cumella

June 19
Michael Cumella – Music

Creator of the “Gramophone DJ” concept, Phonograph DJ Michael Cumella brings two 1905 disc phonographs and plays 78’s circa 1900-1929 for an engaging musical experience. The music ranges from ragtime to dance bands, instrumentalists to songsters. Visually fascinating and very entertaining, the presentation creates a wonderful atmospheric ambiance. As host of WFMU Radio’s Antique Phonograph Music Program since 1995, he is a leading expert on this period of culture and music. Michael will bring to the hotel a vintage phonograph and play original music from 1919.

Book your spot in advance here.

Noah Diamond

June 26
Noah Diamond – comedy

The #1 source for comedy knowledge of the Algonquin Round Table era is Noah Diamond, a writer, performer, producer, and raconteur. He’s the award-winning creator of the off-Broadway Marx Brothers revival I’ll Say She Is and has written and lectured extensively about the Brothers and their work, including a multimedia comedy lecture. This fall his brand-new show 400 Years in Manhattan will debut at the United Solo Theatre Festival in Manhattan on Theatre Row.

Book your spot in advance here.

Kevin Fitzpatrick

July 10
Kevin C. Fitzpatrick – history

The author of 8 non-fiction books tied to NYC history, including The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide and Under the Table: The Dorothy Parker Cocktail GuideKevin C. Fitzpatrick started the Dorothy Parker Society 20 years ago. He has been leading walking tours of the Vicious Circle haunts and hangouts since 1999. His talk will be about the women of the Round Table. So many know of Parker and Edna Ferber, but not many can recall Jane Grant, Margalo Gillmore, Ruth Hale, Neysa McMein, Beatrice Kaufman, or Peggy Wood.

Book your spot in advance here.

joanna holliday

July 17
Joanna Holliday – poker

The World Series of Poker is the biggest gambling event of the year in the United States. Joanna Holliday is a professional poker player and has competed numerous times in big stakes tournaments across the country. She’s also a wit, fast-talker, and podcaster. For 25 years she’s been slinging drinks at Doc Holliday’s in the East Village. Since the majority of the Round Table were addicted to cards, she’s going to be talking about how to play poker and win, as well as what it takes to maintain your balance and wellness in such a stressful competition.

Book your spot in advance here.

The Algonquin is also offering special room packages, so why not spent a few nights in the most famous hotel in the city? Click here for more information. The events go all summer, and there will be more events in the fall as well. If you have any questions, contact us.