Jack The Bookie

Clinton denizen Gail Flemmons left the show just a shadow away from the win Thursday during her second show on “Jeopardy!”

Flemmons was the last in going into “Final Jeopardy!” with $10,198. But guess what, she was the only one who knew the response to the clue: “He was also the U.S.’s best paid sports writer with stories of people like Chicago O’Brien and Jack the Bookie.”

So who is Jack The Bookie

Jack the Bookis is Damon Runyon. Damon was popular during his time for the short stories he wrote. His stories celebrated the world of Broadway in New York at the time of prohibition.

To New Yorkers of his era, a “Damon Runyon character” aroused a unique category of caricatures from the Brooklyn or Midtown demi-monde.

He spun humorous and witty stories of gamblers, bookies, hustlers, actors, and gangsters, few of whom go by “square” names, preferring instead colorful monikers such as “Nathan Detroit,” “Big Jule,” “Harry the Horse,” “Good Time Charley,” “Dave the Dude,” or “The Seldom Seen Kid.”

Runyon penned these tales in a distinctive unique flair: a smorgasbord of profound speech and colorful slang, almost always in present strain, and always innocent of contractions.


Source: techbanyan.com