Abuzz Around New York, Inc.

11/21/2024

Jim D***s' Gilded Age/Eastside Walking Tour schedule:
Sat. Nov. 30- 10am
Sat. Dec. 7-10am
Sat. Dec. 14- 2pm (note)
Sat. Dec. 21- 10am
Sat. Dec. 28- 10am
Thurs. Jan. 2-10am
$125pp, pay by cash/venmo/zelle/paypal
Meeting place near Rockefeller Center given on reservation
JimD***[email protected]

10/20/2024

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d6224473-Reviews-Jim_D***s_New_York_Tours-New_York_City_New_York.html

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

10/14/2024

NYC guides are all being dragged by tourists to 153-155 Franklin St.

10/06/2024

My IMDB page is hopelessly outdated...there are many things I've done which are not on there yet. But if the production doesn't bother to provide it to IMDB, and the actor's agent doesn't do it, it doesn't get on there.

Known for: Playing Dangerous 2, Interview with Terror, Boardwalk Empire

09/10/2024

This is a sad time of year....I was in the World Trade Center countless times. I can close my eyes and see the lobbies, the elevators, the carpeting, the shops, the people. My last trip to the top was with a British tour group on Sunday Sept. 9, 2001 with a British tour group. We had Sunday brunch at Windows on the World restaurant on top of Tower One.
I only knew one person who survived...she said as she came down the emergency stairs 82 floors, the stairs were like waterfalls because the plumbing had come out of the walls. She remembered the 343 New York Firefighters who were going UP the stairs while workers were splashing their way DOWN.

Still hard to believe it's all gone and replaced by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum plus new office towers.
I knew several people there fairly well because of my tour business.

08/13/2024

Tourists now don't book a guide...they have their heads down in their phones--
phones give directions but no fun stories!

08/13/2024

RICH & FAMOUS w/GILDED AGE tour-Sunday Aug. 18; 1pm
Join us for a scandalous stroll through the Upper Eastside's Gilded Age mansions and residences of the rich and famous. Meet at Cartier, Fifth Avenue & 52nd Street on Sunday August 18 at 1pm. Tickets are $100pp, payable by Venmo to [email protected]. Immerse yourself in the opulent history and juicy gossip of New York City's elite during this 3.5 hour tour.

08/11/2024

In Sunday's papers this morning: CENTRAL PARK UPDATE:
VISITORS FEAR FAMED GREEN SPACE AMID SOARING CRIME
by Georgia Worrell
Robberies and felonious assaults (muggings) are skyrocketing in Central Park, terrifying both tourists and life-long New Yorkers--thanks to a troubling mix of violent teen gangs, unhinged vagrants, and lawless illegal migrants roaming the famous "green space." So far in 2024, crime is up 222% in Central Park.
Central Park is a completely man-made structure and was built between 1858 and 1872; it's the only city park in the United States which has been declared a National Landmark because it inspired other cities to build parks. In addition to NYC Parks Department funding, Central Park receives funds from the State of NY and the Federal government in addition to billions raised privately by the non-profit CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY which has been restoring the landscaping to it's 19th century appearance, removing graffitti, etc.

07/30/2024

Me and Lisa DiGiovine in Lisa's guest house in Los Angeles.

07/30/2024

The fabulous HIPPODROME Theatre, built 1905, demolished 1939; 5,300 seats....stood on Sixth Avenue between W. 43rd and W. 44th Streets. Notice the old Sixth Avenue Elevated train in the picture. Today this train is UNDER Sixth Avenue and is the B,D,F orange subway line.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Hippodrome

07/16/2024

William VanAlen, the eccentric architect of the CHRYSLER BUILDING seen in a Halloween costume with a CHRYSLER BUILDING hat! This guy was probably a RIOT.

07/13/2024

Here's a rare real estate listing: Broadway legend MARY MARTIN's penthouse has hit the market for $9.8 million! It's in the fabulous 1929 CAMPANILE on East 52nd Street. Other famous folk who lived in the CAMPANILE include GRETA GARBO, REX HARRISON, ETHEL BARRYMORE.

The two-bedroom, 2½-bath home at the landmarked Campanile, at 450 E. 52nd St., was once owned by the late actress Mary Martin.

07/08/2024

Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara) died this day in 1967 at age 53.
Thank you Skyler for the information. Sharing...

07/08/2024

We are in the middle of a July Heatwave now (at least 3 days in a row of 90plus)...

20 years ago we shot this ODOR EATERS TV commercial during the same kind of July heatwave. We were in an old studio on 54th St behind The David Letterman Show. The studio was stifling hot with old-fashioned air conditioning which you could HEAR on camera under the hot lights.
So we kept stopping and opening the doors/windows to let the studio air out and cool down...we did this every few takes (107 takes). I thought Jeanne Kammerer (the wife) and myself got it perfect after a few takes but we had professional UNION cameramen, grips, etc. and everybody has to justify their paycheck so we did it over and over, stopped to cool off and dry the sweat stains off our clothes and did it some more.
We would probably still be there but Jeanne had to drive her kids to summer camp and she kept asking the producer & director if we could please finish by lunch. So we did. And this commercial played for YEARS...on 60 Minutes, on OPRAH, etc. every day. Lots of residual payments which actors love.
When I got the job I wasn't very thrilled because I had done jobs for big companies like Coca Cola and Hasbro and Dannon Yogurt but my agent Ellen Manning was thrilled. She explained (as an agent does)..."Jim those big companies make new commercials every couple months....small companies like ODOR EATERS only make a new commercial once in a blue moon. This commercial will run for YEARS!" And she was right!

Jim D***s Odor Eaters Commercials -- Appeared Thousands of Times on Television