We all know that Kutsher's was a mecca for young comedians in its Borscht Belt heyday, but the Wall Street Journal has a fun article about how it also nursed the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Mickey Mantle. For Wilt, who worked as a bellhop at Kutsher's, the resort was like a second home:
Mr. Chamblerlain lifted hotel guests' luggage through second story windows. He performed in the Kutsher's talent shows and starred on their basketball team, under the guidance of a guest's son who had recently been hired on as a coach. His name was Red Auerbach.
"He would have practice at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and I would say to Red, 'I can't go to practice, I'm working,' " recalled Mr. Chamberlain years later in an interview with the National Basketball Association, noting proudly that he had been promoted to captain of the bellhops. "So he didn't like that so much."
Mark Kutsher, the son of the founders, got especially close to Chamberlain:
The young Mr. Kutsher ... developed friendships with the players, Wilt especially. He'd call him for advice on girls, hang out in the locker rooms and borrow Mr. Chamberlain's cars, a Bentley and a Maserati Ghibli, he remembered. "In one way, it was kind of special," he said. "In another, very hard to drive because his seats were not made for others."
As you can see at the top of this post, YouTube user wiltatkansas has some archival footage of Chamberlain playing at Kutsher's, so you know it's true. (Check out the Kutcher's logo on the backboard.)
