Comedy, Security Converge At The Friars’ Club

On the last day of ISC Solutions the Dark Restaurant Society met once again, this time for lunch at the famed Friars’ Club, in the Milton Berle Room. Our gracious host -- Frank Defina, vice president of sales at Samsung Techwin America and a member of the Friars’ Club -- treated us—members of the press -- to the experience of a lifetime.

The location on 55th Street was once the house of a physician. Now it serves as the “Monastary,” the name the Friars give to their clubhouses. During the luncheon, Defina recounted the history of the club, as well as hilarious stories about some of its members.

One such story was about Phylis Diller, who in 1983 disguised herself as a man to attend the roast of Sid Cesar at the then-exclusively male club. In 1988 though, Diller, Liza Minelli, Barbara Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Eydie Gorme, Barbra Streisand, Elizabeth Taylor, Dinah Shore and Martha Raye were the first female members of the club. My favorite story was about Gilbert Gottfried. Upon the birth of one of Gottfried's children, Defina sent him a Samsung catalog and asked him to pick out a gift. Defina received a call from Godfried, who said he wanted, of all things, a drill!

Surrounded by black-and-white photos of Milton Berle posing with other celebrities, such as Billy Crystal, Brooke Shields and George Burns, we ate, we laughed, and we snapped pictures of the Lucille Ball Room and a billiards room on the third floor where the Rat Pack would play. It was another elegant meeting with dear colleagues.

About the Author

Sherleen Mahoney is a Web managing editor at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • 12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    Understanding crime statistics in your industry and area is crucial for making important decisions about your security budget. With so much information out there, how can you know which statistics to trust? Read Now

  • Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    In alignment with the state of Mississippi’s mission of “Empowering Mississippi citizens to stay connected and engaged with their government,” Salient's CompleteView VMS is being installed throughout more than 150 state boards, commissions and agencies in order to ensure safety for thousands of constituents who access state services daily. Read Now

  • Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    This year’s Live From GSX program was a rousing success! Again, we’d like to thank our partners, and IPVideo, for working with us and letting us broadcast their solutions to the industry. You can follow our Live From GSX 2023 page to keep up with post-show developments and announcements. And if you’re interested in working with us in 2024, please don’t hesitate to ask about our Live From programs for ISC West in March or next year’s GSX. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • People Say the Funniest Things

    People Say the Funniest Things

    By all accounts, GSX version 2023 was completely successful. Apparently, there were plenty of mix-ups with the airlines and getting aircraft from the East Coast into Big D. I am all ears when I am in a gathering of people. You never know when a nugget of information might flip out. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction. 3

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation. 3

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure. 3