My Life & Times on the Floating G

Fifty years ago when the Rat Pack ruled Vegas and entertainers like Mickey Rooney, Liberace, Sophie Tucker and Tony Bennett filled mob run nightclubs; there was one guy who made all of them look bigger than life in the spotlight. These stars shined brightly on stage, but it was the musical conductor on the bandstand that could make or break a performance. In those days no one worked with more of these legendary giants than Buddy Kirk. Whether it was on stage in Hot Springs, Galveston, Las Vegas, New York City or on the golf course; Buddy Kirk had a friendship with this group of people that lasted for decades. The inside stories that grew from those years; the knowledge, accounts and old school priorities that he gained from nightclub and casino owners, mobsters and the movers and shakers of that era were simply too good not to share with others. Those stories were handed down to me over the years, most I didn t believe at first and actually, it took many years before I found proof that it all was true. Growing up in Galveston, working in my parents business, I received two educations, one from the school district and one from seeing, listening and living through life as I knew it . . . in the nightclub business. Through this time; I began to learn about life and its lessons; what was right and wrong, what respect and integrity meant and that everything you think you know at the age of twelve won t be the same when your thirty or forty. This is the story of my life and times on the Floating G.