Molly Murphy's - Artifacts

Here are actual items obtained (no questions asked) from Molly's.

The Molly Murphy's menu - late 70's up until about 1982 or 1983, I would guess.

A Molly's cocktail napkin. Good for drinks or phone numbers.

The key to a waiter's money drawer.

The Table of Contents from the Waiter's Training Manual, late 70's/early 80's. (featuring the essay, "On Becoming A Waiter" by Ernie Fontenot)

One of the very first Molly Murphy's t-shirts, worn exclusively by the Nasty Kitchen Help.
(no, it has nothing to do with their profession - they were just plain Nasty)

The cock&tail waitress check-out sheet.

This "No Checks" sign hung behind the podium for the first five or six years.  One day, Bob decided to start accepting personal checks.  The sign came down.  A couple weeks/months later, he changed back to the "No Checks" policy.....hey, has anybody seen that sign we used to have???  This, my friends, is why they NAIL picture frames to the wall in hotels.

Reports of the man-in-the-attic.....were they exaggerated?

The infamous "Dogwood" plate and saucer.  1980.  Molly's plates were mismatched, ragtag, odds and ends.  Whenever I would serve on either of these two plates, I always commented how they were so pretty.  Sorta made my night, if something that small can make one's night.

One day, unbeknowsned to me, a matching Dogwood cup showed up.  Teri found it, then found the plate and saucer and surprised me with the set, as a gift.  And yes, she actually paid for them.

Molly's Long Island Tea glasses.  Who's going to drive me home?

A waiter/waiter assistant schedule, August 17-23, 1980.

A Molly Murphy's button.

In case you have forgotten the look on the customer's face when you brought them their 6 ounce piece of grizzle, here are a couple of 1990 "Free Steak" promo flyers that also appeared in the newspaper..

A Super Slug Award button given by Happy The Clown for doing a good deed.

A few Molly's dinner napkins - don't forget to stay late and roll, roll, roll.........

Harpo's big moment, as reported in Playboy.

A button given to me by those nasty Grand National Horse Show people.

The appetizer ticket, which would be filled in by the cashier so the Nasty Kitchen Help would know where, precisely, not to send your appetizer or dessert order.

An impromptu award given to me by the podium staff, probably for waiting on some really stupid table, five minutes before closing.

The Tayars' license plate.

Here are menu descriptions as pulled from the Waiter's training packet - late 70's.  Memorize it.  Know it.  Learn it.  Love it.
Live it.

There used to be a tradition of throwing a pie in the face when someone finally became a full-fledged waiter. This was my 1980 cartoon interpretation of my "pie-ing." On hand were Wyatt Earp, Kermetta the Frog, Blackbeard doing the honors, myself half out of Mighty Mouse costume, Rasputin the Mad Monk, Collins the Butler, Junior Geeb and Kaptain Klutz.

A dinner ticket, apparantly for the Bozo party of four, waiting in the club.

Here is my treasured club card to Photo Finish, across the street at the Hilton, circa 1980, when it was a Country bar.

My last tip envelope as Thor, before moving to L.A.

The actual Xerox sheet telling the new employees the names of the tables.
Note:  we didn't really call them by these names, except during testing to get the job.

One of my prized possessions - "Our Flag" - a picture that hung on the wall by the side of the podium, I admired it for years because of it's simpleness.  I guess people were listening, because when I left for California, this was given to me as a farewell gift.

The picture fell victim to water damage when a pipe burst in my studio during the big Northridge earthquake in California.  I had it wrapped in plastic, but standing on the floor.  I've never been more pissed about water damage in my life.

An interesting fact sheet included in the late 70's Waiter training manual.

The Molly Murphy's postcard so you could tell your friends where you got that neat rash.

A souvenir Bus Stop button.

More fun from those creative podium-types.

A ballot from one of Molly's infamous employee open-bar parties. This was about 1987 or 1988.

OK, here's something that'll rattle the teeth of every "Old School" waiter out there.  This BTE credit card application is from 1990.  Imagine the mileage you could have gotten off this gag, if somebody had presented one!

The familiar "Reserved" sign which was placed on every table in the building, although there was never, ever a reservation taken at Molly's.

Here are some of the more "special" ragtag dinner plates from the early '80's.  Now remember, I started this page by saying "No questions asked."

Row 1: a cartoonish African "Ramayama", a hideous "test"plate for different designs, a "blue onion" style country scene

Row 2: a pretty lime green inner ring with gold accent, the "spooky pioneer lady" plate, the brown Mennonite Village Museum plate

Row 3:  Sir George plate with knight, the green crescent Holy Cross Hospital plate, a Howard Johnson's chef, boy & dog plate, the pine needles plate

And still, more Podium fun.  With Bonus attached!  A business card, toothpick, AND some of those great free matches.

Here are some notes for a Key Employee's meeting in 1981. Bonus: my "during-the-meeting" sketch of GM Steve Kubala.

This paper was your life if you worked podium.

The humble beginnings of a Thor helmet and hammer - it was always good to keep a spare handy at home, in case I lost one/gave it away/broke it.
(same with the blue tights....though I'm not sure I gave any of those away....Melanie?)

A worn, but true Molly's business card.

The waiter's phone list, circa 1981.

Letterhead envelope, 1980.

Letterhead envelope, 1990.

A Gump's pocket-sized menu.

My last Waiter's schedule, as Dallas and I took off for California, for good. (1987)  It was more than just memorable for the two of us - we went out with style, thanks to everybody in a costume that night.  Bobby Jr. had just shafted the waiters the weekend before with a private party of his buddies, and pretty much stiffed them on the tip.
Are you kidding me?  Do you think that kind of thing goes unnoticed among our family?
So every Bacchus Feast we rang up that last night (May 2nd), we rang up manually, and put every last cent in tip pool - AND included the waiters who got the shaft as well.
Everyone participated - even Hattie "Screw that bastard" Bagley, in one of her more seething moments.  I remember going around and asking every single employee, and everyone, without hesitation, gave the big 'thumbs up' to this momentus burn.

This is a "Thor's Hammer" that the gang put together as a farewell gift when I moved to L.A.(ok, Hollywood) in 1985.  It's fairly insignificant in the scheme of things, but it means the world to me.  Made from bits and pieces of the interior of Molly's.