Damon Runyon

After Ellen Runyon died of the effects of her own drinking problems Runyon and Patrice married; that marriage ended in 1946 when Patrice left Runyon for a younger man. The first ever telethon was hosted by Milton Berle in 1949 to raise funds for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. Pully Stubby Kaye Johnny Silver Tom Pedi.

He spun humorous and sentimental tales of gamblers hustlers actors and gangsters few of whom go by "square" names preferring instead colorful monikers such as "Nathan Detroit" "Benny Southstreet" "Big Jule" "Harry the Horse" "Good Time Charley" "Dave the Dude" or "The Seldom Seen Kid. " His distinctive vernacular style is known as "Runyonese": a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang almost always in present tense and always devoid of contractions.