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In a sandwich, a legacy lives on

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I loved “Classic Comic Sketches” [Jan. 14]. While I wasn’t anticipating any mention of Billy Gray, it’s a fact that Billy Gray’s Band Box, a (so where else?) Fairfax Avenue nightclub, was the only semblance of “Borscht Belt” / Catskill Mountains entertainment on the West Coast during the ‘50s.

His hilarious satires such as “My Fairfax Lady,” “The Cohen Mutiny” and “Goldfinkle” should earn him a spot in Drew Friedman’s book “Old Jewish Comedians.”

Sadly, like Jackie Miles, Gray died a long-forgotten pauper. At least he’s been acknowledged on the menu at Canter’s, which has long featured the “Billy Gray’s Band Box Special,” which consists of chopped liver.

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EDDIE CRESS

Sylmar

Cress ran the parking lot at Billy Gray’s Band Box;

his father was the maitre d’.

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