Mr. HUBERT. I mean, do you own all the stock?
Mr. PAUL. That’s right.
Mr. HUBERT. And, of course, the corporation owns the business and you
manage the business?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you have any other occupation at the present time?
Mr. PAUL. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. How long have you lived in Dallas?
Mr. PAUL. In Dallas—itself?
Mr. HUBERT. Well, let’s put it in the Dallas area, first. I
mean—Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Mr. PAUL. Okay—I came in December 1947.
Mr. HUBERT. Where did you live prior to that time?
Mr. PAUL. New York, New York City.
Mr. HUBERT. In New York City?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. And I think that you originally are an immigrant, is that
correct?
Mr. PAUL. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. That information, I believe is information in the statement
you have given.
Mr. PAUL. That’s correct.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you recall what it was that caused you to come to Texas
from New York?
Mr. PAUL. I was connected with some show people and they came down here
and told me how great Texas was, and I came down, and in fact I came
down and leased the club, leased the Sky Club at first, and we stayed
there a month and then we bought it.
Mr. HUBERT. Leased which one?
Mr. PAUL. The Sky Club.
Mr. HUBERT. That was in 1947?
Mr. PAUL. That’s actually in 1948, I mean, I came to Dallas 2 days
before New Years or something like that.
Mr. HUBERT. Two days before New Years in 1947, so it’s practically 1948?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you have any connections here when you came?
Mr. PAUL. No—I didn’t know anybody here.
Mr. HUBERT. When you say “we”, you mean you and your wife?
Mr. PAUL. No—that entertainer and her husband brought me down here.
Mr. HUBERT. What were their names?
Mr. PAUL. Joe Bonds and Dale Belmont—it’s also in there.
Mr. HUBERT. They were husband and wife?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. And they had been here before?
Mr. PAUL. They had been here before.
Mr. HUBERT. And they interested you in coming into this area?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you leave all your business and social connections in
New York?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Were you married?
Mr. PAUL. No; not at that time I came down from New York.
Mr. HUBERT. You have been married since?
Mr. PAUL. No.
Mr. HUBERT. You are not married at all?
Mr. PAUL. No.
Mr. HUBERT. You never have been married?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. And is your wife dead or are you divorced from her?
Mr. PAUL. We got divorced in 1931.
Mr. HUBERT. And you have never remarried?
Mr. PAUL. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Were you supposed to supply capital to the venture?
Mr. PAUL. What venture?
Mr. HUBERT. With Joe Bonds?
Mr. PAUL. Oh, yes.
Mr. HUBERT. And you say it was in a very short period after arriving
here you got interested in a place called the Sky Club?
Mr. PAUL. No; they interested me to come down here—they interested me
to come down here and rent the Sky Club from a man called Satterwhite,
and after we stayed there a month, he decided to sell it to us and then
is when we bought it.
Mr. HUBERT. Who put up the capital?
Mr. PAUL. We put up some capital—the rest of it was by notes.
Mr. HUBERT. Was the corporation formed then?
Mr. PAUL. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. So, it was owned by you and Bonds?
Mr. PAUL. Ralph Paul and Joe Bonds.
Mr. HUBERT. Half and half?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. How long did that venture last?
Mr. PAUL. I sold out my interest in May of 1948.
Mr. HUBERT. So, it lasted a very short period of time?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Whom did you sell it to?
Mr. PAUL. I sold it to a man from Miami that came up here looking for
business—I can’t think of his name—Rosenheim.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you remember his first name?
Mr. PAUL. I think it’s some place in this—that is, his first name is.
Mr. HUBERT. That’s all right, we will get to that. What sort of place
was the Sky Club—what was it?
Mr. PAUL. A nightclub.
Mr. HUBERT. Where was it located?
Mr. PAUL. On the Fort Worth Cutoff. I think the address was six
something Fort Worth Avenue.
Mr. HUBERT. What venture did you go into after that?
Mr. PAUL. I opened up a bar in downtown Dallas called the Blue Bonnet,
underneath the Blue Bonnet Hotel.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you rent the premises there and operate the bar
yourself?
Mr. PAUL. Yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you have any partners in that?
Mr. PAUL. No, sir.
Mr. HUBERT. How long did you maintain that occupation?
Mr. PAUL. I maintained it close to 5 years. I opened it in November and
sold it 5 years later in September.
Mr. HUBERT. So, you would have opened it in November 1948?
Mr. PAUL. Correct.
Mr. HUBERT. And you would have sold it?
Mr. PAUL. In September 1963.
Mr. HUBERT. 1953?
Mr. PAUL. No; 1953—that’s correct.
Mr. HUBERT. And what did you do after 1953?
Mr. PAUL. Well, I didn’t do nothing for several months and then I and
Chris Semos opened up the Miramar Restaurant on Fort Worth Avenue.
Mr. HUBERT. And that was a partnership too?
Mr. PAUL. Yes; that was a partnership.
Mr. HUBERT. It was not a corporation?
Mr. PAUL. No.
Mr. HUBERT. Now, this Chris Semos, did he put up the money?
Mr. PAUL. We both put up some money and the rest was notes.
Mr. HUBERT. And what was the name of that?
Mr. PAUL. Miramar Restaurant.
Mr. HUBERT. That was a restaurant?
Mr. PAUL. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. And nightclub, was it?
Mr. PAUL. No, just a restaurant and drive-in.
Mr. HUBERT. How long did you operate that?
Mr. PAUL. Close to 3 years—about 3 years less 2 months.